Author Topic: Will we ever sleep again???  (Read 5625 times)

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Offline Rae & Marty

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Will we ever sleep again???
« on: October 29, 2003, 12:23:26 PM »
Hi everybody,

I am new to the forum and have another question re sleeping at night.  I have read previous posts and all are very helpful.

We have a nine week old blue roan called Woody, who's gorgeous.  We started off using a pen at night and leaving him all night, not returning.  He objected to the pen, howling and crying all the time and pawing at it to escape, which he finally succeeded in doing.  Since then we have decided to leave him in the kitchen with newspaper on the floor etc.  He crys and howls constantly, scratching and scraping at the door and floor, again we have tried not to go down to him but have failed on an odd occassion when the noise would have the street awake.

I have been trying to ensure that he is asleep in his bed before leaving him, usually taking 30 minutes on the floor, cuddling him etc. to get him to sleep, in order to get an hour of quiet.
I am wondering how do other members put the puppies to bed.  Do you just close the door and let them cry or do you try and get them to sleep first.

I read that usually after a couple of days they will settle and sleep through or nearly through.  We leave the light on, radio etc. but no joy.  He has been crying / howling for 10-12 days or so now.

Thanks for any help or advice you can offer.                    

Anonymous

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2003, 12:54:38 PM »
Hi Rae and Marty

Welcome to the board :)  Sorry to hear of the problems you are having with Woody at night :o  I am no expert, but, I would personally would not cuddle etc till her falls asleep.  I think this causes more anxiety, cos he thinks he should be worried about being left, due to the fuss being made of him, if that makes sence ::)  I have had a rescue GSD who suffered terrible with seperation anixety, not saying this is what Woody is suffering from, but it is behaviour that needs to be ignored :)  Woody is very young, he probably misses his mum and littermates.  Have you tried the radio?  

I know it seems tough, but you need to persivere with him, it will eventually get better :)

Good luck with it, and can we have some pictures of the little darling please ;D

Emma and Indie                    

Offline Anita

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2003, 02:16:14 PM »
Sorry to hear you're having a bad time of it with Woody ::) I agree with Emma though. It doesn't help by cuddling him to get him to sleep as I think he wakes up and expects you to be there.

I made this mistake with Phoebe and after a couple of nights we had to just lie there and ignore her. It took a week but now she goes out to the toilet last thing at night and then goes straight to her bed in the kitchen.

If you want him to sleep in the kitchen long term you have to perserver!

Try a DAP diffuser - it might work!

Good luck.                    
Anita

Offline Loraine

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2003, 04:37:30 PM »
In answer to your question yes - you will sleep again!  ;D  But those first few weeks are awful and I can completely understand how you're feeling having had two new puppies within the space of a year.  (trust me just because there were two dogs didn't stop the baby one making noise!  ;) )  My nerves were shot through!   :(

It doesn't feel like it now but he will eventually settle down but you have to be quite consistent and as Anita says, if you want him to sleep in the kitchen longterm you have to get him into the habit of doing so NOW while he's still young and try your best to ignore him.  I've found that puppies progress so slowly that you don't always notice and then before you know it you'll be saying, remember when Woody used to scream in the night or remember when we used to come down to puddles and poo!  :) It just takes time.

You could try a snuggle puppy.  I can't find the link for you to be able to order one online but perhaps one of the other members will find it for you or you could run the search in google.

Also, are you leaving a nightlight on for him so that it's relatively dark but not pitch black?  The ceiling light might make him stay awake for longer - just a thought.  I used a ticking clock for my first dog which was on top of her crate.  I think it helped as it sounds like a heartbeat.

Lastly, I give my dogs a piece of biscuit before they go to bed.  It helps me to be able to get out of the door and switch off the light while they are all engrossed in the biscuit! And they now associate bed time with something nice.   ;D

L x  :)                    
Loraine and Candy xxxx

Offline Mike

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #4 on: October 29, 2003, 04:54:38 PM »
Here's the link for snuggle puppies  :)

http://www.petpack.co.uk/shop-productdetai...0&ProcessType=2

Could definitely be worth a go if your pup doesnt settle - but I'd see if Woody settles of his own accord within a couple of weeks before splashing out  ;)                    

Offline Pammy

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2003, 05:27:17 PM »
Welcome to the world of puppy ownership ;D As has been said - you will sleep again - but it might just not seem like that right now ;D

Did you just put him in the pen or have you allowed hims to suss it out and make it his own space first? He needs to know it's a nice place, not somewhere he gets put and then left alone. Give him some nice bedding, toys and feed him in it. Leave the door open so he can come and go. Also think about putting the crate either in or just outside your room. Most puppies will settle very quickly if they are in your room. Both my boys did. They still sleep in a crate at night but I've never had a problem getting them to settle in it - they love it and see it as their space.

At 9 weeks old your puppy is facing many new things and you need to persevere with what you want in the long term rather than changing to try and make him feel better in the short term. If you do not want him to sleep in your room ever, then persevere with him in the kitchen If you don't mind him in your room, then let him sleep there, but not on the bed, unless you are happy for him to do that when he's fully grown ;D.

If you do let him sleep in the crate in your room, you can gradually move it to the door, then out of the room and then to the kitchen. I've known that work well for some people.

hth - and you will soon realise that he is sleeping through before you know it - honest ;D                    
Pam n the boys

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Offline Gilly

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2003, 05:40:13 PM »
I can't say much more than all the good advice already given  ;) except to say I used a Puppy Playpen for Buttons and I found mine invaluable. I also used mine during the day for the times when I was too busy to keep an eye on her or she needed a break from the kids  ;)
Don't worry tho all this is completely normal and there is light at the end of the tunnel  ;) :)

Gilly                    

Offline GarryJ

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2003, 06:03:33 PM »
I agree with what has been said above, but I would stick to the crate at all costs, the benifits are immense with toilet training.

I have put a nice soft pillow in the pen with some toys, try having one dangling from above so he can paw it. I find that my little one who is twelve weeks sleeps right through from about 11 -7 and never soils.

Feed him in it and let him howl, eventually he will realise that howling is not going to work and you can nip that behaviour in the bud.  

Once he views it as his space then he will enjoy the experience of being inside.

Good luck, I got my little one at six weeks and I thought my god what have I done as he had me up at 3am every night crying for the toilet but now he is as good as gold.                    

Offline GarryJ

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2003, 06:04:50 PM »
Oh and I would also cover the pen in a dark sheet to keep out light, I feel this gives them an enhanced feeling of security                    

Offline *Jay*

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2003, 07:25:50 PM »
Quote
He has been crying / howling for 10-12 days or so now.

Vegas howled for 23 nights(so looks like I still hold the record ;)) and I calculated that he was quiet for approx 1 hour per night - and even then, thatw as made up of 10 mins here, 5 mins there ::) Oh, I'm supposed to be reassuring you here am'nt I ;) ;D I tried all the usual alarm clocks, poece of my clothing, favourite toy, hot water bottle, radio and nothing worked. I ended up buying a DAP diffuser and the results were instant - a full nights kip at long last ;D Obviously its not guaranteed to work but i know of a couple of people who have used it for this purpose and had the desired results too. When I got my latest pup, he slept in a crate beside my bed from day 1 and i haven't heard a peep from him except on the first night when he whined a little bit. I just stuck my finger through the crate so he knew I was still there, and he settled back down straight away. He had a blanket, soft toy, a snuggle puppy in with him and I covered the top with another blanket.                    
Dallas ( 10) & Disney ( 9 )

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Offline Rae & Marty

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2003, 07:51:48 PM »
Thanks everybody for your help and advice.  We will try some of the suggestions and see if he settles.  We'll let you know how we get on.

As requested, the 'little darling'.                    

Anonymous

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #11 on: October 29, 2003, 08:50:39 PM »
;DShe is certainly a "little darling" how beautiful that little face is ;D  It's hard to believe such a sweet little pup can make such a terrible racket ;)

She is just adorabbbbllllllleeeeeeee mwah mwah mwah to her ;)

Is she blue roan or black n white its hard to tell when they are puppies? (well it's hard for me)

Emma and Indie                    

Offline LindaW

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2003, 01:24:05 PM »
Emma I think you will find that Woody is male ???

He really is lovely looking  and I do hope things settle down for you soon (there is nothing worse than lack of sleep) - can't offer any more advice than that which has already been offered. :D                    
Linda
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Jodie, Pippa, Daisy, Lolly, Gem, Tigger, Butty, Fanny and Coco!

Anonymous

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #13 on: October 30, 2003, 02:09:42 PM »
:-[ :-[Oh i'm so sorry Marty and Rae and little Woody of course ;)  My head is up in the clouds at the moment i think ::)

My nickname used to be woody ;)  Many moons ago :D

He is so adorrrabbbllleeee 8)

Emma and Indie                    

Offline Shirley

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Will we ever sleep again???
« Reply #14 on: October 30, 2003, 08:08:46 PM »
What a cute face.  Woody looks full of mischief  :D  I never actually counted how long Morgan howled for but it was definately longer than a week or two.  Luckily I was off work for the first six weeks that we had him so I could get some rest through the day.  He only really settled down when we started allowing him to sleep outside the bedroom door rather than in the kitchen - they are little monsters aren't they!  :D                    
Shirley, Morgan and Cooper
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