Non sleeping puppy

[stgordon]

Hi, we pciked up our puppy one week ago his name is Freddy. He is extremely good at doing the toilet and always goes on the paper by the kitchen door. He is mild mannered generally fun. However we do have one major issue. He cannot settle at night. He gets very anxious and cries and wimpers all night. Last night he didnt stop for 7 hours. He is being kept in the kitchen, by the radiator, his bed is in a cage and we have tried both closing and leaving the door open he still wont settle.
He is keeping all in the house awake and id starting to distrub the neighbours, has any one any advice. We have tried the clock and radio trick but no avail.

Thanks in advance                    

[Dessie]

Hi and welcome

Have a read of this thread http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/forum/viewt...opic.php?t=3618

But if you have any further questions do let us know.                    

[gerry]

Hi Stgordon

We had the same with Rigsby, so you have my sympathy as I know how distressing it is.  We had howling and scratching from bed-time to dawn and were worn to frazzled wrecks through lack of sleep and stress. :cry:

If you really want him to sleep downstairs you will have to persevere.  We decided it wasn't actually that important where he slept, and after two weeks of hell took his crate up to our bedroom where he slept like an angel from then on.  We then progressed to moving his crate on to the landing and leaving our bedroom door open and he was fine.  Now he doesn't sleep in his crate and he has a bed in our room - he starts off there and more often than not we wake up with him on the bed with us

Cocker heaven, he's so cosy to lean on when it's cold - husband one side, dog the other!  :wink:

Hope this helps, and dont beat yourself up about your dog not being in the kitchen - there's no law to say this is where they should sleep!                    

[speedyjaney]

Hi There  
I think we were very lucky...we have two puppies both aged 6 months...they are both crated at night and since we brought them home (with just a week between them) we haven't been kept awake at all   ....Maybe it because we have got two and they comfort each other.
We did have a few whines and whimpers ij the early days which we ignored as we didnt want them to think we would come everytime they squeaked!!
As we have a cat we didn't want the pups upstairs so I am glad they like their crate in the smaller lounge we have designated the dogs room. If I were you I would perservere with the crate in the kitchen for a bit longer, but whatever you do dont go back in once you've put him to bed..he will soon learn that you might do this and will cry even more. I am sure eventually that he will settle....try a hot water bottle in a jumper with your scent on it to help soothe him...we did this at the very beginning and maybe this is why they were quiet!!
Good Luck and remember they are only baby puppies for a short while...it does get better!
Jane and Jessie and Saffi
x                    

[maureen]

We picked up our boy puppy (Cooper) aged 3 months 1 week ago, he has the freedom of the home all day, but at night or when I pop out for a couple of hours, he is put in the kitchen.  He is clean all day on paper in the kitchen, and can go for hours between going.  Our big problem too is his crying and yapping for us at night when we put him to bed in the kitchen.  The radio has been on in there since he arrived, he has a small light on and a hot water bottle under his bedding.  The worst night was the second night, since then he objects for about 30 minutes when first put to bed, now and again during the night and sometimes in the morning if I do not go in to him early enough for him.  Sad thing is, although he is clean all day, when he is put into the kitchen he messes everywhere....I hope he will settle soon and be happier...my husband will not allow him in our bedroom to sleep at night!                    

[Michelle_S]

Ooooh I can really sympathise with you on non-sleeping puppies and can recall horrible nights listening to Harry cry back in August in the height of the heatwave when we were all sweating with the windows closed (not to disturb neighbours) . I was determined that Harry would stay downstairs, not just for me, but also to provide a bit of space for our elderly cat and  to save him from the bedroom mess of 3 children :? !

Luckily for us it was only for about a week and then I bought a DAP diffuser which I think helped enormously. It's like a plug in air freshener thing which is supposed to mimic the puppy's mums pheremones and reassure and calm the puppy. I remember posting on the site about it and hoping that I hadn't been a twit to spend a fortune on something I couldn't smell and had never heard of! Fortunately some others had experienced good results from them as well.

It may have been a co-incidence, but that night Harry slept from 11-7 without a peep! and has done more or less since then. The diffuser lasted for about 4 weeks and I didn't replace it when it ran out.

I doubt that it would work for every puppy and we were also trying all the things that have already been suggested, but it may help!

Good luck!                    

[maureen]

thanks for that reply - last night Cooper slept without a fuss from mid-night till 8.30 this morning.....I found that if we play with him before he goes to sleep, which a friend said we should do to wear him out, he makes a big fuss.  If we can pick him up whilst sleeping, he settles in his bed and is OK....fingers crossed this will continue!                    

[maureen]

After 10 days of hell every night - Cooper is now sleeping without a fuss...before I was playing with him to wear him out and then putting him to sleep - I think perhaps he was too frisky and didn't want to settle...so now I let him fall asleep, take him into the kitchen where his bed has a hot water bottle under his blankets (not boiling but just warm enough to be comfy), the radio is on, a small light is on in there and because he then wakes up,I give him a tablespoon of milk - my theory being, that is the taste he would have had in his mouth from his mum!  Well it works!!!