Olivebaby Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Hi all. I am new to this and am hoping I can get some good advice on how to stop my 16 week old lab baby crying and trying to knock down the laundry door in the morning. She is a very well behaved pup most of the time and she goes to sleep with no problems at all. But in the morning, after maybe only 5 or 6 hours of being in there she starts crying, barking, yelping and what sounds like punching and scratching,even tap dancing on the laundry door. It is incredibly annoying and starts usually about 7. I know this might sound like a reasonable time for her to be up but I am a nurse and work shifts and sometimes need a bit more sleep. Please keep in mind that she will usually be toileted and then put to bed at about 12 or sometimes 1. I have tried ignoring her, taking her out and putting her back to the laundry and also bringing her in with me (I know this is bad) after the toilet. What I would really love is for her to stop all this business in the morning and wait patiently until about 8 for me to wake up and give her attention. Is this to much to ask? It does not appear she is anxious about being alone, but rather that she just wants to be let out. We have not gone down the crait training route as we simply do not have enough room in our laundry. She also gets plenty of attention every day. She has daily walks, heaps of play and lots of cuddles. She is in no way a neglected pup, but yer would just love to have a morning without my door being almost knocked off it's hinges. Thanks in advance for your help Amy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyla Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Could she just go outside for an hour to play by herself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Hi all. I am new to this and am hoping I can get some good advice on how to stop my 16 week old lab baby crying and trying to knock down the laundry door in the morning. She is a very well behaved pup most of the time and she goes to sleep with no problems at all. But in the morning, after maybe only 5 or 6 hours of being in there she starts crying, barking, yelping and what sounds like punching and scratching,even tap dancing on the laundry door. It is incredibly annoying and starts usually about 7. I know this might sound like a reasonable time for her to be up but I am a nurse and work shifts and sometimes need a bit more sleep. Please keep in mind that she will usually be toileted and then put to bed at about 12 or sometimes 1. I have tried ignoring her, taking her out and putting her back to the laundry and also bringing her in with me (I know this is bad) after the toilet. What I would really love is for her to stop all this business in the morning and wait patiently until about 8 for me to wake up and give her attention. Is this to much to ask? It does not appear she is anxious about being alone, but rather that she just wants to be let out. We have not gone down the crait training route as we simply do not have enough room in our laundry. She also gets plenty of attention every day. She has daily walks, heaps of play and lots of cuddles. She is in no way a neglected pup, but yer would just love to have a morning without my door being almost knocked off it's hinges. Thanks in advance for your help Amy Puppy is cold? There's no colder place in a house than the laundry. It's a heat sink. Puppy needs to go to the toilet? Few 4 month old pups I know have sufficient bladder control to last 7 hours. Puppy is lonely? You've got a very people focussed breed and your sleeping arrangements physically isolate her. Puppy is hungry? At her age she'd still need 3 meals a day. My guess is that it's one or more than one of these reasons. My best bet would be that the toilet issue is the most pressing one. Solution? Buy a crate, put it somewhere warmer and get up and toilet her for a while yet. After you've toileted her give her something to occupy her for a while. A chicken wing would be one option or a food stuffed kong. I'd give it another month before I expected her to last longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lillynix Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) I was about to say the same thing. What about taking her out at 7am, perhaps with a bone or chew treat so she can munch/occupy herself for an hour or so until you're ready to get up? Edited May 25, 2011 by Lillynix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) Your other option is to let her out into the back yard with some food and toys and see how that goes. Edited May 25, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivebaby Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Thank you all for your replies. Olive has a very warm bed, plenty of blankets and toys, also keep in mind that this is in the morning, usually 6 or 7 so would not be the coldest time of the night. We really do not have room in our small house for a crate, if we did have the room we would definitely use this option. She has already urinted in the laundry before we get her, so I doubt she is crying for the sole reason of going to the toilet. Also i do not like to leave her outside completely unsupervised at this stage. She is still very young and I am worried she will start digging/ chewing when she is not being watched. I might try the kong idea though, I think this might buy me an hour of extra sleep. Still doesn't solve the problem though but perhaps she will grow out of it when she grows older. has anybody else had this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivebaby Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 also she is still having 3 meals a day. But she is not food crazy, unlike most labs. She will take a few bites and run off to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonecutter Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 If you have room for a laundry hamper on the floor somewhere - you should have room for a crate. Our pup was outside at 16 wks. We moved a few things around to accommodate crates and pens. Is this possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivebaby Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 nope, laundry hamper is on the bench in the laundry. The toilet is in the laundry, seperate of course and the door that leads to the outside. If we put a crate in it would take the whole door way up and block the cupboard and probably the washing machine. As it is we have to lift her bed up when we use that door. We really do not have room for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) She has already urinted in the laundry before we get her, So, when you do let her out, she has wee'd in the laundry? if so , then I would suggest she can not hold on as long as you want her to .... you may need to toilet her in the middle of the night still... or wake up a bit earlier and put her outside iwth a big bone- and go back to bed. If she is playing with her food ... if her hips/ribs are not sticking out ..then she probably doesn't need 3 meals a day May I suggest you try THIS when you feed here as well.... Edited May 25, 2011 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Putting puppy in a crate won't work, she is already confined & wants out so smaller confinement is pointless. Trouble is they can't tell the time. Mine get me up at unearthly hours too sometimes & they are various ages between 1 & 9. She is only a baby I would put her in with you. Move anything chewable or dangerous & if she won't sleep in your arms let her play on the floor, she probably has been on her own long enough & wants new mummy. I don't do tough with babies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivebaby Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Hi Persephone, Olive does this with every meal. Eats a bit, walks away and comes back later, she is a bit of a grazer, rather than a gulper. Do you still think I should take it to two meals a day? Hi Christina, I know what your saying about letting her sleep with me, and I agree it would solve the problem, but I don't like the idea of pets in the bedroom over night. It might sound mean but I'm just not keen on it. She has a very comfy bed and lots of soft toys to cuddle. I know it's not a subsitute for her mum but I think if I took her in to the room to solve the problem now she would still expect it later and there is no way I'm having a huge lab snoring away next to me every night hahaha. I think I'll try leaving her in he laundry but giving her something to munch on and hopefully she might get the idea over time that crying and bashing the door down does not = freedom haha. Fingers crossed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Eats a bit, walks away and comes back later, she is a bit of a grazer, rather than a gulper. Do you still think I should take it to two meals a day? No, a puppy that age needs 3 meals. A puppy won't generally over eat, it all goes into growing. They should have a little covering of fat but not be obese naturally. Ribs showing a bit is ok on some adult breeds of dog but not on puppies. Not all dogs eat & gobble up food in one go although this is convenient for the owners. For the pup its no difference. If you want to do 2 feed of meat or wet food you need to leave puppy dry down all the time. Grazing is fine, pups tummy is only small, small & often is a common way of eating for puppies, given the choice. She will go onto just 1 or 2 meals a day as she grows up. They all do no matter what the pup feeding routine. Your alternative to having her in your room could be ear plugs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunny Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 (edited) Hi Olivebaby! I've got a 4 month old lab puppy too. She doesn't eat all her food at once either, rather has a bit here and there, and sometimes she doesn't eat it all up either...she certainly doesn't eat as much as the biscuit bag recommends! Our Matilda is an outside puppy, and she seems very happy with it. She can get through a doggy door into the laundry at night (or day) and has a big cosy bed in there, but she does seem to like being outside on her 'day bed' mostly. We have 'puppy proofed' the back garden as much as possible as she is by herself while we are at work and so far, so good. she does come inside for a brief time in the mornings before work, and perhaps a little bit at night before she is fed. We do spend lots of time with her in the mornings (she helps me feed the horse and clean paddocks) and she has lots of playtime in the afternoons. No idea how to help you with Olive in the mornings, but good luck! Edited May 26, 2011 by Hunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelsquest Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I'd put her outside in the morning with her breakfast and go back to bed. She's a pup so yes might dig or chew something. But she might chew or dig something when full grown as well. I've known old dogs to dig holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivebaby Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 Hi Hunny, thanks for the reply. Goodluck with your pup. Labradors are the most gorgeous little babies. I am definitely biased, but have only had ours for two months and now can't ever imagine life without her. What colour do you have? Would love to see some pics! I tried putting some of olive but they are too big and won't work :-( I think I will try putting her out. She is very independent and happy enough snooping around when she is outside, and witha big bone she shouldn't get up to too much naughty stuff! Otherwise the earplugs might just be the way to go :-) Thank you all for your very helpful comments and suggestions. I actualy bought Olive from a breeder on this website but never really paid any attention to the forums before but am now finding them very useful :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivebaby Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 Can anyone tell me how to make mypics smaller so that they can be uploaded on here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Can anyone tell me how to make mypics smaller so that they can be uploaded on here? If you have photoshop, photostudio or similar on your computer open the photo in there. Go to Edit at the top & click. It should open & give you a choice of things. Go to image size & click. A box should appear showing you the size of your photo. Change it to about 400 pixels & that will upload to your post about right. If you use photobucket hosting or similar there should be something on there that will alter the size, can't recall what without going to look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 for resizing photos .. try something like this download CLICK HERE photos can be up to 300KB ..any larger and they won't load Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonecutter Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Or create a photobucket/flickr account and link to the images Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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