New puppy owner seeking advice

[keabird]

Hi,

My wife and I just got a new 6 week old puppy and I had a question. After looking at all kinds of information on crate training, I am trying to figure out what we should do with the little pup at night. She is not used to the crate yet, and she cries whenever we are out of sight. The crate is in a second bedroom (home office) where I work. She cries long and loud when we put her in the crate and then falls asleep after 30 to 45 minutes. I have heard that if we were to come in and try to sooth her or scold her that it would only reinforce the crying. She then wakes in the middle of the night around 1 and then around 445-5am. Are these midnight wakings about potty calls or is she waking up and realizing she is still alone.

Would it be better to put her in the crate next to our bed or just keep crating her in the next room until she is used to it? Having her sleep in our bed or out of a crate are completely out of the question.

Any tips or advice on how to make this easier for our new addition would be great!

 

[Herschel]

6 weeks! That is really young to have a new puppy--how did you get her? How are you going to socialize her? Make sure she doesn't get nippy!!

Make sure she has tons of toys, a soft blanket, and a shirt that smells like you in the crate. It should be a very positive thing for her to be in there so give her a few treats.

1) Never scold a 6 week old infant puppy, there is nothing that warrants it (not even going to bathroom in the house).

2) If she cries in the crate, ignore it until she falls asleep. She should be comfortable in the crate. At night, keep her within arms reach of you so she can see that you are right next to her. Slowly move the crate farther away (a few inches each night). Keep the crate in your bedroom!

3) When she wakes you up in the middle of the night, it is because she has to go to the bathroom! If she has had any accidents in the crate at night, it's because you aren't taking her out enough. Expect to take her out at least 3 times in the middle of the night for the first couple of weeks.

4) How are you doing with potty training?

 

[moxiegrl]

Ditto ^^^

Definitly put the crate in your room at night. Keep it close enough to touch. Six weeks is really young to have a puppy...not sure the circumstances how you got her, so I'll leave it at that

Just make sure she gets lots of love and attention! Help her associate the crate with good things!

 

[bubbatd]

Agree..... a touch through the crate and hushing shounds should sooth her. She's an awful young baby .

 

[keabird]

Ditto ^^^

Definitly put the crate in your room at night. Keep it close enough to touch. Six weeks is really young to have a puppy...not sure the circumstances how you got her, so I'll leave it at that

We got her from a breeder of working BCs. He said that 6 weeks was the time to let her go. What is a normal age for puppies to leave the litter and go to new homes? She was the first to go, out of 10 puppies. The breeder was going to keep all the others for work on his ranch, but he didn't need all of them so we got her. Thanks for the advice, we will keep the crate by the bed and invest in some earplugs so we can get to sleep!

 

[dogsarebetter]

good luck

 

[MomOf7]

We got her from a breeder of working BCs. He said that 6 weeks was the time to let her go. What is a normal age for puppies to leave the litter and go to new homes? She was the first to go, out of 10 puppies. The breeder was going to keep all the others for work on his ranch, but he didn't need all of them so we got her. Thanks for the advice, we will keep the crate by the bed and invest in some earplugs so we can get to sleep!

First of all Howdy neighbor! There are a few of us Washintonians here! Actually one that lives up by you who does training. Otch1 is her screen name.
6 weeks is a bit early. There are many pro trainers who say 7 weeks is key. I say no earlier than 8 weeks. They need that time to learn from the other pups in the litter and to socialize.
Here is a site that has alot of good information.
http://perfectpaws.com/
I hope this helps you

 

[MK&C]

When we got Charlie, he slept in his crate at night too. After reading a few threads here, some people suggested to put the crate next to your bed to soothe them. Well, we tried it with Charlie, but he whined all night - much more than he did when he was in the kitchen. We where literally not going to sleep until the AM's, when we where going to bed at 10 PM. So we put his crate back in the kitchen. He immediately changed - he only whined for about 10 minutes before giving up. Now he doesn't whine at all. Try out everything, each pup is different. But, with such a young pup, make sure to get up at least 4 times during the night to let her out to go to the bathroom, and make sure she goes potty right before bed and right when she wakes up in the morning. Soiling the crate will be a huge drawback in house training, and you DON'T want that to happen!

We got her from a breeder of working BCs. He said that 6 weeks was the time to let her go. What is a normal age for puppies to leave the litter and go to new homes? She was the first to go, out of 10 puppies. The breeder was going to keep all the others for work on his ranch, but he didn't need all of them so we got her. Thanks for the advice, we will keep the crate by the bed and invest in some earplugs so we can get to sleep!

That is too young for a breeder to let their puppies go!!! Puppies should stay with their parents and littermates until they are at least 8 weeks old, the longer the better, some extemely devoted breeders even keep the pups until 16 weeks of age. That 2 weeks means much more than you may think, it is extremely important! The breeder was very wrong to think that 6 weeks is fine. Good luck with your pup. LOTS of socialization is a must so she doesn't become shy/aggressive/fearful as an adult.

I'm not trying to sound rude to you at all, it's just that I wish I could give some breeders a piece of my mind...

 

[girlbuffalo1]

I'd keep the crate

I'd keep the crate out of the bedroom--what if you put it in there and then decide to take it out and the whining happens all over again. If you want it to be in your bedroom then keep it there. Personally we have ours by the front door as it makes it easier for potty breaks ect.
I would think at 6 weeks that when she is cryings (twice a night sounds like) it would be for potty. So I would think she is doing pretty well for being so young and only crying twice a night!

 

[moxiegrl]

Dogs are social animals....puppies especially need to know someone is close! Of course all dogs are different...but him just knowing your there can make all the difference in the world.

Good luck!

 

[Caren+Bailey]

Hi

I would say that if she settles after a while, IMO i would leave her where she is already.
The wake ups are more than likely potty calls.......so take her to go potty and then put her back to bed (try not to make too much fuss of her in this time b/c she may then want to have some play time).

Good luck with her!!

 

[keabird]

Well it is almost two weeks later and I am stumped. We tried putting the crate in the bedroom and all that happened was that nobody got any sleep at all. Soothing and sticking my fingers in the cage only made the crying worse. Now we put the crate in a bathroom downstairs where we cannot hear her. Yes she still cries. Yes, it still sounds like some monster is murdering her. The only problem is that no matter how many times I get up at night, she soils her crate, even if she goes during the breaks. Plus, after the midnight potty runs she goes nuts once I get her back in the crate. She had to go to the vet today after a bee sting and they said she cried bad when they put her in their observation pen.

We have tried giving her the run of the bathroom, and letting her go in and out of the crate at will, but she cries as soon as the door is closed. Does anyone have any suggestions about the crying and soiling of the crate. It doesn't seem like it matters how many times I take her out. Also, can I assume it is normal if she pees 4-5 times in an hour, even without unlimited access to water?

 

[Herschel]

The crate is most likely too big for her if she is soiling it that often. For a puppy, the crate should be just big enough for her to turn around and lie down comfortably. Pet stores sell adjustable crates so you don't have to buy a new crate every few months.

I don't want this to come off as snide, but I seriously think she might be so scared all of the time because she left her littermates too early. I know a lot of people say that leave her in another part of the house and she will stop crying, but there are two different situations:

1) She is crying because she wants to get your attention so you will let her out--manipulation.

2) She is crying because she needs your attention because she is horribly lonely and scared without you.

For some reason, I think your case is #2. Leaving her in a different part of the house when she is lonely, scared, and needy just doesn't seem right to me. A young puppy is just as needy as a young child--I would be surprised if you could sleep 2 hours without having to get up. It will get better with time, but for right now, make sure you take her out at least 5 times/night.

 

[girlbuffalo1]

crate

The crate is probably too big--it should be just big enough for her to turn around and lay down in. The reason crate training works is that dogs generally do not want to lay in their own soil. When the crate is small enough they will hold it until they get somewhere to go so they don't have to lay down in it.
We bought Wrigley a huge cage as we werent' quite sure how big he would get. He was 4lbs when we got him at 10 weeks and we had it partitioned to around a fourth or less of the crate for him--he never soiled his crate except for twice when he was sick. Now he has full run of it but that is because he is 8months and hasn't had an accident for at least 4 months.
It is not normal to pee 4-5 times an hour even for a small puppy. I would say at 10 weeks Wrigley generally went around 6-8 times during a 24 hour period. 3am,6am,7am,noon,3pm,6pm,8pm,11pm generally somethjng like that.
I would suggest some soothing toys that she likes in there. Also you may try coving the crate with a blanket--sometimes that helps. Also train her to go to her crate on her own and then treat--it makes it more pleasant (only if she goes willingly and happily).

 

[keabird]

The crate is most likely too big for her if she is soiling it that often. For a puppy, the crate should be just big enough for her to turn around and lie down comfortably. Pet stores sell adjustable crates so you don't have to buy a new crate every few months.

I don't want this to come off as snide, but I seriously think she might be so scared all of the time because she left her littermates too early. I know a lot of people say that leave her in another part of the house and she will stop crying, but there are two different situations:

1) She is crying because she wants to get your attention so you will let her out--manipulation.

2) She is crying because she needs your attention because she is horribly lonely and scared without you.

For some reason, I think your case is #2. Leaving her in a different part of the house when she is lonely, scared, and needy just doesn't seem right to me. A young puppy is just as needy as a young child--I would be surprised if you could sleep 2 hours without having to get up. It will get better with time, but for right now, make sure you take her out at least 5 times/night.

I think it is #2 as well. The only problem is that she cries without stopping when she is in the room with us. I think she mostly doesn't like to be confined. We can't let her just sleep on a pillow because she seems to like chewing on wires. She definitely can't sleep in or on the bed with us because we dont want her to want that later. As for the crate, it is the smallest one we could find at the pet store. The space inside seems smaller than the space we end up with after partitioning our much larger wire crate.

As for taking her out 5 times a night, I am all for it, but when it came time to go back in the crate she will cry for another hour. Putting her through that almost seems more cruel than making her try to hold it for a little longer.

 

[girlbuffalo1]

crate

Does she have space to move around and walk around in her crate--I mean is there enough room for if you have 2-3 of her they would fit laying down--if so that is too big! It should be small enough that when she is sleeping or laying down there is hardly any floor surface showing--maybe an inch or two on each side. If it is this small I can't see why she keeps going potty in there if you are taking her out often.

I would keep her in the crate--she will have to get used to it. Do you play and exercise her and spend pleanty of time outside of the crate with her? I have heard they generally like their crates in public rooms (we have ours in our living room near the front door for easy potty access).

Letting her cry is not cruel. She WILL get used to it if you perservere. There were a few nights when we first got Wrigley that I knew he didn't have to potty and I actually picked up his crate and put it in our (heated just so you don't think I'm cruel) garage. I only did this 2-3 times--a couple hours in the pitch black garage and what do you know--no more crying ever! (unless it really meant potty)

 

[keabird]

I work from home, so I pretty much spend every minute of the day with her. Could this be causing trouble? Could she be so used to constant companionship that at night it is too hard? My wife and I have been walking her several times a day and playing with her when we can. Thanks to everyone for their help so far.

 

[girlbuffalo1]

hmm

I don't know if that could be the reason or not. I know with Wrigley he was at least home along crated from 8am-noon and then sometimes we could crate for an hour or so in the evening while we ate or whatever. Maybe try having her go in the crate for a half hour or so every so often during the day--I don't know if that will help or not but it cant hurt.

 

[Doberluv]

She's a very, very young puppy, an infant. You have tried many different things in a short time. That may be adding to her confusion and you're not giving enough time for anything to work. She'll keep trying as long as she thinks there's a chance. My advice is to put the crate in your room, put her meals and water in there so that's the only place she gets food during the day. Leave the door open so she can come and go without feeling trapped....at first. (but don't forget to supervise so you don't have accidents) When she falls asleep, close the door. Don't open it while she is crying. Wait for a lull. Make sure to take her out to potty every hour at least...unless she's soundly sleeping. Give a stuffed Kong for her to gnaw on. Never use the crate in association with punishment. (which she shouldn't have anyhow as such a young pup) Stick it out, don't change locations again. Don't stick your hands in or talk to her when you want her to quiet down. That will reinforce her crying. She knows you're there and that will, in time be enough. Remember, she is awfully young to be away from her littermates and Mom. She's in an adjustment period. Give her some time. You might want to use ear plugs when you need to sleep. Its just one of those things when you have a new baby....dog or human. LOL.

 

[keabird]

One thing I dont understand and perhaps someone could help me with is, why does everyone say to not use punishment in training for a 7 and a half week old puppy? By punishment I mean saying NO in a stern voice and not petting or praising for a couple of minutes.

Also, I just picked her up after a nap for a trip outside and she peed all over me. This is the first time she has done this. I have carried her outside after much longer naps with no accident. Is there a possiblity of some bladder condition or is this a normal puppy thing?