Is leaving a dog to cry at night cruel?

[bertiesslave]

My 9 week old puppy has a crate in a puppy play area.  He happily sleeps in the crate, and although he'll ask to go outside to the loo, he's also happy to do his business in the play area.

During the day we have left him in the crate and he's happy to stay there for an hour or so.

At nighttime he crys and crys and crys.  I think we should leave him, but my husband either goes to him or asks me to go to him which I think just reinforces the crying because he's quiet and sleeping when he can see me (I don't interact with him at all I just go into the room and sit near the play area).

If I keep going to him will he ever settle at night, or should I be leaving him to self settle?

Any advice gratefully received.

[Catty_G]

A hard one to answer as people have different ideas about that and what one person may think is the right answer about the subject another won't.  So my personal opinion is not really relevant,  but here is a link from the dog listener about puppies crying and if you scroll down to the black spaniel there are tips on overcoming the crying. 

http://www.doglistener.co.uk/puppies/puppy_crying.shtml

Hope that helps you & your pup

[elaine.e]

Hello and welcome to COL

It's a difficult question to answer as everyone has their own views. I've had 4 Cocker puppies over the years and one of the easiest was the one who spent the first few nights sleeping in a bed in a pen next to our bed. When he woke a friendly hand would reach down and touch him gently to give him reassurance. After a few nights he was confident and settled and his pen was moved down stairs into the room where our adult Cocker slept. I think we left newspaper down at night for the puppy (so long ago I'm not sure). He was very quick to learn to go outside to pee and poo in the daytime and once he had sufficient bladder and bowel control he stopped using the paper at night.

My other easy one came to me from his breeder already used to a crate so I tried leaving his crate downstairs from the first night. He was amazing and barely cried. I got up in the night to let him in the garden and settle him down again afterwards and he just went back to sleep. He was the easiest pup to train for everything. He came from a breeder who had done a lot of socialising and training with the litter, who were all very confident and very relaxed puppies.

My most difficult was my now 5 year old Louis. He loathed his crate and eventually I tried a pen instead, which helped. He used to settle fairly well at bedtime, but was very restless during the night and would poo and pee and lay in it then scream the place down. I never seemed able to get to him in time to let him in the garden before an accident, and as a one person household, the endless nights of washing a poo covered puppy in the small hours were exhausting. However, he eventually started sleeping better and was then able to hold on for longer.

I don't like leaving them to cry for a long time. I think they need some reassurance in order to settle away from their littermates and the best way is to quietly go to them and stay until they settle. Keep it all low key so they don't think it's playtime, so no lights on, no toys, just quiet closeness until they settle.

[Patp]

Just a couple of things I did with Jinley when I first had her.

Her crate at night was like a den covered over to make her feel secure.  I borrowed a ticking clock and put it in a sock in her bed (supposed to sound like puppies heart beats) and also had a battery night light in the room so that if I did come down to her there was no interaction or bright lights to wake her up properly.

She was the last to go from her litter so I am not sure if it made it easier or not.  There is no one answer to your question, but your pup is still a baby and must be missing his brothers and sisters.

Good luck!

[lescef]

Hi. I take it that you have only had him for a week so he's still adapting. We've obviously been very lucky -all four of our cockers have settled quickly.
I don't think I would leave him to cry but I don't know what to suggest, other than you going into the room but only when he stops crying (if only for a second). Also, have you played with him before you go to bed so that he is very tired and ready for sleep?

[bertiesslave]

Thank you for the replies.

I think for a little while longer I will continue to reassure during the night, and then if I think reassess in a few days and if he's looking like he's milking it leave him for longer.

Bedtime routine is food at 7ish, garden play until 8ish, then plays in the house until 9.30ish, then crawls into his cage and sleeps until 11ish, then cries until 6amish, then has breakfast, play, then falls asleep at 8am until about 1ish!!!

We have day and night wrong!

[lescef]

I don't know what other think and do, but I used to wake them and play with them at about 11pm for half an hour or so, (providing he's not so tired you can't wake him)  At least that way you might get a few hours!

[biotechpete]

We had a bit of trouble with Chilli crying when he was a puppy. One bit of advice we were given was to not enter the room until he stopped but really he heard us coming down the stairs so would always be quiet before we got there.

After some time of his crying weighing on our consciences,  we decided to move his crate next to our bed. It worked a treat! Then we gradually moved the crate away, bit by bit.

[LurcherGirl]

Sorry, I have a more clear cut answer than most here...    Yes, personally I think it is cruel to let a puppy cry at night. They are just coming away from their litter and mum which is all they knew up to then, they are tiny babies in a new environment with new people, smells and noises and they are a sociable species by nature... and we then shut them away at night as soon as we get them. I feel that their anxiety is quite serious and personally I would never let any dog (even less so a new puppy or a new dog) cry through the night.

So what I always do when I get a new puppy or new rescue dog is settle them in my bedroom in a crate. Both my puppies have slept through from day one and I have never had any noise at night, the same applies to the various rescue dogs that I have adopted over the years. If they were whining a little I could just gently assure them, and they settled right back. If they needed to go to toilet, then I'd know about it straight away and could take them out. Win win for both the puppy and the owner.

Once they are fully house trained, I remove the crate. In my case, they can then sleep wherever they like (except my own bed). Most stay in my bedroom on their beds, but my saluki for example tends to sleep in the sitting room or conservatory...

If you want your puppy to sleep somewhere else (ie. downstairs) I would keep him in your bedroom for a few days or weeks until your puppy is well and truly settled and gradually move him in his crate to where you finally want them. This is the least stressful both for you and the puppy.

PS. The same thing is now recommended with babies, to not just let them cry like it was recommended in the old days...