Whining

[Envy]

Whenever I'm not with my new labrador he starts whining ive been told to ignore it but he starts to yelp etc and cry at night when he is alone he starts banging on his crate so i was worried he might hurt him self what should i do ?

[Dogsfevr]

I would get a kiddies night light.

We suggest to our puppy owners to either have the pup set up in the bedroom or if this isnt for them then the area set up to leave a low light on for awhile to give the pup a chance to not feel totally left & unsure.

Sitting on there own ,dark & no company can be overwhelming.

You certainly dont want to pander but by the same token one has to appreciate the pup has gone from company to being on its own

[Envy]

I would get a kiddies night light.

We suggest to our puppy owners to either have the pup set up in the bedroom or if this isnt for them then the area set up to leave a low light on for awhile to give the pup a chance to not feel totally left & unsure.

Sitting on there own ,dark & no company can be overwhelming.

You certainly dont want to pander but by the same token one has to appreciate the pup has gone from company to being on its own

thanks

i left the light on though so i thought he may be lonely and then i had to sit with him till 1 am. So would a night light be better?

should i take him out for a walk just before he goes to bed?

thanks again Showdog for the quick response

[Kirty]

Some people also recommend a nice, big snuggly teddy for the pup to cuddle and a heat pack (but of course you need to be careful the pup isn't going to eat it!). I'd take him out to the toilet before bed, then put him away. Before bed needs to be quiet time, just like kids.

[persephone]

How old is the pup? Where does he sleep/what bedding/ when is he fed/ what exercise is he getting?

babies need warmth and a full belly /empty bladder to be comfortable.

Do NOT sit with him. or go to him/speak/look to him when he is making noise. this is training YOU to come when he calls :D

A soft nightlight can be used, but I wouldn't.. dark = sleep.

if you know he is warm,. fed, emptied out, safe.. then IGNORE.

To Toilet train a puppy, he will need to be taken outside to toilet a couple of times during the night ..they cannot hang on all night, usually, and unless you want to train him that toileting indoors is a good thing..... you are going to have to lose a few night's sleep It WILL be worth it!!!

[TYLER23]

How old is the pup? Where does he sleep/what bedding/ when is he fed/ what exercise is he getting?

babies need warmth and a full belly /empty bladder to be comfortable.

Do NOT sit with him. or go to him/speak/look to him when he is making noise. this is training YOU to come when he calls

A soft nightlight can be used, but I wouldn't.. dark = sleep.

if you know he is warm,. fed, emptied out, safe.. then IGNORE.

To Toilet train a puppy, he will need to be taken outside to toilet a couple of times during the night ..they cannot hang on all night, usually, and unless you want to train him that toileting indoors is a good thing..... you are going to have to lose a few night's sleep It WILL be worth it!!!

A big thumbs up for toilet training with a crate. I'd never even heard of this with our previous dogs, but after a lot of reading we decided to give it a go this time round and so far so good. Pup has been with us for almost a week, NO accidents inside the house, and getting up twice a night to take him for a pee when he cries. Last night i was playing with him in the family room, then he went and started scratching at the back door... i thought it was a little strange, so i took him outside and he went to the toilet straight away... what a clever pup!

[corvus]

They are just wee little babies. We never had any problems with Erik, but Kivi was a bit younger when we got him and for the first few nights whined a fair bit even though he was in a crate in our bedroom. Unlike persephone, I did go to him and sat with him until he calmed down. Only took about half an hour all up out of the first night (over a couple of visits), another few minutes on the second night in one visit, and he was all good after that. He just didn't want to be all by himself. When he realised he wasn't he settled down and no more noise after that. I like puppies in the bedroom in a crate. They just settle nice and quick. Erik is sleeping through until 5:30am most nights at the moment and he's only 14 weeks. Kivi was sleeping through the night from 9 weeks.

[Envy]

How old is the pup? Where does he sleep/what bedding/ when is he fed/ what exercise is he getting?

babies need warmth and a full belly /empty bladder to be comfortable.

Do NOT sit with him. or go to him/speak/look to him when he is making noise. this is training YOU to come when he calls

A soft nightlight can be used, but I wouldn't.. dark = sleep.

if you know he is warm,. fed, emptied out, safe.. then IGNORE.

To Toilet train a puppy, he will need to be taken outside to toilet a couple of times during the night ..they cannot hang on all night, usually, and unless you want to train him that toileting indoors is a good thing..... you are going to have to lose a few night's sleep It WILL be worth it!!!

He is 11 weeks old now and he sleeps in the laundry next to the study(where i am for most of the night), he sleeps on a mat ( i forgot what there called ) but it is the same material as a potato sack but it has foam inside. I take him outside abuot every 1~2 hours for a 15~30 min run in the backyard

but the thing is when he starts making noises it turns into barks, and can be heard from outside

well i know he is warm because i cover him with his blanket before bed, i feed him approx 3 hours before bed and emptied out abuot maybe 30 minutes before bed? so should i still keep taking him outside every 3~4 hours?

thanks again for your help

[corvus]

I reckon when you take him out during the night, just for a few minutes. If he doesn't do anything within that time, back inside. No playing or running around. It'll just wake him up and make him harder to settle when you go back in, and you don't want him to get into the habit of expecting a run during the night.

ETA I wouldn't bother with taking him outside any less than every 2 hours during the night. Crates make this so much easier. They will let you know when they need to go out by crying or barking, then you only need to get up when they have to go. How long have you had him? Once he's used to sleeping in the laundry, you could stretch the times between visits as he will try not to mess where he sleeps. As a general rule of thumb, take how old the puppy is in months and add one and that's how many hours a puppy can be expected to hold it when nothing else like food or play is getting in the way.

Edited September 27, 2009 by corvus

[mrs tornsocks]

hi envy congrats on your new pup ! Do you have any pics ??

We have had two lab pups, and crate trained both of them. I really do recommend it - just to confirm, you have him in a crate, with the hessian bedding, is that right ? You should be able to get away with not taking him out so often, he will simply hang on. By 11 weeks, our pup was only needing one pit stop during the night and by about 14 weeks, none. All pups are different of course but the crate training really helped with toilet training.

We started our boy at 8 weeks sleeping in crate in the bedroom, then after 2 weeks or so, gradually moved him out to the laundry, literally moving the crate a metre or so a night after that, down the hallway and eventually into the laundry, where he still sleeps now at 6 months.

You just have to learn to let him whine/bark, otherwise you're creating a rod for your own back. They are smart little buggers ; if he knows that he makes a noise and you'll come pay him attention, he'll do just that.

In terms of the noise he makes while he gets used to being alone at night, we took our boy into the neighbours next door during the day and introduced him (all cute n fluffy) and apologised in advance in case he makes any noise - they were very understanding and his cuteness overwhelmed them of course - who could be cranky ?

[Joan of Arc]

Hi Envy congratulations on your new Lab baby. And remember he is exactly that, a baby. I endorse the idea of crate training but acknowledge that it is not for every one. However if you had a crate, then he could sleep in the crate in the lounge room, study or your bedroom. My theory is that he will sleep better if he is near you - after all you are now the head of his family and he needs to know that he is safe and secure.

Once he has settled in and has been a little better house trained then you can start to move the crate out of your bedroom or closer to the kitchen or laundry. Small steps slowly.

I would also put something snuggly in the crate with him, a warm blanket or even a cuddly toy like a bear etc. This would emulate his litter mates and he wouldnt feel quite so lonely in his bed.

You must also make going to bed (regardless of whether or not you use a crate) a positive experience. Again a crate will make this so much easier. You could put him to bed with a lamb shank bone, he will chew this for a little while and then probably go to sleep.

He will then wake up later in the night to toilet, he will whine to go out. You can take him out with out playing, use a training word - I have heard some use 'quickly' others just say 'do wees' etc. As soon as he had achieved his goal, respond with 'yes good boy, back to bed'.

Show him the bone again, and once he goes back to bed close the crate. Of course it can help to cover some of the crate, it replicates a 'den' environment and he will feel a little more secure.

You must also come and visit us in the Labrador forum and of course the one thing we demand there is piccies, and more piccies.

[=SaNdY^BaBii=]

Hi There,

When I first got Momo, I started crate training her. The first week was hard as she hated being in the crate.

She would bite the door of the crate, cry, bump around, all sorts of things!

What I did was go to sleep with earphones on listening to music so that I won't be tempted to go to her when I hear her cry

(that might not work for everyone though )

After one week she got used to the idea of crate = her room. I have no problems at all now with her going to sleep in the crate.

I think you'll need to expect a week or two for adjustment, then after that it will get easier and easier.

But not running over everytime they cry is something you'll have to learn to do!

Good luck!!