Puppy very distressed at night

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cazz_mm
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2010 4:44 am

Puppy very distressed at night

Post by cazz_mm »

Hi,

We got a puppy from rescue a few days ago, he is (we think) a bull lurcher and is about 17 weeks. He is ok during the day and we feel that toilet training is going quite well, he is a cheeky lively pup, but we would expect that at this age! The problem is that he screams the house down at night, it takes about an hour for him to settle down. And then if anyone gets up to go to the bathroom at night, it wakes him and he starts all over again.

I am worried that his distress might be making him create a negative association with the room we have designated for him to sleep in, which, admittedly is really tiny, but we don't want to leave him in a bigger room until he can go through the night without toileting.

I was wondering whether this might be a consequence of him never being away from his litter brother until he was 17 weeks and being born in kennels, I'm not sure how much human contact he got other than being fed and cleaned out (I know he was never walked).

I do have a small crate (won't last long as he grows), but he gets distressed when in that, even when he can still see us and is given a treat. Does anyone have any advice, or do we just stick it out as he will settle down in time? (which we are happy to do, we just don't want to make it worse!) I did have a blanket in bed with us last night to put in with him tonight, so he has our scent - is that a good idea??!

Thanks!
Wicket
Posts: 739
Joined: Mon May 03, 2010 11:36 pm

Re: Puppy very distressed at night

Post by Wicket »

This recent thread might answer some of your questions about crate training. If this doesn't help, you are welcome to ask more questions! :)
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***Melissa***
Posts: 1026
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:30 am
Location: Mafikeng, South Africa

Re: Puppy very distressed at night

Post by ***Melissa*** »

Please read the link on crate training Wicket posted :wink:

A blanket or old T-shirt with your smell is great :wink:

Is there a specific reason why you can't have him in your bedroom (for now)? He isn't used to being alone (he was with his littermates), and it is a huge change for him. Being in the same room as you may help him settle. If you prefer not to have him in your bedroom permanently, you can move his bed/crate slowly further and further away from your bed, then out the bedroom, then to where you want it. If you are fine with sharing your bedroom with him permanentely - that is fine too :D

During the day - work on crate training him (with door open at first).
There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Ben Williams
cazz_mm
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2010 4:44 am

Re: Puppy very distressed at night

Post by cazz_mm »

Thanks both - We are working on the crate at the moment to get him used to it. The main reasons we didn't want him in our room is because we don't want poo in there (!!) and in the future we don't want him in there as a rule (not just at night). We would be willing to try it tonight - is he likely to wake us if he wants to go out?
Thanks
emmabeth
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Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:24 pm
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Re: Puppy very distressed at night

Post by emmabeth »

Crate him in your room at night - he will start moving around and making low level noise before he actually messes in the crate so you should wake, take him out with minimal fuss and then back to bed/crate.

It will take you a few weeks but then you can gradually move the crate out and back towards the room you want him to sleep in.

Personally - a bit of poo from time to time in the bedroom is INFINITELY preferable to a dog learning to scream his head off all night or whenever you are gone - the former is a habit much much easier to fix, the latter is a very common reason dogs end up back in rescue.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
cazz_mm
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2010 4:44 am

Re: Puppy very distressed at night

Post by cazz_mm »

emmabeth wrote:Crate him in your room at night - he will start moving around and making low level noise before he actually messes in the crate so you should wake, take him out with minimal fuss and then back to bed/crate.

It will take you a few weeks but then you can gradually move the crate out and back towards the room you want him to sleep in.

Personally - a bit of poo from time to time in the bedroom is INFINITELY preferable to a dog learning to scream his head off all night or whenever you are gone - the former is a habit much much easier to fix, the latter is a very common reason dogs end up back in rescue.
Thanks, I think we will try this tonight... and a bigger crate is on it's way!! :D
cazz_mm
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2010 4:44 am

Re: Puppy very distressed at night

Post by cazz_mm »

Yay - we had a much better night last night, with pup in our room!
tinytwo
Posts: 241
Joined: Sat Jun 19, 2010 11:22 am
Location: Central California

Re: Puppy very distressed at night

Post by tinytwo »

That's good news!
Just remember, he's in a new place, with new sights, sounds, smells and people, so it's a big adjustment. It's very different from what he's used to, but, he'll settle in! :)
Congratulations, by the way, on your new puppy! Enjoy!
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