Nighttime wailing/soiling

[totpotpink]

Hi everyone. This is my first post so we would like to introduce our beautiful little Mabel who is now 10 weeks old. She is a poppet by day but very demanding at night. She wails/ howls for most of the night in the utility room and also does what seems like 75% of her toiletting during nocturnal hours. We have tried a crate, a ticking clock, a hot water bottle, radio etc etc. We have to come down as invariably it’s because she’s has made a mess and we cannot obviously leave her in such a state. Any tips gratefully received as my husband and I are both pretty sleep deprived.

[Digger]

Hi there and welcome to this friendly forum.
Your poor little pup sounds scared.
When we brought our puppy home, I put her where I wanted her to sleep (she has a bed in a larger  pen in the kitchen with space for a stretch, toys and water bowl) and slept near her for the first 4 nights.  (I know-but read on) When she started to cry a bit, I didn't go to her, but I just made a few little  noises so she knew she wasn't all alone in the new strange place. By night 4 there was hardly a peep and on night 5 I went back to my bed.
 She has a routine -out for a wee at 9.30pm, then into her bed area for a milky bone biscuit, then into her bed and tucked in with her fleece blanket over her and a teddy to keep out the draught. (Don't tell anyone about the tucking in thing-I'll deny it...)
She's 8 months old now and we haven't had a single night of crying so it worked for us. I think she just needed some initial support while she realised it was ok to be in her bed alone.
I know some people get up in the night for toilet trips but I didn't want to do that. Because there was a safe area other than her bed that she could go in, we just put some paper down in there and she went on that overnight, and we just cleared it up in the morning without comment. Once she gained better control of her bladder etc she didn't do that any more either.
So, that's what we did and it worked for us. I'm sure others will be along soon with some other ideas that worked for them, and you can take your pick of what to try next!
Welcome to cocker works. Your life will never be the same!

[Digger]

...sorry-that was meant to say cocker world! Ps ours is a solid black too.

[Mudmagnets]

Toby (and all the others b4 him) slept in a crate beside my bed and like Digger I just put some newspaper down in the bathroom and cleared it and any mess up in the morning.

I was quite happy for them to sleep in my bedroom (they still do) and it was easy for me to hear them and I just told them to be quiet if they started up in the night. It didn't take them long to sleep through.

[Gazrob]

My dog sleeps in a crate in the kitchen I don't allow him to sleep in my bedroom only on rare occasions when there are fireworks going off which he hates.  Anyway he also howled in the kitchen for a couple of,nights but it passed so don't worry about it don't give in to the howling. Also using a crate stopped him from soiling the kitchen. He wouldn't soil in his bed so it's a good Way to house train your dog.

[Penelope]

We have a new puppy - he is 9 1/2 weeks old.  My husband sleeps on a hospital bed so I have the double bed to myself - with dogs!!  From the first night, Maximus has slept in a crate on my bed (I know it's not ideal for everyone!) and we haven't had any problems.  He whimpers if he needs a wee or poo, I take him into the wet room across the landing (no lights on and no talking to him at all) put him on a puppy pad, he does his business and I bring him back to his crate and he goes straight back to sleep.  He has a folded vet blanket at the end of the crate and I put a small blanket around him as I put him back to bed.  Not a peep.

Maybe you could have the crate next to your bed until your pup is more settled and used ot being there?  Then gradually move it away until eventually he is sleeping where you want him to be?

Good luck.

[Gazrob]

That's not a bad idea Penelope I had the crate just outside my bedroom on the landing close to my bed for a few days. Then I moved it to the kitchen. He got used to it pretty fast he now sleeps in kitchen no problem not a peep from him at all during night. He's now two. The odd time he has slept in my room he doesn't really settle he wakes up ever time I move. It's the only peace I get from him as he's with me the rest of the time.

[KeresleyKate]

Hi I had a really hard time training Arvy to go over night. It took ages and I got really stressed because of sleep deprivation. I tried getting up in the middle of the night but he just got earlier and earlier. Every puppy is different and we had to change tack several times. He had been in a large pen in the living room below our bedroom, next to the neighbours so we crate trained him (a large greyhound crate from a friend) and put him in the kitchen which we light proofed and it worked! Then when Arvy got to 6 months, just when everything seemed settled he started weeing in his crate. I read that dogs like to move about in the night so I left the crate open and it worked so he moved to his giant bed.
It is a strain, it took Arvy about a year to become fully house trained but he's 4 now and pretty wonderful, even if he is a bolshy little barker sometimes.

Good luck, you will  get their in the end and it will be worth it.

[Gypsysmum]

First thing to cover is how warm he is. Remember he has been used to sleeping on or under a pile of puppies. I always use a heated pad (whelping box type with armoured cable) for new puppies. This often solves the problem on its own.
Next is loneliness. Again your puppy has been used to being with littermates and mum. All the changes plus being lonely is too much in one go.
You could also try an Adaptil room diffuser. It mimics the smell of a lactating bitch and so comforts them.