Labby Pup Question

[Molz_25]

Hi All,

I have noticed just recently that our lab pup takes a while to settle down after we take him out to toilet and do his business at night.

He has never use to do that and would just whine a bit and fall back to sleep. Now I've noticed that it is getting harder for him to settle down at night after toileting. He barks and whines for quite a while and needs someone to actually sit with him until he falls asleep for about 30-45 mins

Is this normal?

Does anyone have any ideas about how to get him to settle down without all the commotion?

FYI - he is now just over 10 weeks old. He always calls us at night when he needs to go out to toilet.

Thanks

[Jasslyn]

Hi All,

I have noticed just recently that our lab pup takes a while to settle down after we take him out to toilet and do his business at night.

He has never use to do that and would just whine a bit and fall back to sleep. Now I've noticed that it is getting harder for him to settle down at night after toileting. He barks and whines for quite a while and needs someone to actually sit with him until he falls asleep for about 30-45 mins

Is this normal?

Does anyone have any ideas about how to get him to settle down without all the commotion?

FYI - he is now just over 10 weeks old. He always calls us at night when he needs to go out to toilet.

Thanks

I'm definitely not an expert but I can tell you what works for my 10 week old pup, and what also worked for my 2 year old dog when he was a pup.

From what I've seen, dogs don't want 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep like we do. My young pup is happy to have an hour or 2 of good sleep and then he wants to play for an hour or two. And then he wants to sleep again. That doesn't change just because I want to sleep. So when I get him up at night to go potty, we go out, he does his business and then he gets put back in his crate with a few quiet toys. He's allowed to play in there but it's alone play. I go back to bed. If he whines, I ignore it as I don't want him to learn that crying and carrying on is the best way to get what he wants. The first night we did this, he cried for about 30 minutes, and loudly. Second night he cried for 15 minutes, then 10 minutes, now he just finds his toy and plays by himself.

I suspect that by sitting with your pup until he falls asleep you're creating a bigger problem for yourself. I do understand how hard it can be to be hard-hearted when they're so cute and needy

ETA: My older dog can now chill out for the whole night while I sleep. I hear him move around during the night when he needs to get more comfy but he's learned to have 6-7 hours of down time at night with me. Other dogs I've had that slept outside would be found playing outside at 2am, because they could do that without disturbing the family.

Edited April 5, 2009 by Coll

[Lab lady]

I was going to say pretty much what coll has said, puppies sleep when they are tired not by the time on the clock, it's about training now.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

my pup is 18 months old and has been sleeping through the night since she was 5 months old. when she was 3-5 months old i would wake her and take her out because i didn't want her to whine and then i would let her out in case that caused problems later on.

so maybe take the pup out before he whines then put him back in the crate when he has finished and leave him alone. dogs need to learn how to settle themselves.

[Molz_25]

my pup is 18 months old and has been sleeping through the night since she was 5 months old. when she was 3-5 months old i would wake her and take her out because i didn't want her to whine and then i would let her out in case that caused problems later on.

so maybe take the pup out before he whines then put him back in the crate when he has finished and leave him alone. dogs need to learn how to settle themselves.

Oh you are lucky with your pup!

When I use to wake him during the night before he whines, we still encounter the same problem. He will still whine and bark just the same.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

my pup is 18 months old and has been sleeping through the night since she was 5 months old. when she was 3-5 months old i would wake her and take her out because i didn't want her to whine and then i would let her out in case that caused problems later on.

so maybe take the pup out before he whines then put him back in the crate when he has finished and leave him alone. dogs need to learn how to settle themselves.

Oh you are lucky with your pup!

When I use to wake him during the night before he whines, we still encounter the same problem. He will still whine and bark just the same.

i know it is hard but ignore him and keep ignoring him and he will stop whining. once he realises that whining gets him nowhere he will stop.

[bozthepup]

You probably already have an idea of how many times the pup needs toilet during the night, but go wake him up before he wakes you up. We used to wake our boy up and he was groggy enough that after he went toilet he would still be tired so settled down again. A few times he looked like he wanted to play but we quickly popped him back in his crate or laundry and he seemed ok.

[Schnauzerlover]

Try to ignore, its hard I know. I have just got my little mini schnauzer girl Scarlett (she is bold ). She is almost 10 weeks. They have to learn important lessons now about living in your house. I am sure everything will work out.

By the way, here's a pic of our little Miss Scarlett

[Molz_25]

Try to ignore, its hard I know. I have just got my little mini schnauzer girl Scarlett (she is bold ). She is almost 10 weeks. They have to learn important lessons now about living in your house. I am sure everything will work out.

By the way, here's a pic of our little Miss Scarlett

How cute is she!!

He's been pretty good lately and we have left him on his own when he comes in now. Only in the mornings if he wakes up really early we just put a treat in his crate for him and he'll eat that until he's tired again. Sometimes he will go toilet 2 hrs after we put him to bed and he won't wake up until 5.45-6am. It depends how much excitement he's had for the day too. Just waiting until he is ready to start short walks. That should tire him out a bit. He's had his 12 wk vaccination already.

[luvsdogs]

I didn't have any trouble with April or Sooty when they came to live with us & I didn't use a crate for either of them. When I got Tilba a year ago I used a crate. She was older than the other 2 & used to being in a crate. She was good for the 1st couple of weeks but then she starteed to muck up. If it was up to me I would have let her go which I did for a couple of nights but oh & son were annoyed with her disturbing their their sleep when they had to work early. I eventually let her sleep where the other 2 sleep/slept & she's been good ever since, well almost.

So the moral of the story is, don't go to him, ignore, ignore, ignore.

[Molz_25]

Hi,

Just a quick update. He has been good for the last couple of nights. Then he started barking when we brought him inside after his dinner. He started barking for 30 mins (which has never happened before). Then when he was taken out for a toilet he came back inside barking a bit and whining. Oh dear...seems like we've taken a step back.

[bozthepup]

Try to ignore, its hard I know. I have just got my little mini schnauzer girl Scarlett (she is bold :rolleyes: ). She is almost 10 weeks. They have to learn important lessons now about living in your house. I am sure everything will work out.

By the way, here's a pic of our little Miss Scarlett

How cute is she!!

He's been pretty good lately and we have left him on his own when he comes in now. Only in the mornings if he wakes up really early we just put a treat in his crate for him and he'll eat that until he's tired again. Sometimes he will go toilet 2 hrs after we put him to bed and he won't wake up until 5.45-6am. It depends how much excitement he's had for the day too. Just waiting until he is ready to start short walks. That should tire him out a bit. He's had his 12 wk vaccination already.

He is such a cutie Molz !! Not when he barks though I'll bet. If he's barking at a time when you can put him back outside, I'd suggest maybe that. We used to put him out and shut the curtains so there's no lookies and he shut up soon enough. His reward when he stopped barking was to come back in and he got pretty good at realising. It's a bit never ending when they're this age !!! If it's not one thing it's another - but the cuddles are your reward !!!

[bobchic]

TOUGH LOVE!!!

The other night we stayed somewhere new and Mr Fluffy was put in a strange bathroom.. For the first time ever he cried and whigned for over an hour!!

My BF wanted to go and get him and bring him to the room.. But I said NO!! lol...

He settled down in the end and everything was fine.. You just need to let them cry and not give in..

Dont be concerned about your neighbours or anything... Im sure they will be fine with a few nights of yelping vs years of yelping whenever your out and cant rescue them lol..

And dont think your puppy wont like you because of it.. My bf gives my puppy HEAPS of play time and attention all day long. But when I come home he follows me around and wont play with my BF as much lol... Even though I give tough love...

Your puppy will always LOVE YOU!!!

Good luck!!