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Original poster

Got a new puppy and he is awake all night!

42 replies

kid · 07/12/2009 06:43

How on earth do you go about training a puppy to sleep through the night?

He is an adorable, 8 week old Springer/Cocker Spaniel. He had already been separated from his mum before we took him as he was still trying to feed from her but all her milk had dried up and she was getting sore.

He isn't kept in a cage and has the run of the downstairs of the house. We are all sleeping upstairs, well that is the plan anyway!

Another thing that I am unsure of is, he whines when he is eating! I wondered if it could be his teeth hurting?
I am giving him biscuits (for puppies) with moist bits in and I put water on it for him (as advised on the pack for under 12 week old puppies) I do have some puppy meat for him too, I just don't know how much I should be feeding him.

I know puppies are hard work, but I hadn't realised how hard! His beautiful little blue eyes more than make up for it though
Its just like having a newborn baby, but he doesn't stay where I put him!

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sarah293 · 07/12/2009 07:13

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Romanarama · 07/12/2009 07:25

Wait for some advice from Bella/Minimu/Valhalla, who are the puppy gurus.

Might not be relevant, but my golden retriever puppy slept calmly all night in his crate from day 1 (he was 7 weeks). He will go in it without a fuss in the day when I need to go out too. I think it's a great investment. He also won't pee/poo in it. You know at night or when you're out that he can't hurt himself or cause damage to anything.

I just feed him proplan dry food mixed with water. He didn't eat much the first few days, but now he polishes it off.

Good luck! It is a lot of work, isn't it?!

abra1d · 07/12/2009 08:29

Leave the radio on in the background when you go upstairs. Wrap an alarm clock in a towel and put it in his bed (mimics the mother's heartbeat). Wrap a hotwater bottle in towels (mimics littermates).

These all worked for us.

gemmummy · 07/12/2009 08:36

i can't reccomend a crate enough, puppies will feel secure and safe and settle much better, it's well worth the money. if you can't, make the pup a little den from a box and some nice blankets.

Buda · 07/12/2009 08:44

Def do the crate/cage. They LIKE to feel secure. Ours is now 7 months and has slept in hers happily from day 1.

And they like a 'bedtime routine' too! With ours I say "Bedtime!" and she goes to the door to go out for a pee - unfortunately she doesn't like doing that by herself so I have to go with her - and then she comes straight back in and heads to the place where her treats are kept and she watches me get them and then she runs for her cage, watches me put the treats in and her blanket and then happily trots in and settles down. Sometimes she instigates it all herself by wanting to go out earlier.

With regard to the food - the pack should tell you how much to feed - usually goes by weight.

Original poster
kid · 07/12/2009 08:46

Thanks for the advice. He has the box he came home in, but he just plays around with it, climbing in and out and tipping it over!

He follows me everywhere, as soon as I sit down, he is there.
As I would prefer not to let him on the settee, I sometimes sit on the floor and he always climbs on my lap. He is sleeping there now!

I have access to a spare cage at the moment, perhaps I should try it, even if I just leave it open to see if he goes in it himself. Last night was a terrible night, he woke me up at 1:20am. I did try and ignore him, but for such a small pup, he sure makes a lot of noise!

I had my work cut out for me to convince my kids to go to school today. They adore the puppy.

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Original poster
kid · 07/12/2009 08:47

I just put his blanket (that the previous owners gave me) into his box and he climbed straight in and is about to go sleep!

He has a bed which he slept on for some of last night, but the box looks cosier.

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minimu · 07/12/2009 09:00

Good advice above definately get a crate if you want to you could put his box in it. But if he is slightly restricted he will get bored (hopefully) and go to sleep. Expect a little fuss if he has had the run of the house but it is much safer for him and the house if he is crated to sleep when little.

He is following you as he is insecure and does not have a safe place to go so his crate will also help with this.

Not sure about the food I think you need Bella advice for this one. Is it the food he had when he was with his breeder?

BellasSparklyBaubles · 07/12/2009 09:17

Definitely get a crate - for the pup's safety as much as anything. Stops them chewing through electric cables for a start!

Re his food - are you actually soaking his biscuits or just putting water on top? A good routine to get into is to start soaking his next meal as you feed his last - you want the biscuits really soft and mushy at this stage.

Make sure his food is divided up into 4 meals - their tummies are so tiny they can only take in small amounts at a time, but they need lots of calories to grow. Like babies!

Another idea is to use a stair gate to keep him confined to one or two rooms - make house training easier and also prevents him becoming over-dependent on you, which could be a problem when he's older.

Will be back later - HTH

sarah293 · 07/12/2009 09:45

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SmacOnTheLipsUnderTheMistletoe · 07/12/2009 10:03

Another crate fan. I'd never had one before, always left pup/dog in the utility room at night so no opportunity to damage the house but our new house doesn't have one, just a big open plan kitchen/diner with way too many hazards for a pup at night or when we are out.

Totallyfloaty35 · 07/12/2009 10:41

After an awful first night with our boy we crated him but put him in our bedroom last night and he was fine.He whined at 4;30am to go outside and then went back to sleep til 7am.
I dont soak his food either,just feed him 3 times a day,half of 1 feed goes in his Kong and inside his crate.

Original poster
kid · 07/12/2009 14:27

I was just giving him a handful of biscuits and pouring water over them. I waited a few minutes for them to start looking soggy, but I guess they are still too hard for him.

I gave him some puppy meat earlier, he really enjoyed it!

I've had to pop out several times today, the longest he was alone for was 1 hour. No damage done in the house but I could hear him howling from outside.

I know DH doesn't want to use a crate. Our previous dog was free to roam the whole house. I worry it will make him go a bit wild if we confine him to a cage.

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BellasSparklyBaubles · 07/12/2009 14:32

Biscuits take at least a couple of hours to go soft.

Re the crate - you wouldn't be 'confining' him. Dogs love crates as a safe den (my puppy does not usually get the chance to sleep in hers during the day - my other dogs squeeze in first!). More importantly, it keeps puppy safe for short periods when you are out. You would only actually close the door of the crate overnight or when you are out.

Original poster
kid · 07/12/2009 14:57

I'll get a cage this afternoon and leave the door open to see what he does.
Afaik, he was kept in a cage at the breeders house and let out in the evening. Well, they did have 9 puppies, 2 dogs and 2 cats in the house!

I have tipped his box on to its side and put is bed inside it to stop him tipping it over. He has been napping on and off lots today on the bed.

He has just noticed the washing machine and isn't at all impressed. I have to go collect DC now, wonder if I should turn the machine off while I'm gone or just leave it going? Was going to put radio or TV on while I'm gone.

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BellasSparklyBaubles · 07/12/2009 15:05

Leave it on - you need to expose him to as many strange sights / sounds/ people/places as possible before 14 weeks - otherwise they can be afraid of these things for life.

Piffle · 07/12/2009 15:14

my dog chooses her crate over everything else, she has slept in it, confined from day dot, she is now 11 mths and we leave it open but she never leaves it all night long

wildfig · 07/12/2009 17:04

Another vote for crates - my puppy loves his, and hops in happily at night. He only gets Kongs when he's in there while I'm out during the day, so he rushes to it when he sees the Kong appear. You have to do it slowly though; if you just stick him in and lock the door, he probably will go nuts, so it's best to work up to it gradually, leaving treats in there and letting him explore it, then closing the door for a second or two.

I know it looks cruel, but as everyone else says, dogs like dens. And if he's used to being in a crate, it'll be something less for him to stress about if he ever has to overnight at the vets, or back at his breeders.

And good luck with the night time crying. It passes! I think - [no expert emoticon] if he's tucked up in a confined space, he'll go to sleep more quickly than if he's free to wander around finding things to do.

BellasSparklyBaubles · 07/12/2009 18:01

Dogs Trust factsheet on 'indoor kennels' - aka crates:

here

Original poster
kid · 07/12/2009 19:08

I now have a cage and I will put his bed inside it along with his toy and water bowl.

I left the washing machine on when I went out and afaik, he was fine.

He is constantly weeing, he is great at standing on the newspaper most of the time, however its just his front feet on the paper and not the wee!

Its very early days and he is so gorgeous, he can literally get away with anything

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mulledfruitshootandcheese · 07/12/2009 19:17

My springer screamed all night for the first two nights, we hardly got any sleep.

but being a mean cruel owner I ignored him. The third night we put him in the crate went to bed.

silence

so then we lay there worrying for hours that there was something wrong!

That was it, he's been quiet ever since. Amazing, literally from a screaming banshee to complete quiet.

He was in the crate for about 2 months and then it went and he was left to fend for himself with my stroppy collie!

It is really hard to ignore the noise but it works quicker if you can!

Original poster
kid · 07/12/2009 19:26

I had the same thing with DS. I did controlled crying and it was really hard and mean but it worked.

I have to be strong. He is my baby but he is a dog and I need my sleep!

My sister reckons he might fit through the hole in the cage, I don't think he is that small though.

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BellasSparklyBaubles · 07/12/2009 19:33

I do the cold turkey bit too - after a couple of nights it is worth it!

Original poster
kid · 07/12/2009 22:32

The cage is set up with his bed, toy, blanket and a small bowl of water in it.
The dog is asleep on DH.

He did go into the cage earlier and had a chew on the cars and tried climbing up it. I left the door open and he settled down on his bed but didn't stay in there long. At least he didn't have to be forced to go into it.

I also gave him a sock with ice cubes in earlier as he is chewing loads. He really enjoyed crunching on it.

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Original poster
kid · 08/12/2009 08:28

Another horrible night
He did sleep lovely from 5:30am till 6:30am in the cage with the door open. Shame about from 11pm-5:30am!

I apologised to my neighbour this morning. I did leave the dog whining for almost an hour last night but then I had to go in to the living room with him. I know the neighbours could hear him as I could hear them talking! (don't know what they were talking about, but I could hear them so they could definitely hear him!)

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