Dog Community

Puppy at night question

Posted : 3/6/2006 9:06:55 AM

We've had the puppy home for almost three days now but the nights are a small challenge. Roxy (her new name) will sleep for about 4 hours at a time, so I put her to bed around 11 and she's up around 3:30 am. She sleeps in "her area" which is in the kitchen and includes a crate, two pee pads, food bowl and a few toys. I do not close the crate door at night as I have found she will wake up and use the pee pad and will sometimes go back to sleep.
What do I do when she is crying at 3:30 in the morning? All she wants is attention and seeing as she has everything she could possibly need in her area should I go and check on her or should I just let her cry herself back to sleep?

P.S. I'll post pictures once I figure out how to resize them.

magilacudy

Posted : 3/6/2006 9:11:24 AM

I don't know if it is the right thing to do, but I will get up and go sit with the pups for a bit, just so they know that I am still here, and once they have had a little petting, I go back to bed and this quites them down. They just want attention, so thats what I do. They will get used it to, they are just lonely at this point.

spiritdogs

Posted : 3/6/2006 9:22:43 AM

Once I know my pup has been toileted and the lights are out, I ignore any barking or whining from the crate. I do keep the crate in my room, so the pup can hear that someone is there. For small pups, they may have to go outside once or twice in the night, but I just quietly place them back into the crate and ignore again. That way, you don't get a pup that wakes you in the middle of the night just to go play or get attention.

labcrab

Posted : 3/6/2006 10:11:34 AM

If you are certain that she is crying for attention and nothing else - you should ignore her. If you don't, then she will quickly learn that she gets what she wants if she cries. She needs to learn that nightime is quiet time - no playing, no petting, etc.

romeoharley

Posted : 3/6/2006 10:42:41 AM

Yes, I am sure she is crying for attention because when I go and check on her all she wants to do is play.

I'll try ignoring her tonight and see how things go.

dogslyfe

Posted : 3/6/2006 10:52:34 AM

romeoharley, be ready to ignore the ruckus tonight. I agree with the others, if the pup's needs are met and is only looking for attention you're going to want to deal with that now. However, the pup may try harder for a few nights to get your attention, so be prepared... and stay strong.

Once the pup learns that making racket gets it no attention or playtime, it should stop. Any time my dogs make racket at night I assume there is an emergency, and they gotta go now. You will be relieved to get to that point, I'm sure. Hang in there, and if you're sure the dog's trying to get attention now is the time to ignore it.

Lisa Riley

Posted : 3/6/2006 2:20:50 PM

Maybe you could try putting a radio on softly, she could hear human voices and may not feel so lonely. We keep ours on in our barn and I have also used it for my dogs.