What to do with Puppy at night time

[ryukatt]

Hello, we have a new puppy who of course doesn't like being left alone, the main issue at the moment is just night times. We currently have a crate inside a playpen, where we always leave the crate door open, have a few toys in playpen and a bed in playpen too as well as crate with a mattress. However every night is non stop howling for past week since we got him (currently 9 weeks). Is it right for us to let him howl all night? We can't leave him on his own open as he will bite things he shouldn't still, just worried about traumatising.

We do still do the usual leaving him alone during day in playpen which he is actually fine with most of the time, take him for toilet and play with him before bed.

I do know that a lot of people use crates incorrectly and that is where the problems arise.

I also know exactly how much puppies like to move around at night. Can a large breed puppy in a crate at night do this?

How do you know what other people are doing?

From being involved in showing for 40 plus years, having two vets in my immediate family, and friends who breed and do rescue/rehab...

Plus reading things on The Doghouse like the recent thread about a Goldie up for rescue that had spent almost all its life in a crate.

If you want my full bio let me know 🙄

Jeez - Spanish Inquisition for saying I'm against crating. Only on MN...😂

It’s not using a crate that’s wrong, it’s cruelty to animals that’s wrong. You are getting one mixed up with the other.

Your previous comments about puppies needing to move around tells us that you don’t know how crates can be used safely and appropriately.

We are exactly the same always had multiple dogs though so pup just went in with the rest.

But with our first we slept downstairs so the pup knew we were close, it only took a few weeks for him to settle. Also easier to get up for toilet breaks.

My reason for not crate training though was because we have large breeds and lives in a house where 3 giant crates simply wouldn’t fit. We simple don’t have the room for giant cages.

OP if you do take the crate to your room is the dog going to get much larger than puppy size?

What a handsome fella

Giant breed here, had 2 together, 3 together so crating not feasible anyway.

Thank you so much for your observations. It's very helpful.

Hes a baby. Let him sleep in your room.

They aren’t babies, they are puppies. My dogs have never slept in my room. It’s just not necessary.

Just as crating is not necessary...🤔

Did yours howl all night?? Was it just fine sleeping on its own, or was it with other dogs?

Who said crating is necessary? It’s just an option that some people go for.

Excellent! I would never leave a puppy to howl as well - I slept in the same room as my dog when we first brought her home she was a traumatised rescue!

Exactly. And so is not crating. Or allowing the dog to sleep in your room or on your bed. Options and opinions about how best to rear your own dog 😁

Your previous comment shows us that you just don't understand that people want to be close to their puppy... Perhaps you just don't know that this can be done safely and appropriately.

i would never leave a puppy to howl all night. When we brought our last puppy home, she travelled in a canvass kennel. She had blankets and toys that came from the breeder and smelled of mum and her brothers and sisters.

At bedtime we settled her in the kennel with the toys and blankets, in the kitchen. We took it in turns to come down and settle her, when she cried. She didn’t cry at night again, after that first night.

I had previously discussed with the breeder about getting up in the night, to take her out for a wee. The breeder said that all the pups were already going through the night. When we brought her home, she was pretty much housetrained, as the breeder had the puppies in the house and she had been housetraining them.

Yes, of course you’re right. Each to their own way.

However, I do wonder if the rise in separation anxiety in dogs, is down to treating them like human babies.

My parents had dogs, I’ve always had dogs and not one of them has had separation anxiety. Dogs are dogs, they are ready to leave their mothers at nine weeks. Human babies stick around for years and years.

Interesting. Believe it or not, I agree... up to a point. Mine aren't treated like babies, they sleep downstairs, with the run of two large rooms, even from 8 weeks. They move around a lot at night, but that is a Livestock Guarding Dog trait. There is no way they would tolerate being crated, nor would I expect them to. They are very independent minded and free spirited, even as puppies.

But I do agree with you that treating dogs like babies is probably not a good thing. I don't take mine to shops and cafes either, because I know they would rather be walking on the moors or in the woods than through a town. But that is an entirely different discussion...

Definitely seems to be working and he’s even going in his crate for fun now downstairs so gives us options when he’s older :)

No it isn't alright to let him howl, you are traumatising him and by you proving that he can't trust you to have his back you are making separation anxiety increasingly likely.
And for all the cage-lovers, dogs are not den creatures. Once they are mobile they never use a nest, sleep in the open and being trapped in a tiny space alone means almost certain death in the wild. So of course they yell, your puppy is terrified.
Start off with the dog sleeping in your room, transition them out later if they want. Give them a bed not a prison. (Soon to greet my 16th puppy this summer, worked as dog trainer before it was fashionable)

It’s an interesting observation that some people who choose not to use a crate, refer to a crate as a cage.

Personally I would never have my puppy sleeping in my room and then change later. Puppies are much better dealing with a situation, if you are consistent. They are far more likely to develop separation anxiety if you keep changing their routine.

Mine have all slept in a special corner of the kitchen. They have their toys and blankets and it’s their special place. None of my dogs have ever had separation anxiety. Consistency, love and care are what’s important to a young dog.

Because a crate is a cage 🙄

But I agree on the consistency. Ours sleep in the kitchen from the first night. I have nothing against people having their dog in the bedroom if that is what works for them though. For us, with 100lb dogs it isn't practical.

By definition, a crate is a wooden box. My cages are of a metal construction, like a cage an animal is kept in at the zoo.
IMO people who use cages call them crates to make themselves feel better.

I have used cages for puppies, for post op dog's recovery, for travelling in the car and for dens - two of my dogs loved their cages and chose to spend time in them.
None of my current dogs use cages - they all choose to sleep in my bedroom, but fortunately only one shares my bed.

My dog is a massive fidget. Even sitting on the sofa with her is a pain! She wriggles and stretches and I end up teetering on the edge whilst she gets comfortable. Then suddenly she has to have a shake and a scratch. There’s no way I could sleep in the same room, let alone the same bed.

Fortunately mine is only 7.5kg, so there is plenty of room for both of us. 😊