Night time with puppy

[PugInTheHouse]

Hi

First time dog owner here. I have a 9 week old pug puppy, he has been with us since Tues so basically 4 days in full.

He is a crazy little thing, lots of cuddles and chewing of course. He is doing OK toileting, has a pad at the back door as he cries and shivers when we take him outside for too long (we will persevere with that of course) but he will go on his own at times, probably only every couple of hours so it not too stressful.

Night time he is amazing at going off, pretty much no crying at all from day 1. He sleeps for up to 4 hours at a time, he had a wee about 10pm last night, went to sleep about 1030 then woke at 210. I took him for a wee, he went after a couple of mins then straight back to bed. Pretty much the same the night before. The 3 nights before he went till after 3am then sleep till 7am.

These last 2 nights he has also woken at 4am. My husband works shifts and Sat/Sun gets up at 4. The first night pup woke for a poo at 4 so that was fine but this morning woke up when DH got up, he cried but didn't need a poo or wee.

I guess what I am asking is that should he be able to go longer than 4 hours in the night? Last water about 9pm, should we take it away earlier? He is tiny so it may be right, and the extra 4am waking may just be because of DH getting up and disturbing him.

Any tips?

Thank you so much

My Jack Russell will be 10 weeks old on Tuesday so about the same age. He goes to bed when we do - midnight usually - wakes for the toilet around 4 a.m. and then sleeps until 8 ish.

That has been the pattern since we brought him home but last night he slept all night.

I think that is the exception though. I wouldn't expect a pup to go more than 4 or 5 hours.

Ah thats good to hear thanks internet advice is so conflicting, most training websites say you should wake them after no more than 3 or 4 hours but we started doing that and other dog owners said not to. It seems to work not doing it also. Seems horrible to wake him when he's sound asleep.

Jack Russell's are very cute!

He’s still finding his feet at your house so don’t be surprised if his routine changes I’ve the next few weeks. He’s probably confused about why he’s not allowed to get up when your husband gets up. When my puppy cried in the night I used to take him out on a lead to the toilet spot. If nothing was forthcoming he went back to his crate. After a few days he caught on that he wasn’t going to be allowed to play and stopped asking to get up unless he needed the toilet.

I don’t agree with taking up water before bed. Puppy can’t tell you if he’s really thirsty and he won’t be able to anticipate not having access to water to take in more earlier. Young puppies often do need to be taken out twice in the night so I wouldn’t worry about that. It will get longer as he gets bigger and his bladder gets bigger.

Personally I would get rid of the puppy pad and stay out until he’s done his business. He’ll soon understand the the key to going back inside is to produce a little present and get down to it.

Please don’t take his water away from him. All animals should have access to water at all times

It will get longer as he gets older and also agree with taking the pad away, at the moment it’s inconsistent, as he needs to be going outside for toileting. Having a pad inside is just confusing for him

We have been consistent with the pad at the back door, he has gone by himself all day today so he knows its where he wees now which is good but frustratingat the same time as it would be better if its outside. I will keep going with him outside, its hard as the first day or two we took him outside for wees and he cried and was shaking. I maybe think it was just too much on his first day. This afternoon as he was so good with no accidents off the pad we have tried again outside, he did poo outside but no wees. It is milder today and also maybe he's more settled.

Re the water, we haven't taken it away, I just noticed the last time he drank was 9pm. All the training advice say is to remove water at least 2 hours before bed though. Its very frustrating to research etc and the info be incorrect and inconsistent. The person we got him from had a pad in a large crate, we definitely didn't want to do that. I wish we hadn't got the pads, its what we were recommended so we did it. At least its only been a few days so hopefully can get it right going forward.

@thecapitalsunited yes we are taking him out if he cries, most of the time he goes, I think twice he hasn't which is when DH has got up.

We are of course happy to take him out however many times he needs it in the night. Glad to hear its normal.

Thank you all for your advice.

I’m surprised that the advice is to remove water 2 hours before bed. As a previous poster said, how can he anticipate his water being removed. Sometimes we need a drink and it was my understanding that pets should have access to water at all times.

Puppy needs access to water at all times. You should never restrict a puppy fluids!!! Very dangerous!! And waking four hourly is perfectly normal but will become longer in time.

We have not removed water,I didnt say that. The advice is to remove 2 hrs before bed. He last drank at 9pm last night and 10pm the night before. The water was down if he wanted it.

We've got a 10 week old Rottie here. First week with us she was up at least twice in the night then waking just after 6 so not a lot of sleep happening for us at all. Second week it was like someone flipped a switch and all of a sudden she was sleeping through the night. It really did just happen overnight. Admittedly, we're going to bed a little later than we might otherwise (between 11 and midnight) as we were nervous about putting her to bed earlier and always make sure we have a play before she goes so she's tired out by sleep time. The first week was tough going, we were both like zombies but since then she's been a dream and everyone is doing much better. Pup is even beginning to like her crate to the point she refuses to come out in the morning!

Definitely think it just takes a bit of time to get settled and comfortable in a new home with a new routine but puppies learn quickly so will all fall in to place.

@PugInTheHouse

We have not removed water,I didnt say that. The advice is to remove 2 hrs before bed. He last drank at 9pm last night and 10pm the night before. The water was down if he wanted it.

Well, you implied you took it away in your OP by asking if you should take it away earlier!!

Can you put a pad outside?

I think he's doing really well given the horror stories I've been reading on here lately.

It's been a few years since I had a tiny puppy & it's like childbirth, you forget how awful it is after a while. I do remember a radio, a ticking clock and some nonsense by the make in the house about her sleeping downstairs in her own bed. By about the third night she was on my bed, snoring instead of whining!!

🤣🤣

Hi op we have a 9 week old Siberian Husky puppy and he has been with us for 10 days now. He didn’t cry during the first few nights which I was told he would and sleeps for around the same amount as your puppy.

Our vet said he isn’t allowed outside until 2 weeks after his second needle which is 4 weeks after the first ( done Friday ) which seems an awful long time so he’s using puppy pads which he rips to shreds and is teething badly.

He also drinks a lot of water. He has a crate but I need to train him with it and cries/howls if he needs something. Good job I have insomnia.

The irony is that both of my dc, now 9 and 17 never woke up during the night and I’m now going through it with a puppy.

Sorry, I reread my op and realise how it sounds re the water.

So from lunch time we put him outside for wees. He did every wee and poo out there except one poo on the pad by back door which he took himself off to then a wee accident just before bed.
The accident was 1030 and he slept from 11 till 430 when he's just gone out for wee and poo.

My understanding is that they can go out as long as its not for walks as they could come in contact with un vaccinated dogs, so you can carry them etc or its fine in the garden. We won't walk him of course till 2nd Jabs.

I have a child with autism/ADHD who is up in the night too, rarely the same time as the pup though

I actually think he's doing well but just wanted to make sure we weren't getting it wrong really. Hes amazing with his crate, just wanders into it when he's tired. Never really cries.

Now to work on the cats, they are a bit nervous ( no idea why, they are 8kg, he is 2!) but are getting closer to him now

It sounds like he's doing really well OP. We've had our puppy for 12 days now. At first he needed to be up about every 3 hours for poo/wee but that went to 1 time in the night quite quickly and then from this weekend has been going right through to 6am.
Btw our vet told us the same as Zoflorabore,not to even allow him in the garden until 2 weeks after 2nd jabs as there is always a risk that rats have passed through and if they come into contact with rat urine worst case scenario is it would kill them. So, as pp he is on the puppy pads for another 2 weeks.

I am really worried about him being in the garden, it was really only yesterday he was in there but we definitely have foxes in the garden, albeit probably not for a couple of weeks but definitely a lot prior to that.

Maybe I should keep it in? On a couple of threads people have quite aggresively said re not using the pads. I am worried he will have picked something up now? He has had his first jabs a week ago.

Maybe I will go back to the pads, he was good yesterday in the garden but does want to eat everything and also this morning it was extremely cold so he was crying again. He did go out there at 430am but it wasn't as cold as it was at 730. He slept from 430 till we got up about 715 so he was great last night.

Yes people can be vociferous against puppy pads. However everyone I know in RL used them and had no problems transitioning to outside. I figure if I take vets advice and wait till 2 weeks after 2nd vax it will be so much easier as I'll be taking him for regular walks and he should be dry overnight by then so both of us wont be freezing cold shivering in the pitch black at 3am!!

Thanks @XiCi you are right, I know lots of people who have transitioned fine, he's shown he's a quick learner so I think he'll be ok

That's what I think as well pug. That mine has shown himself to be a really quick learner so far. He got the puppy pad immediately so I've no reason to think he wont get going outside.

My puppy had already been in the garden at the breeders so I just carried on. The vet didn’t say anything about it. Go with what your own vet advises though, they’ll know about the risks in your local area. For instance we went out before the Lepto jab was effective with the advice from the vet to stick to pavements and avoid the local river until it was effective.

Try not to worry too much. Puppies are surprisingly resilient. You won’t mess him up! Or break him! Try and enjoy the good bits and don’t dwell the not so great bits. It goes by in a flash.

Thank you for all your help, it really is like having a new born again with all the worries!

Just coming back on to share my amusement that my puppy loves carrots 🥕

Mil recommended them for teething so dp picked up a couple and cut the ends off, washed them and he loved it and came back for another. He looked so funny with the carrot dangling out of his mouth!

Carrots are a big favourite here. They don’t appear to be able to digest them so don’t be surprised when it comes out as it went it! My boy thinks green beans are a massive treat. When I open the freezer he begs for one. At least they are healthy for him.

Oh dear

Out of interest, what are you all feeding your puppies?

It’s interesting as I watched the programme 12 puppies and it was very difference from family to family.

I feed mine a mix of raw and Costco kibble. He was on Royal Canin Medium Puppy and raw until 6 months. The breeder advised to switch early so he didn’t grow too quickly. I’ve kept my boy accepting kibble so that if we have to go away he won’t have to switch his diet that dramatically.

We’re feeding Bailey on AVA for puppies (large breed) which is what he was fed until he left to live with us. I would like to introduce raw food too but need to read up on it. We are obviously first time dog owners ( as a family) dp had a Rottweiler from late teens to late twenties and I green up with no pets. There’s so much to learn.

We have Wainwrights dry food which is what he was having before. I have also bought some of the wet but haven't given him any of that just yet. Probably will try some next week for him.

Mine seems to want to eat anything on the floor, I have to pick up every tiny bit of cat litter that they track immediately as he will eat that. He is a real chewer, that bit is hard work.