PIPPINS 1ST NIGHT... TELL ME IT GETS BETTER????
We had our first night last night in the crate, and it was a NIGHTMARE! First we tried the big crate downstairs(with divider in place)- his barking was so loud, resounding off the hardwood and14' ceilings, we had to terminate that... our my sister who sleeps downstairs would have revolted! So we put him in his carrier upstairs in our bedroom, and proceeded to be tortured from 9:30pm to 4am. The crate is a great size for him, I had it up on my cedar chest at the foot of our bed so he could see, hear, and smell us. I put a blanket over the crate, and a warmed (NOT HOT!) bed buddy in with him. He whined, cried, dug, hacked, and peed (even w/ 3 potty breaks). What am I doing wrong here????? Any ideas any body? He did get a treat when he went in, and only got let out when he was quiet. Lots of praise going in w/ the treat, no scolding- only a firm "Pippin" when it was really atrrocious. I finally gave up last night and put him in bed with us at 4am, where he slept like an angel... HELP PLEASE!!!!! Mike and I need our sleep! |
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| that sounds like our "memory of Fergie" we lost her at 6 months but when we got her we tried the crate. NO GO... but when we put a bed on the floor in our room, it worked.!!!! she just did not like the crate at night. Shw slept saoundly on the floor next to our bed with hubby's hand hanging out. Never a accident either. she would wake him to go out.
Just Us, so keep on reading more posts with help |
| You're doing all the right things, he just needs time to adjust. They're pretty much peeing machines at that age. Add in nervousness and there's no avoiding an accident! I know I've mentioned this before, but I'll never forget the day that Clyde peed on the carpet, I took him outside, he peed and I brought him back in. I gave him a treat, put him in his crate so I could clean up the first mess and he peed in his crate. Just as I ran to try to stop him, he sat down in it. I swear the baths were never ending that first month.
On the plus side, it does get better, I promise. I know you'll hear that a million times and it does nothing to make you feel better now, but it really will get better! |
| I really don't think he would have liked being up on the chest at all.
I would suggest putting the crate on the floor beside your bed so you can still touch him without getting out of bed. It will get better! 
Do you have a ticking clock? Putting that beside the crate might help, he is used to hearing heartbeats all around him while he sleeps |
Quote: Do you have a ticking clock? Putting that beside the crate might help, he is used to hearing heartbeats all around him while he sleeps
That is SUCH a cool idea - I'm anxious to see if it helps. |
| His crate needs to be his happy place. Feed him every meal in it, with the door open, and hide special little treats in there for him to find when he goes in there, with the door open. Leave some toys in there for him to discover. I used to take some kibble and tie up a rag with the kibble hidden it it, so puppy has to take it all aprt to get at it. Very tiring for a small, little fellow. Also, wet some small rags and freeze them. He can chew on them when you need him to chew on something. Give him these fun things in his crate, with teh door open, during the day.
Night time means sleep, and he should be very TIRED when it is bed-time. Have some heavy duty playtime right before bed-time. When he cries during the night, he goes out to go potty, then back into his bed. No taking to him (except to say "go potty" or whatever word you want to use, no playtime, nothing during the night. I would also restrict his fluid intake after 8 o"clock at night, to help him stay dry at night. Last potty-time around 11:00 (yes, in your nightie) then to bed. By 10 weeks or so he might be sleeping all nite, as when they sleep everything slows down, so they do not build up urine. But as soon as he is awake you must RUN to the door. Good luck! |
Yup...cant add anything....but I think Stacey is right, put the crate on the floor with a ticking clock...we did that for Panda...magic.....once you start the bed thing, its going to be hard to break....unless you want that..  |
| You've got all the right advise....just stick to it and you'll be okay. The clock really does help, too. I know it seems just awful the first few nights, but it really does get better.
And don't feel too bad about giving in....I did too once or twice.  |
| How did last night go? Any better? |
| Well,
We're on night 3 now, and it is getting a little better. Our bed is VERY high- it's a four poster, and the mattress tops off at about 3 1/2' so there's no way either of us would be able to reach the crate whenever he started to whine... So we put him in the little bed room next door. He's gotten a lot better- he only cries for about the first 15-20 minutes after we put him in, then he goes to sleep. He wil cry if he wakes up, or continue to cry if he hears anyone moving around near him, but it is much, much better. Potty breaks at 12am and 3am. We don't have any kind of ticking clock, and we've gotta call a halt to out of pocket spending (long story short, not counting pip's cost we spent over 1k this last week  thats WAAAYYYY to much for our budget) so going out and getting one is out of the question. Anyhow, it seems to be getting better slowly, but surely. Thanks for the encouragement!
Today is his first day in the downstairs crate for more than 4 hours... I'm getting that guilty puppy mommy feeling in my stomach, but there's no help for it I'm afraid! Hopefully, we'll be able to get somebody over Thurs and Friday to let him out and give him lunch while Mike works his full day shifts! I need a nap  |
Bosley's mom wrote: His crate needs to be his happy place. Feed him every meal in it, with the door open, and hide special little treats in there for him to find when he goes in there, with the door open.
I second that! We have special "steak" treats that Bailey only gets when he goes in his crate. As soon as we touch that container, he runs to his crate. I also used his crate for toy storage at first - I would pick up all the toys and toss them in, so he would have to go in and get what he wanted to play with. He's a year old now and the crate is definitely "his". Since you guys both work, I would really encourage you to stick with it. It's comforting to know that he can't get himself in any trouble while you're out of the house. |
| When Fred first came home we kept his big crate in the kitchen and a travel crate bedside for nighttime. He would wimper/and bark a bit at night but, then he would nod off. It's really tough. We had some trying nights. He is whimpering because he misses the warmth an security of his littermates.
One of my Vets suggested putting him in the bed but, my husband wasn't/isnt comfortable with that. I respected my husband's feelings. Anyway, eventually i moved the crate to a spot where if I opened the door a bit he had a small space to sleep on the floor between my bed and dresser. (he was probably about four months when I did this) He was able to hold his bladder a bit better at this point. Finally, I just removed the travel crate altogether and got Fred a bed. The clock also sounds like a fabulous idea. Good Luck and Let us all no the progress. Use everyone here as a support system. |
| It does getter better! And it doesn't take all that long...
I found my pup to be a pee pee machine as well...and what we realized was he was whining and barking and sometimes howling in his crate because he had peed in it and was sitting on wet blankets...so be sure he isn't whining or barking because he has to go out and/or if you have blankets, etc in the crate, be sure they are dry... In the morning I would pick up my pup and get him outside as quick as possible. If I let him walk there, he'd go on the way...and in the very beginning, at 8 weeks, he sometimes did pee pee every 15 minutes! Just little piddles at a time... I also restricted his water by 8pm and kept a daily log of the time he went and found it became almost like clockwork...certain hour just pee pee and others pee pee and poop...it took us a while to get him to do both together outside in one trip... Also, pup may go quite a few times in the morning...so if he makes a piddle outside, don't rush him in so quick! Another is probably coming! Happy to say by ten weeks he was sleeping all night with no crying and no accidents...hang in there! |
| If you or your spouse doesn't want a dog in the bed, DO NOT LET YOUR PUPPY IN THE BED EVER!
Pippin now sleeps in bed with us (ok, I occasionally boot him out halfway thrught the night) and is never in his crate. I don't mind too much, except when I've got 80 lbs of sheepdog pawing me in the back! Stay strong puppy owners, and stock up on nap time, you'll need it those first few weeks |
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