What Would You Do?

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#1
Hey,

My partner and I recently brought home a new pup. She's an 8 week old lab and we've had her for one week now.

She seems to have settled in great, but there's just one problem: She cries a lot at night.

The pup sleeps downstairs in her crate and I, for the past week, have been sleeping on the sofa because of her crying. I let her out to do her business twice per night, but in between that, she still cries to come out of her crate.

I was wondering if this is normal? If so, when will it stop? And if not, how can I stop her from crying so much? I obviously don't want to keep sleeping on the sofa!

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
 
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gapeach

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#2
The puppy is crying because she misses her mom/littermates. She's always had someone to snuggle with until now.
Most times when we've had a new puppy we get something to put the puppy in (a cardboard box works well) . Put the box with the puppy in it beside your bed and pet the puppy occasionally, reassuring her that you're still around. When she falls asleep remove your hand. It also helps to play/exercise the puppy to get her sleepy before bed. And it doesn't hurt to put a towel or stuffed toy in with her also.

Or .......you could just let her sleep with you:)
 
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#3
The puppy is crying because she misses her mom/littermates. She's always had someone to snuggle with until now.
Most times when we've had a new puppy we get something to put the puppy in (a cardboard box works well) . Put the box with the puppy in it beside your bed and pet the puppy occasionally, reassuring her that you're still around. When she falls asleep remove your hand. It also helps to play/exercise the puppy to get her sleepy before bed. And it doesn't hurt to put a towel or stuffed toy in with her also.

Or .......you could just let her sleep with you:)
Sounds like it could work. Do you think it will be too confusing for her to move from downstairs in her crate (which she quite willingly goes into to sleep) to upstairs into a box?
 

Airn

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#4
Sounds like it could work. Do you think it will be too confusing for her to move from downstairs in her crate (which she quite willingly goes into to sleep) to upstairs into a box?
Could you put her crate near your bed? Crate covers also work too. If you have a crate I don't see why you would want to put her in a box.
 

gapeach

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#5
It wouldn't have to be a box, we didn't have a crate at the time.
You could put her crate in your room and just try talking to her soothingly.
If she knows you're there with her sometimes that's all that matters.
 
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#6
The thing is, she's not sleeping downstairs alone - I'm there with her. The sofa is two feet away, and when she does cry I have tried putting my fingers through the crate to stroke her and it calms her down but only for a moment or two.

I have, on occasion, given into her cries and let her out thinking she might need the toilet again, but she just plays.
 

JessLough

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#7
The thing is, she's not sleeping downstairs alone - I'm there with her. The sofa is two feet away, and when she does cry I have tried putting my fingers through the crate to stroke her and it calms her down but only for a moment or two.

I have, on occasion, given into her cries and let her out thinking she might need the toilet again, but she just plays.
Don't give into the whining. Giving attention or letting her out when she whines, just reinforces the whining.
 
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#8
Don't give into the whining. Giving attention or letting her out when she whines, just reinforces the whining.
Yeah, I agree. It's just sometimes difficult to differentiate between a cry to go toilet and a cry for attention. Also, her crying sessions last half hour at a time. Just looking forward to overcoming this stage in her puppyhood.

Also, when she's come in from relieving herself outside, she likes to play. Should I be entertaining this behaviour at all, or should I simply put her back into her crate?
 
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#9
I've always put the crate next to the bed. Sometimes I sleep on the floor next to it for the first couple nights. I do restrict water after 7-8 pm and by 9 weeks they're only out once per night.

Always on leash and they get a minute to go, if they look like they want to play around, they don't have to go that bad and back in the crate they go. If they do go, they always get extra time to play and sniff, even in the middle of the night. After a couple weeks, they know "go potty" means GO now.

I completely ignore crying. If I think there's a chance they might be crying to go out, after eating/drinking, been a while, etc, I'll take them out when they're crying, but I pick them up, leash them, carry outside and set them down and they get about a minute to find a place to go, if they don't I calmly pick them back up and back in the crate they go, we'll try again in 10 minutes or so. If they go, rewards and play time and come back in the house for more rewards and hang out time.

There is no interaction when i'm taking them out at this point, it's rather removed so they're is nothing to desire in it for them. At first they might think, oh yeah, this is great i get out, but they learn quickly enough that they aren't getting anything.

By the same token, when they're laying there being good, I randomly will drop in a treat or two and calmly tell them they're good. Screamin and I leave the room (day time of course) I've never had to at night. They usually have alway settled rather quickly when bed time comes around.

Screaming gets nothing fun ever. i've never had issues for more than a couple nights.
 

krissy

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#10
I am by no means an expert. My first puppy is just 13 months old now. However, this is what I do know which might help.

Dogs like to sleep with their people. My dogs always sleep in the bedroom with us, so Kili always had a crate in our bedroom. Now, I did not necessarily ever put it right beside the bed so I could touch her, but if I had thought that would help I certainly would have.

In terms of not knowing if she needs to go out or not... I can sympathize with that one. Kili had recurrent UTIs but it took a couple of weeks after we got her for that to become a consideration. If you're not sure if she needs to go out or not you should take her out. However, you do not want to reinforce the crying. So if possible wait for the slightest break in the crying before getting up and letting her out. Put a leash on her and carry her outside. If she eliminates praise her, give a treat, and take her back inside and put her back in her crate. If she doesn't and just tries to play, pick her up and take her back to her crate. My opinion is that you don't want to set your housetraining back if she might legitimately need to go. On the other hand, you do not want to reinforce her wanting to come out to play, so don't let her play. This is why I think it's really important for the puppy to always go out on a leash to potty.

That's just what I know/learned from having my puppy. Maybe it'll help. Hope you get some sleep soon. We had on and off sleepless nights due to those recurrent UTIs for about 4 months. Then things were good but only because she was kept on antibiotics. Finally she had surgery at 7 months and we've been golden ever since. But I definitely know what that lack of sleep feels like!
 

Fran101

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#11
This makes me feel like a mean person lol but I went through the same thing with my dog and honestly.. I just ignored it.
Get wax earplugs and wait it out.. eventually she will learn that whining doesn't work and learn to sooth herself and sleep.

I don't like to get puppies into the habit of sleeping with me in sight or sleeping with me (because it's not something that I plan on doing with a dog) ..so from the beginning we work on sleeping alone (with potty breaks of course)

Also, toys in the crate (kong with peanut butter) and stuffed animals or the radio playing sometimes helps :)
 

*blackrose

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#12
I've done different things with all three of the puppies I've raised.

Sadie: I started off sleeping on the floor next to her crate in the living room. I'd take her out to potty about four times a night when she'd wake up. Then straight back to the crate. If she whined a little, I'd stick my fingers in the crate, but other than that I'd ignore her. Gradually started to move to the couch when she had fallen asleep, then from the couch upstairs. She always got a treat when we kenneled her and she always had a chewbone. Worked well for her.

Chloe: she did NOT like to be crated. So I had an expen (well, actually a gate across a small opening formed by my bed, bookcases, and wall, but essentially an expen) alongside my bed. She didn't feel like she was closed in as it was open to my bed, so she didn't have a panic attack. I just lined the area with a water proof bed liner encase she had an accident (which she didn't), and we went about our business. Worked well for her.

Abrams: I had his crate at the foot of the bed the first few nights. When I first put him into the crate he threw a FIT. It was a tantrum, and I was going to have none of that. I opened up the door, grabbed him (startled him), and told him he was fine, shut up, lay down, and go to sleep. He did. When he would wake up whining, I'd take him out, then straight back to the crate. When I would take him out I wouldn't talk to him, wouldn't acknowledge his presence besides some mild praise and a pat when he'd pee outside. It was a strictly go-pee-because-you-have-to trip, not a super special awesome trip. All further whining got ignored.
After the first few nights I moved him out to the living room. He still liked to throw a fit first thing when being crated (howling/whining), so we would crate him a bit before we went to sleep to give him time to wind down and go to sleep before we headed to bed. It helped him settle down when he realized we were still there and weren't leaving him. If he would wake up whining in the middle of the night, I'd take him out to pee, then straight back to the crate. If after I put him back in his crate he started to throw a fit, I was not above telling him off again like I did that first night. He'd shut up and lay down.
We were on the trail end of crate training (he would still whine a little bit first thing at night as protest and first thing in the morning when he had to go out, but did fine when we had to leave him) when Mike left end of July...so he would have been...12 weeks? He's 23 weeks now and is perfect. No noise, no fuss, just calm.
I always gave him a super special awesome treat whenever I crated him, even during those night time trips, I NEVER let him out of the crate when he was whining besides strictly-potty-walks, I always made sure he had a chew bone to occupy himself should he desire and I was not above startling him out of a tantrum when he threw one at night. (He is also a very soft dog, and being verbally stern is very meaningful to him.)
Also, during the day, we'd feed him in his crate and work on crate games. We also crated him when we needed puppy free time, and he quickly learned that if he settled and shut up, he'd get released faster. lol
Considering my success...I'd say that approach worked well with him.

So....in sort, do what works best for you and your dog. As long as you aren't reinforcing bad behavior (crying in the crate) and you aren't making her averse to her crate, you're good to go.
 

Southpaw

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#13
Juno was a screamer for about 3 weeks. The first few nights the crying was ALL NIGHT LONG, by the 2nd and 3rd weeks it wasn't that bad... but still, took a few weeks before she finally gave up and learned to be quiet through the night. I put toys and Kongs in her crate with her, but it wasn't until she was truly comfortable being in her crate that she ever even touched them.

The crate was in my bedroom, just so she didn't disturb the rest of the house. I don't think it comforted her at all to be in the same room. And I actually never let her out for night time potty breaks (well, I won't say never... it just wasn't a routine thing). Last trip outside was at about 11pm or midnight, and then we'd be up at 6am.

You just gotta ignore it. I would go to bed listening to my ipod, and let my music drown out her cries - I can fall asleep with noise, I just couldn't sleep with THAT noise :) Listening to music was much nicer than listening to puppy cries.
 
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#14
Thanks everyone. I ended up ignoring her and it worked a treat after a day or two. She now sleeps from 12 - 7 (give or take half hour) without making a squeak.

Now, I do have one other issue I was hoping to get some advice on. . .

She's ten weeks old now, and generally, she's a really great dog. Smart as a whip. House trained, knows how to sit, give a paw, lie down. However, she sometimes gets into a mood where she's very bitey.

I've tried a lot of things that have been suggested by friends and family. Done the whole replace my arm, hand, foot with one of her toys and praised her for chewing that instead, but it only lasts a second before she wants to sink her teeth back into me.

I'm sure she's only playing when she bites me and my partner, but with her needle-like teeth, it HURTS. I have scrapes and scratches all over, and if someone didn't know better, they'd swear I was a self-harmer.

How do I stop her from biting me?
 

gapeach

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#15
When our Gracie went through that stage it was tough. I read if you squeal ( like a littermate would if she hurt them) and then ignore her, play time is over for awhile, eventually they get the message...biting is bad! This worked for us.
 

mxxmic

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#16
I had a female Labrador Retriever puppy once when I was little, and she cried in the middle of the night for the first couple of weeks. Looking back at it now, I regret not knowing any better.

I like gapeach’s advice about your puppy’s crying and biting. I would also like to suggest letting her play with other puppies and dogs in a dog park if possible. Then, if she bites them too much or too hard, they will let her know, too, and she will definitely get the message.
 

Whisper

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#17
Thanks everyone. I ended up ignoring her and it worked a treat after a day or two. She now sleeps from 12 - 7 (give or take half hour) without making a squeak.

Now, I do have one other issue I was hoping to get some advice on. . .

She's ten weeks old now, and generally, she's a really great dog. Smart as a whip. House trained, knows how to sit, give a paw, lie down. However, she sometimes gets into a mood where she's very bitey.

I've tried a lot of things that have been suggested by friends and family. Done the whole replace my arm, hand, foot with one of her toys and praised her for chewing that instead, but it only lasts a second before she wants to sink her teeth back into me.

I'm sure she's only playing when she bites me and my partner, but with her needle-like teeth, it HURTS. I have scrapes and scratches all over, and if someone didn't know better, they'd swear I was a self-harmer.

How do I stop her from biting me?
What works for a lot of puppies is when she bites you too hard, to make a startling yelp, then walk away. The goal is to make sure that the puppy realizes if she's too rough, then play time is over. Encourage her to play with her toys and make sure she has lots of things to chew on. Bite inhibition is something puppies would ideally learn from their littermates, but some pups need some reminders, especially if they are taken away from their mom too early. Labs by nature can be mouthy little ones, so this is something you might have to work on for a while.
 

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