OK, Ill try and be as detailed about this as I can. I am sure this is normal behavior, I just want to make sure my reactions to it are right.
Well, Sara, (now coming on 6 weeks) gets crated when a. we are not home, b. we cannot keep an eye on her the entire time she is out..(wondering puppy mouth..no good to shoes, furniture, etc.) We take her outside for about 5-6 hours in total during the day, and then night falls and the evil puppy comes out. She sleeps all day when she is in her crate. Then, she can make it through the night until about 4 in the morning. (this is keeping her up from 6pm till around 11 at night) Well, the thing is, once we get up at 4 am to let her out she will not relax again until around 9 am./ We take her out, she goes potty(she lets us know when she needs to go), then we come back in and she has to go again an hour later. She screams and howls in the kennel, then I take her out thinking she has to go potty. Well, the thing is I dont know if she is just going asgain outside to get out of her crate. I know that sounds awful, but heres the thing- when i take her out she goes quite a few times....urinate and defecating. I just dont get how she can go 6 hours without going, then all of the sudden she has to go every hour on the hour. I almost feel like she is howling to go out on purpose. Like, she goes because I bring her out. Because, she has proven she can hold it.
She is alone from 1230pm to 6 pm at night and we have not had any problems. She just howls to come out of the crate. I have toys in there with her, i filled a baby kong with pb for her, she absolutely hates that crate, and I have no problem putting her in there and leaving her, its just that the howling really gets under my skin. She upsets herself to the point of coughing. It sounds like we are beating her up or something lol. Its awful. So I am sure this is all normal, and I just dont even expect to get any sleep with her just yet, but my ultimate question is this:
Am I rewarding her by taking her outside when she is howling? She does go to the bathroom when I bring her out. I ignore it for as long as I can stand it, then I have to bring her out cause I feel like she is trying to tell me shes gotta go. So it kind of feels catch 22. I dont want to make her sit in there if she really has to go, but I also dont want to get her in the habit of going to the bathroom just to get out of her crate. its like she literally forces herself to get out just one drop everytime I bring her out and it makes me feel bad, like **** she really did have to go.
I just dont understand how she can go from holding it for 6 hours here and there to not holding it for more than an hour between goings from 4am to 9am.
I probably sound like an awful puppy parent, but just keep in mind I am grumpy and sleep deprived right now So I may be talking a bit out of stress and duress....
If it is normal, I can deal with it, if it is not how do I curb it. Thanks a bunch!
Well, Sara, (now coming on 6 weeks) gets crated when a. we are not home, b. we cannot keep an eye on her the entire time she is out..(wondering puppy mouth..no good to shoes, furniture, etc.) We take her outside for about 5-6 hours in total during the day, and then night falls and the evil puppy comes out. She sleeps all day when she is in her crate. Then, she can make it through the night until about 4 in the morning. (this is keeping her up from 6pm till around 11 at night) Well, the thing is, once we get up at 4 am to let her out she will not relax again until around 9 am./ We take her out, she goes potty(she lets us know when she needs to go), then we come back in and she has to go again an hour later. She screams and howls in the kennel, then I take her out thinking she has to go potty. Well, the thing is I dont know if she is just going asgain outside to get out of her crate. I know that sounds awful, but heres the thing- when i take her out she goes quite a few times....urinate and defecating. I just dont get how she can go 6 hours without going, then all of the sudden she has to go every hour on the hour. I almost feel like she is howling to go out on purpose. Like, she goes because I bring her out. Because, she has proven she can hold it.
She is alone from 1230pm to 6 pm at night and we have not had any problems. She just howls to come out of the crate. I have toys in there with her, i filled a baby kong with pb for her, she absolutely hates that crate, and I have no problem putting her in there and leaving her, its just that the howling really gets under my skin. She upsets herself to the point of coughing. It sounds like we are beating her up or something lol. Its awful. So I am sure this is all normal, and I just dont even expect to get any sleep with her just yet, but my ultimate question is this:
Am I rewarding her by taking her outside when she is howling? She does go to the bathroom when I bring her out. I ignore it for as long as I can stand it, then I have to bring her out cause I feel like she is trying to tell me shes gotta go. So it kind of feels catch 22. I dont want to make her sit in there if she really has to go, but I also dont want to get her in the habit of going to the bathroom just to get out of her crate. its like she literally forces herself to get out just one drop everytime I bring her out and it makes me feel bad, like **** she really did have to go.
I just dont understand how she can go from holding it for 6 hours here and there to not holding it for more than an hour between goings from 4am to 9am.
I probably sound like an awful puppy parent, but just keep in mind I am grumpy and sleep deprived right now So I may be talking a bit out of stress and duress....
If it is normal, I can deal with it, if it is not how do I curb it. Thanks a bunch!