NO Sleep!!!

Ladydame · Jul 18, 2006

I posted in puppy forum about this situation, but the fact I haven't slept more than 4 hours in the past two nights is not helping. I have a 6 week old German shepherd female (I know it's too early, but didn't realize that til I got her home) We're crate training her. She WON'T stop crying. It's all night. I finally broke down and started crying. I'm a nurse and keep working and not sleeping. The puppy is fine as soon as she is out of the crate. I can't possibly keep letting her out for most of the night. I've already been scolded on another forum, but I have her and want to the right thing. I crate trained a basset hound, although different, I'm ready for the challenge. The accidents aren't a problem as bad as a lack of sleep. I felt that some of you understand and could help. Her crate is near the TV, has two stuff animals and a blanket, what else could I possibly do?
Thanks,
Sleepy

Bailey+Ralph · Jul 18, 2006

How about putting a Kong in there, stuffed with something yummy, that would take her a while to get out?
Like Peanut Butter.
May keep her occupied for a while.

julieandchili · Jul 18, 2006

I opted to crate train my pup too.....he's now 14 weeks and still hates his crate.

Is the crate in your room with you? Maybe you should move it to another room and put a radio on in the background.
For yourself....lol....a nice soft set of ear-plugs.

Before my little guy goes in the crate, I make sure to take him for a nice long walk/run, and play with him a bit. My idea is to tire him out so he will sleep.
Toss an old t-shirt in with him, one that smells like you. Even better if you can get an old towel or something that smells like his littermates.
Get a special treat that he only gets for crate-time, and give that to him each time you put him in there.
Just a few ideas. I hope you get a good night's sleep soon.

Fran27 · Jul 18, 2006

There's lots of topics on crate training if you do a search.

At this age, the best is to leave the crate in your room. Either way, if you keep letting her out when she cries she will never stop crying. So, ignore her.

My two were both crated at night until they were 7 months. They hated it at first, stopped crying after a couple week until the morning, and now they will both go sleep in their crate during the day when they want to have a nap.

It just takes patience.

girlbuffalo1 · Jul 18, 2006

crying

Wrigley tried that for the first couple nights we got him.....after we made sure it wasn't for potty or whatever we moved his crate in the garage when he started crying (it was spring and the same temp as the house)...he must have not liked that as the crying stopped after we moved him in there about twice.....

Also a blanket over the crate may help.

whatszmatter · Jul 18, 2006

The more you let her out for crying the more she's going to do it in the future because it works, it gets her out of the crate. Some dogs take longer than others to get used to it, but there really is no magic pill for it, they all cry to some degree and when they've already been let out for crying, they tend to do it more.

DanL · Jul 18, 2006

We spent the 1st week with our GSD doing shift work like we had an infant (which a pup really is). Finally after a week of misery, we said enough, crated him, had the crate in our family room which is the farthest room away from our bedroom, and went to bed. We still got up every 3 hrs to let him outside, but no more coddling when he would whine. It didn't take more than a week and he was quiet. It may sound mean, but if you relish your sanity, you might want to give it a try. Even a GSD pup is smart, they get the concept pretty quick. By 10 weeks old he was sleeping thru the night, not even bathroom breaks were needed, though he was let out at midnight or 1am and then again around 5:30am (I'm more of a late nighter, so I did the last bathroom run, my wife gets up real early for work so she did the mornings)

Ladydame · Jul 18, 2006

thanks guys. Ya'll have made me feel a lot better. I'm going to buy some ear plugs tonight and hopefully I will do okay. I guess I'm more worried about a neighbor that complains about us all the time anyways. I just went to the post office (a 15 min trip) and she wasn't crying when I shut the door or when I got home. I just hope she does it at night tonight. I'll let ya'll know how the next few nights go. Thanks again and I'll try all your suggestions.

Herschel · Jul 18, 2006

Ladydame said:

Have you tried moving her crate closer to your bed? Maybe she is crying because she is afraid, and just leaving her in there alone will make her more afraid?

I agree-don't take her out if she cries because that just reinforces the crying. However, I think you can make her more calm just by letting her be able to see/smell that you are there to keep her safe.

Our puppy cried for the first night in his crate until we moved the crate about 2 feet away from the bed. After that, we just moved it farther away each night. (That was at age 8 weeks, now at 15 weeks he is completely house trained)

His crate his a very positive place for him. In fact, we leave the door open now and he sleeps in there whenever he gets tired during the day.

Roxy's CD · Jul 18, 2006

I know a lot of people suggest crate training for help in housebreaking at nighttime, but I didn't.

Hades had his own bed right by ours. He was crated if we went out but that was it. At night time he went to his bed and he *always* slept through the night, he's still to do this day never had an accident at nightime. Well, I lied he had the poops once, ONCE! LOL

ROxy was put in her crate at night time right beside my bed. FOr the first week was horrible. But I never gave in. Once I would speak to her, "Roxy enough! Go to sleep!" and than I ignored, she evenutally figured it out and went to sleep.

You have to stay strong! Don't give in! If you give in now it'll be more trouble in the long run. Make sure that before you go to bed he gets a nice long walk to tire him out as well.

Tired puppies whine, but they fall asleep fast!

Keyfairy · Jul 18, 2006

when i crate trained Loki, i kept his crate on my bed with me, and he slept all night, but i had a pretty big bed so that might not work w/ a smaller one, or bigger crate

also, putting stuff that smells like you in the crate will help...put lots of it!
also, start feeding and giving lotsa treats (maybe hide them in the corners, and blankets etc...to make it fun in the crate if you don't already, cuz that makes them associate yummy things w/ the crate.
hope that helps!!

barnabus · Jul 19, 2006

Ladydame said:

The first few months with my basset hound puppy were an absolute nightmare. I remember nights where I was lucky to get 2 hours of sleep. Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer helped me immensely. http://nathan111.agkatz.hop.clickbank.net I was very surprised that this book actually worked for me, as bassets are particularly stubborn, and I had been through all of the books about training basset hounds. I can't recommend it enough.

Tinaweena · Jul 19, 2006

When I got Boone home, we put up with the crazy crying for 2 nights before we were both ready to go insane.
The third night we moved the crate into our room and he still cried.
The fourth night we left the crate door open, and he found a piece of blanket that was hanging onto the floor from our bed and slept there quietly until he had to pee then he cried again and we took him outside, no petting, just outside at 4am (in november, it was snowy and cold man housebreaking in the winter sucks!) and then right back into our room, and he went right back to the piece of comforter on the floor.
The fifth night, mommy got smart. I picked every bit of anything comfy up off the floor (we have hardwood) and left the crate door open again, we put him in there, heard him get out and walk around. Eventually, he found he would have to sleep on the hardwood! So he didn't like that and wandered into his crate on his own where the only soft spot was. So that night we left the crate open again and he slept in there on his own.
Sixth night came, same routine, but after the 4am potty break I put him back in the crate and closed the door SUCCESS!! No crying, no whining, and he went back to sleep till it was time to get up.
This really worked well for me, make him crate the only comfy spot to sleep and he will, puppies seek out a nice place to nuzzle in and feel comforted.

laneyandme · Jul 19, 2006

when we got our puppy, we first tried the crate, but she was too young and couldn't handle it emotionally. it's true. i can't remember the age, but your puppy might be too young. we had to leave the crate in out living room open durning the day. eventually she went in to it on her own. it was a slow process. i'll look up information about the age and send it later.
also , we had a difficult time sleeping at the beginning too. if fact, it caused tremendous relationtial stress in my home. we just had to work through it.
maybe your puppy isn't used to YOU enough to handle the stress of confindement.

Ladydame · Jul 19, 2006

Well some progress noted! Last night we moved the crate into our room. She cired for about 10 min. every two or three hours. One time I let her out, we still had an accident, but i actually slept more than 2-3 hours and it was quality sleep. Tonight I plan to put treats in there, and some old shirt or something. I guess I just forgot what it's like to have a puppy my basset hound is so self-efficient. Thanks for all your help. P.S. When will her bowel movements started harding up?????

tinksmama · Jul 19, 2006

good idea to put the crate next to your bed, at 6 weeks, she's just still so lonely,I'm sure... and if she fusses, and the crate is right nest to you, you can sort of drop a hand down next to her bars, so she can sniff you or lick it, you don't even need to be very awake for this! It won't last, if she learns to be quiet with your presence near her, she'll sleep through in no time!

laneyandme · Jul 19, 2006

Hi.
i was just taking a shower and i was thinking about your situation. you know, 6 weeks is early. your poor puppy is used to sleeping in the safety of her mother and litter mates. to sleep alone is totally unsafe for her. in the wild, it would mean death. a slow transition here might help the puppy. we kept our puppy in bed with us for a little while. i would wake up every time she moved, but that's life with a 7 week old puppy. let her know YOU are there. what trama to lose your mom and siblings in one day.

laneyandme · Jul 19, 2006

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraning.html

states that puppies under 9 weeks should not be crated. they are too young. this site has useful information about crating puppies. and i know there's another site....

Herschel · Jul 19, 2006

Ladydame said:

Glad you're making progress!! If she cries every 2-3 hours, it is probably because she has to go to the bathroom.

When we first got our little guy he was 8 weeks and for the first week I was up every 2-3 hours with him. He would cry in his crate, I would open up the door and then ask him if he has to "Go Out?" and carry him towards the door and take him outside to go to the bathroom.

A week later, I would let him run after me on his own instead of carrying him. Now (at 4 months), he sleeps through the night and waits for us to shower/get ready before running and sitting by the door.

BlackPuppy · Jul 19, 2006

My breeder worked on crate training before I got the dog. A good breeder will ask you if there's any imprinting you'd like done between 4 and 8 weeks.

Otherwise, put a blanket over the crate and ignore it. I'd get up at 2 am and take the puppy out for a potty break. Any other crying was ignored. (I also put pee pads in the crate to help, because there were accidents.

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