# Just got a puppy, whining at night.



## trapspeed (Dec 8, 2007)

Hello all,

I just got a 2 month old Black Lab puppy last night. The people who couldn't keep him said he was crate trained. I brought him home last night and when we were ready for bed around 9:30 I put him in the crate (in our bedroom). He ate a couple of hours before hand and used the bathroom as well. 

The crate was given to us by them and it has a divider to make it small enough for him to lay down. Anyway, fast forward three hours and he is whining and crying up a storm. I take him outside and he goes pee. I put him back in the crate and after whining for a few mins he goes back to sleep. Three more hours later he starts crying again. This time he doesn't have to use the bathroom. I moved the crate out into the living room, shut the bedroom door and let him cry until he was quiet.

Is there anyway I can get him to sleep soundly through the whole night? Should I put a bone in there? I know puppies can't hold their bowels long so how do you prevent having to wake up in the middle of the night several times to take them out?

Any help is appreciated!


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## Beethoven (Jan 25, 2009)

If you know that he doesn't have to go to the bathroom, just ignore him. Once they learn it's not getting them anywhere, they'll slowly stop. We've had our puppy for a month and he's good at night except for when he has to go out. At night, I like to put soft toys in along with a nylabone, just incase he needs to chew or just wants something to rest his head on. Never anything squeaky though, haha. If you stop giving him food and water soon enough in the evening, he should be all emptied out. our pup has his food and water taken away at 6. He may have a little more water if he's been playing a lot, but by the time he goes to bed around 11 or 12, he's emptied out and doesn't need to go to the bathroom until the next morning. Just give it some time, I think we've all been in your position at one point, but we've all made it through :]


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

You had the right idea of the crate in your bedroom. At 2 months the baby needs reassurance from you by being close....that's the most important thing. Put the crate next to your bed where you can touch him. Don't talk....just your touch is soothing enough. 
Toys, bones, food can go in the crate when you're both awake but, those are really bad items for when you want the puppy to sleep. If you keep him awake at night with playthings, he'll need to go out every couple of hours. 
Puppies sleep 20 hours a day so, there really shouldn't be a problem sleeping all night and holding it all night as he's asleep. During the active hours, you should be getting exercise and mental stimulation. This the critical time for socialization so, he should be meeting all kinds of people, kids and seeing new places. That should ensure a good nights sleep.


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## trapspeed (Dec 8, 2007)

Thanks for the replies.

So keeping the crate in the room was the right idea? Wouldn't the puppy seeing us make him want to come out and cry more often? I guess I was totally wrong on this one. So I should try to keep the crate in the bedroom tonight?


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

All puppies are born with the survival instinct that tells them to stay close to the pack. Being separated from that pack is very scary....in the wild it could be a death sentence. This isn't separation anxiety...pure survival. As they grow older and wiser, they learn that being away from the pack isn't always a bad thing.
Use your touch (very briefly) to reassure if he wakes in the night. Take up the food and water several hours before bedtime. Make sure he goes potty twice at the last call (they always get distracted and almost never finish on the first try).


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Rule of thumb for potty training...

Puppies can reasonably hold it the # of hours = to age in months

2 months old = at least every 2 hours 24/7...get a good alarm clock.

Things that can speed the process is to
* feed the dog 3 x per day on a regular schedule (regular schedule going in produces predictable schedule coming out)

* reasonable amount of exercise...you may be surprised at the exercise needed daily to keep a lab puppy happy...most labs need about two or three 45 minute sessions daily of getting out of the yard for a good brisk walk/hike/jog...games of fetch/tug...get the dog out of the yard to stimulate him mentally and physically and to provide the necessary socialization at this age...avoid places where other dogs eliminate until all shots are finished around 4 months of age. Be sure the dog is sufficiently tired before leaving in the crate for the day, going to bed at night, expecting to have any peace and quiet time.

*crate train the dog...when you are not home, sleeping, cannot watch the dog with both eyes at all times, or know that the dog needs to go but fails to perform when you take him out then use the crate. If you know the dog has to go, you take him out, no luck...then put him in the crate for 15 minutes and try again.

*pick up the water bowl 2 hours before bedtime

We pick up extra crates on Craigslist so that we can have crates in the bedrooms where the dogs sleep. And we have crates in the family room (close to the outside door) so that we can crate them whenever we leave the house without having to go all the way to the bedroom.

Most dogs learn to sleep in a crate in the bedroom with humans. However, we have one that snores so loud that she keeps everyone awake. So she sleeps in the family room and does just fine. I've had many foster dogs that were never crate trained, howled a blue streak for hours...so they get to sleep out in the family room where I can close the door and not have to listen to them all night.

Reasonable schedule for a new puppy:

6-7AM...up and outside right away
7:15 feed puppy breakfast in a gated room or crate while you get ready for your day
7:30 take puppy for brisk walk, some sort of exercise before crating for the day
8-8:30 crate and leave for work
10 AM someone needs to let the puppy out to eliminate
noon Let the dog out, feed lunch, take dog out again, a bit of play if time permits, back in crate
2-3 PM someone needs to let puppy out to eliminate, play if time permits
5-5:30 home from work, let dog outside to eliminate 
6PM feed dinner
6-8PM puppy out to eliminate, lots of good hard play, long walk, take along on errands
9-10 PM take puppy out to eliminate before crating for bed
1AM set alarm to take puppy out (no lights, talking, fun...just out to pee, food reward, back to crate)
4-5AM puppy may need to go out again

Adjust the night time outings as needed. If you wake to the alarm and the puppy is consistently dry for a few days you can try setting alarm for 15 minutes longer. Do not wait for the puppy to cry and wake you. This will teach the dog that whining gets him out of his crate. The night time outings seem to go away around 4-6 months. Usually by 4 months they only need one night time outing. Dogs don't have much muscle control until around 6 months. So until then they are not really "holding it", rather you are figuring out when the dog is most likely to be successful outside based on how long it's been, when they ate/drank/played/napped.


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