Puppy night times

[reginafalange2020]

Morning ,
I've got a new lurcher pup. He's almost 9 weeks. We've had him for 5 days. It's early days I know and I'm prepared for this to be hard work for a while, but last night he woke for a wee/poo every single hour. I'm exhausted. I've had puppies before but can't remember it being this bad at night.

We are being very strict and not letting him on our bed and I'm proud of myself for not cracking last night. He has a crate in the kitchen and one next to our bed. The plan is to gradually train him to sleep in the crate downstairs once he's adjusted to his new home. We are doing pretty well with toilet training (the odd accident which is to be expected)

Since we got him he's suffered with runny poo which has caused him to be slightly underweight. The vet has given us new food and probiotics and he's had his first jab. I wonder if this is all contributing?

I'm not really sure what I'm asking to be honest, but any words of wisdom would be appreciated. Does it get easier? And if so when? Would it be better to sleep downstairs with him to get him used to sleeping downstairs in crate instead? Any tips to get his weight up would also be appreciated. Thanks

The runny poo won't be helping, that's for sure - but it does get easier. All puppies vary quite a bit but my last one was able to cut down a night time trip for each week. i.e. he woke me for the toilet 4 times a night the first week, then 3 the next week, then 2, then 1, then zero.

In terms of getting him used to where to sleep, again everyone tends to do it slightly differently. I did like you, and kept a crate next to my bed. Once he was sleeping happily in that each night, I started to sneak it away - moving it just a few inches each night until it was almost out the room. At that point I opened the door and the dog sleeps where he likes but I could have kept moving it instead.

I think if I were aiming for the dog to sleep downstairs, though, I would have just slept downstairs with him. Also, your bed is closer when you have to get up

Slightly underweight is better than slightly overweight so I wouldn't worry too much about that either unless the vet expresses concern. Much better for growing joints to have less wieght to bear.

Just repeat: it WILL get easier

Thanks so much for your response. I think I will try sleeping downstairs tonight. There's absolutely no way my DH will let him in our bed so I definitely can't get into and bad habits in that respect.
He's so gorgeous and is well behaved in general it's just been a shock to the system, I don't remember my last dog being like this as a pup but I think I let her on my bed quite
Early on x

Yes, I think you start as you mean to go on, as much as you can - whilst still allowing for the fact that they are babies and so need a bit more than an adult dog. So no human beds from the start, if no human beds are the future.

By the time he's grown, you'll have forgotten all about these puppy days and will have started looking at puppies with fond eyes, again

We have a 10 week old puppy. He’s currently sleeping in a pen next to our bed, and waking us up throughout the night for the toilet. Sometimes we get an hour, sometimes we get 3 hours! Most often we get 90 mins, and are up at least 4 times a night.

Getting up and taking them out is exhausting, (especially carrying a chunky Labrador puppy up and down the stairs!) but i keep telling myself it will speed up his general house training, as he’s never going indoors on pads etc.

It won’t last forever, they’re only babies for a short time, when you look back on it. But you have my full sympathy - I’m constantly exhausted.

I’ve read that a puppy can only be reasonably expected to hold his bladder for the number of hours that is his age in months. Ie at 9 weeks for you, and 10 weeks for me, we shouldn’t be expecting more than 2 or 2.5 hours.

It WILL get easier!

I’ve just done three nights sleeping downstairs. She just ends up on the sofa with me at some point in the night so I think it’s exhausting me and we aren’t really making much progress.

I really do think the standard age for puppies leaving Mum should be no earlier than 10 weeks, preferably 12. The four dogs I have raised from puppies left at 12 weeks and none needed to be taken out more than once at night. My most recent boy wouldn't even go after the first few nights and just wanted to get back inside and back to bed. Maybe I have just been lucky though.

We got our puppy when she was 12 weeks old. She is still going out at night. Twice a night. She is 13 weeks old now. She gets taken out to back garden.

Her crate is in living room and I slept downstairs on couch for first four nights so she had company. Had radio on down low for her.

Even aside from night time routines - there's a lot to be said for getting a puppy at 10-12 weeks, vs the standard 8. Especially from good, skillful breeders who understand the importance of human/environmental socialisation during that time - and can provide it.

St Bernards tend to be puppies for much longer so I am not too bothered and realise she will eventually drop the night pee trips. Will try and cut down to one in a few weeks time. See how it goes.

Hope the runny poo is short lived for your pup OP.

I agree with you both Ghost and Hmm. The breeders I spoke to tend to keep the puppies until around 12 weeks, to get extra time with the mum and for socialisation purposes.

I'm inclined to agree with you regarding age of getting the puppy, In my defence though, he had already been separated from his mum before I had him but was still with his siblings. Since having him - I'm beginning to think that perhaps the breeder wasn't as experienced as I thought. He's here now though and I want to make the best of it and help him grow into a happy, confident (well behaved) dog x

8 weeks is fairly standard, so nothing really to 'defend' as such - and he sounds like he's found a lovely home

I only mentioned it because I think sometimes people think there is something wrong with getting a puppy that is a little bit older, when actually it might be preferable, at least sometimes.

Anyway, questions about 9 week old puppies that don't have cute photos attached are not really on. Ahem....

Never attached a photo before so probably won't work but here we go..........

I take everything back. You should just cuddle that adorable little beauty all day and all night.

Never let him go.

That face!!

Looks can be deceiving 😬

We crate our puppy in the living room. We slept down with him for the first 10 days. He was waking up every hour to begin with, then twice a night. After 10 days, we rated him (half asleep), and he cried but we stayed in the room until he settled. I think he might have woken once the first night - again re-crated and waited in the room till he stopped crying (doing shhusshhh). And since then he has slept 12-8am every night. We have a baby monitor and my husband didn’t sleep terribly well the first couple of nights, but great since. I think our puppy was maybe quite quick, but I do agree, sleep downstairs to settle with that and then move up. Oh, I should say if the first week my husband did let him fall asleep with him on the sofa a couple of times, but after that he put the puppy back in his crate when he fell asleep (out of it), It will get better 😊

Paddy, our little Cavapoo arrived last Thursday so we have had him for just over a week. He was 10 weeks when he came to us. I really debated whether to have him in the crate by my bed but as my overall plan was for him to sleep downstairs, I thought I would start as I meant to go on and he slept downstairs in his crate from night one.

The first two or three nights he cried a bit but then settled and I didn’t hear him during the night. At the mo, I am taking him out around 10.45 pm and then set my alarm for 6 am so that I’m there for when he wakes up (around 6.15) and can take him straight out for a Pee and poo. I’m absolutely knackered but I’d rather be up early then in the middle of the night or come down to a poo in the crate which I did a couple of hours in the row, I am hoping that now he is more comfortable in the crate and will soon be able to hold on for longer, I’ll be bale to stay in bed foe another hour or so!!