Question:

Puppy cries at night after several nights without crying?

Melissa R on Tonights.com - 2008-01-13 06:52:20 - Dogs

We have a 9 week old puppy who has had a hard t ime with crate training. I have followed the steps to slowly introduce the crate durign the day by establishing a positive association. He is crated for approximately 3 hours during the day and seems to be ok with it. I spent 4 nights in a separate bedroom (so not to disturb my husband) getting him to spend the night in the crate and letting him whine and ignore it. He did great and the frist 2 nights in our bedroom he did great, only whining to go potty. The past 2 nights the crying as increased dramatically and is more and more often. He only gets out when quiet and to go potty and then back to the crate. My dilema is that my husband thinks we should put him in another room and let him "cry it out" and we wont be disturbed. I am worried about emotional distress because he seems to have some separation anxiety. Should i give up on crating at night and use it only during the day, or try to let him cry it out in the other room?? HELP! I should add that the only reason we have him at 9 weeks is that he was a rescue. He and his 3 siblings were found in a river at 2 weeks of age and were taken in by a no-kill shelter. We have an older dog who LOVES her crate and prefers it over sleeping with us, so i don't think crate training is "mean". I was just unsure if i should let him cry it out or give in and let him sleep with us and only use the crate for a few hourse when i am at work.

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one thing we did was to put a bottle of warm water just alittle more warm but not hot, wrap it in a towel the puppy thinks it is his mother

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OH wow...9 weeks, he ought to still be with his mama and siblings...He NEEDS nighttime comfort...he is in need.of something..try letting him sleep/snuggle with you for a few nights, if he still cries, you may very well have a painful physical problem going on that a vet needs to address...My best to you...your furfaced baby and your hubbys sleep too!!

I hope this doesnt sound to discouraging but some dogs are worse than babies. They cry wehen they want to come in ect... But dont give up with repitition the dog will come to understand his ( or here routine) and become more accustomed to it. Our Dog whetted his crate the first couple of weeks we had him. ( this is when he was 9 months old!!!!) we got him from a shelter. And its even harder to teach an old dog new tricks. We however managed to tech our dog to go to a certain spot in the yard when he has to use the bathroom. It required alot of work. But all we did was mark it off with sticks and hay so he would know and then we led him down there the minute we took him out of his crate in the morning. Now he just knows and first thing in the morning he runs down there to do his business. As for your crate ? i would keep trying to put him in only at night or when he is BAD. Meaning incesent barking/ jumping on someone ( this problem is easily fixed with a spray bottle of lemon water) . Your husband is right up to a point. He is still a very young puppy so if this problem persists in a bout a month or two . Just enough that the dog is driving you out of your mind let him cry it out. it is also good to set some perameters for the dog so he respects you such as making it clear that he is not allowed in certain rooms in the house

one thing we did was to put a bottle of warm water just alittle more warm but not hot, wrap it in a towel the puppy thinks it is his mother

thinks you need a book to read and i dont think the crate thing is very nice way to treat ones dog or pet what i do think its a lazy way for trainning one you dont have time to teach one what to do..... and is way to young to be teaching anything yet... thinking best to teach that you are the one that love them and cares.... get a book about your breed of dog and that will help and remember everyone is differant but yet the same

ignore it just like a baby u give in they will expect ur attention when he is quiet praise him and give a treat if he whins ignore it try covering the kennel with a blanket give a nice stuff toy to snuggle with kong to chew on a radio softly playing

It could be possible that the puppy misses you, your husband, and the room or he could have a bad puppy dream. Nine weeks is a young age, though.When my dog was younger (he's 5 months now) my dad and I would wait until Lex was dead asleep before we went upstairs to bed. Now he sleeps in my dad's room, but sometimes when we leave him downstairs, he fights his way up.