Night-time blues !

[Jay.doyle]

Help !
Just got a lovely new Cocker - SIMBA - only 10 weeks old first night home he did not cry slept in kitchen in dog bed, 2nd night he cryed, howled, barked yapped.etc..  got himself into a right state  ...
Gave in last night after trying hot water bottle... ticking clocks... radio on.. etc...  feel really bad letting him get so upset...  how long should you leave it before going too him ??  he just wants to be in the same room as me...  should I just give up and let him sleep upstairs                    

[Michelle_S]

Poor you!!
I can really sympathise as Harry (now 16 weeks) cried and cried for his first 4 nights it was absolutely heartbreaking to listen to - we tried all the usual things which you have obviously done as well, clocks, radio etc etc.  
On the 5th night I had bought a DAP diffuser (a plug in thing like an air freshener which is supposed to mimic the mothers pheremones and calm the dog) and Harry slept from 11 til 7 - when I woke him up by checking that he was ok
Don't know if it was this that did the trick, or the fact that we were really determined that he would sleep downstairs and did not go down to him. I was told by my vet that she had never known a dog not to settle in 2 weeks doing this, but it is REALLY difficult not to give in. You have to just do what works for you and your family.

Good luck!                    

[*Jay*]

It all depends on where you want Simba sleeping long term. If you dont want him in the room with you, then you will have to persevere and not give in to him. By all means, go down and let him out if you think he needs to go but just praise him once he goes and its straight back to bed with  the minimum of fuss. If he is really bad during the night, then I would definitely consider getting a DAP diffuser. On the other hand, if you dont mind the idea of him sleeping in your room, then take him upstairs. Its just down to personal preference. I have two in/on the bed and one in a crate beside my bed                    

[Tricialane]

Max was just the same.  He's six months now and I've almost forgotten that awful noise.  He cried all night for the first couple of nights, then for just a little while when he went to bed for the next few nights.  It wasn't long before he just moaned a bit when we put him to bed and now he is as good as gold at night.  He sleeps in a crate and we cover it with a blanket at night.
It is awful and you feel really mean to leave him but if you decide that you want him to sleep downstairs then just persevere for a while and he will get the hang of it.
Good luck and hope the sleepless nights dont last too long.

Tricia and Max                    

[T]

We had Charlie-Spud at 8 weeks and know just the feeling! Yes we had the crate, night light, radio, sock bundle & hot water bottle & just to make ourselves feel even worse ... the baby monitor!! And boy did he make some noise for such a little fella ... and we could hear that without the monitor!!!!!
We perserverd as we wanted him to have his own area downstairs but it did take a couple of nights for him to settle. We also did hourly visits purely for toilet training to start off with, slowly extending the time to 2 hours, then 4 hours etc. over the weeks, regressing back an hour or so if mistakes happened, but he got there!
It will get better!                      

[Jay.doyle]

Thanks everyone for your advice. It does make us feel a little bit better that its not just our cocker that is naughty at night!!!!!  
We persevered and insisted he slept in the kitchen last night, as that is where we want him to sleep long term. The only thing we did differently was to leave a low light on. He was fantastic. He woke me at 4.00am howling, but I didn't think until this morning that he may have needed the toilet. He slept until we got up at 7.00am!!
We're just keeping our fingers crossed that this will now be the norm....we will keep you informed.

Jason, Alexis & Simba                    

[Karen]

Well done - you're doing all the right stuff! It just takes a while for them to get used to a new home etc. I leave a dim light on in the kitchen and the radio on low and that seems to work ok. They're all the same - they'd all love to sleep cuddled up to us I'm sure but you've got to have your own space too!                    

[Ally]

Its just like having a new baby (human) and getting into a routine. Put them down and leave them to cry and they will soon learn, thats what the midwife used to say. When Louis used to howl I couldnt sleep and I would get butterflies in my tummy. Now at 4 months we get the occasional noise, but it only last a couple of minutes and hes quiet again. He likes to try it on. I overslept this morning (7:30 ) so he had to give me a good morning howl.

Ally