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The basics:
Puppy is nine weeks old. We just completed night 5 here last night, each night a little worse than the one before. Puppy sleeps in a crate in the kitchen. The wife is a light sleeper and could never tolerate having the crate in the bedroom. I've been sleeping in a chair about 20 feet from the crate so the puppy can see me, and I can hear her.
The first two nights she went outside for the last time at 10 PM then into her crate. (I'd rather we put it off until 11, but by 10 every night she's literally falling over dead.) She made no fuss. She woke between 1 and 1:30, no crying or whining but I heard her shuffling around in the crate so I took her outside to do some business. She went back to the crate and awoke calmly around 6 AM. That was the 1st two nights.
Starting on night 3 she didn't awaken in her crate until 3:00-3:30, and we went out to do our business. This time when putting her back in her crate, she yelped, whined, cried, and shrieked for TWO SOLID HOURS. Not little sobs, but full on freakout stuff, climbing the crate walls and wailing loudly. I ignored her and pretended to be asleep, though obviously I wasn't. She quieted about 5 AM, and woke up calmly at 6 AM. Night 4 was a virtual repeat of night 3. Last night was the same, except this time she literally never calmed down after the 3 AM trip outside and just went nuts until 6 AM, when I had no choice but to get her out to start the day. At this point I was considering having a nice Wasabi Puppy stir fry for dinner, but then she put her dumb fuzzy little head in my lap and fell asleep, and I decided to spare her.
So, I'm guessing that this isn't completely unusual, but what should I do? My choices seem to be:
1. Just continue what I'm doing. She'll get over it.
2. Continue the same schedule, but quit sleeping where she can see me. Maybe if I'm not visible she'll not spend so long trying to get my attention.
3. Don't wait until she wakes on her own after 3 to take her out. Get up at 1 or 1:30 and wake her up for a potty trip. Maybe if she's not so rested she'll be more inclined to settle back in like she did the first two days.
4. Don't take her out at all. Leave her in the crate and see what happens. She's never messed in the crate so who knows how long she can go?
5. Hire a professional dog trainer to move in and handle this while I take the wife on a long cruise. Return in 6 months when this has blown over. (If suggesting this option, please feel free to make a PayPal deposit into my account in amounts of $500 or more.)
Which one (or combination) would be the best course? I'm inclined to try either 2 or 3 (or 2 AND 3). What would you do?
Puppy is nine weeks old. We just completed night 5 here last night, each night a little worse than the one before. Puppy sleeps in a crate in the kitchen. The wife is a light sleeper and could never tolerate having the crate in the bedroom. I've been sleeping in a chair about 20 feet from the crate so the puppy can see me, and I can hear her.
The first two nights she went outside for the last time at 10 PM then into her crate. (I'd rather we put it off until 11, but by 10 every night she's literally falling over dead.) She made no fuss. She woke between 1 and 1:30, no crying or whining but I heard her shuffling around in the crate so I took her outside to do some business. She went back to the crate and awoke calmly around 6 AM. That was the 1st two nights.
Starting on night 3 she didn't awaken in her crate until 3:00-3:30, and we went out to do our business. This time when putting her back in her crate, she yelped, whined, cried, and shrieked for TWO SOLID HOURS. Not little sobs, but full on freakout stuff, climbing the crate walls and wailing loudly. I ignored her and pretended to be asleep, though obviously I wasn't. She quieted about 5 AM, and woke up calmly at 6 AM. Night 4 was a virtual repeat of night 3. Last night was the same, except this time she literally never calmed down after the 3 AM trip outside and just went nuts until 6 AM, when I had no choice but to get her out to start the day. At this point I was considering having a nice Wasabi Puppy stir fry for dinner, but then she put her dumb fuzzy little head in my lap and fell asleep, and I decided to spare her.
So, I'm guessing that this isn't completely unusual, but what should I do? My choices seem to be:
1. Just continue what I'm doing. She'll get over it.
2. Continue the same schedule, but quit sleeping where she can see me. Maybe if I'm not visible she'll not spend so long trying to get my attention.
3. Don't wait until she wakes on her own after 3 to take her out. Get up at 1 or 1:30 and wake her up for a potty trip. Maybe if she's not so rested she'll be more inclined to settle back in like she did the first two days.
4. Don't take her out at all. Leave her in the crate and see what happens. She's never messed in the crate so who knows how long she can go?
5. Hire a professional dog trainer to move in and handle this while I take the wife on a long cruise. Return in 6 months when this has blown over. (If suggesting this option, please feel free to make a PayPal deposit into my account in amounts of $500 or more.)
Which one (or combination) would be the best course? I'm inclined to try either 2 or 3 (or 2 AND 3). What would you do?