cage and night time

[Thirteen]

My question is this, when is a good time to put my 9 week old puppy to bed for the night. Lately she sleeps for 3 hours, gets up to pee, then sleeps for like 4 hours then gets up. Last night thought she was up ever 2 hours, and barking a lot! Should we just let her bark? or let her out?

Also when we put her in her cage she barks quite a bit...is that just normal?

[chachi]

I cant really give advice on cages cause I didnt use one. I had an xpen and it had room for a peepad on one side and a bed on the other. I would put them in it right before I went to bed. They did bark but did calm down after they got used to it.

[Thirteen]

hmm so you think we should try a play pen? Also her cage is right by our bed, is that bad?

[chachi]

I like xpens but alot of people get playpens. It is fine by your bed if you can take the barking and get your sleep. I kept mine in the livingroom and I would sometimes sleep on the couch and Jewels woould bark untill she saw me lay down.

[Thirteen]

hmm ok ill look into those pens, and ask my gf what she thinks

[hiddenletter]

if you want to crate train her, leave her in the crate overnight. She won't mess in it if there is only enough room for her to turn around and lay down. If you want to pad train her, then an x-pen sounds fine. But she will bark in a crate, you just have to keep saying NO and ignoring her bad behavior. Dogs don't like being yelled at, so they quiet down quickly. Also, try covering her crate with a towel, so she knows it's time to quiet down.

[Erin]

A 9 week old puppy won't sleep through the night and she will mess in her cage if you leave her in there that long. She'll truly need to go out every few hours at night for a while. However, she will learn that barking means "I get to get out of my cage!" So you have to let her bark and ignore it. When she quiets down, even for a few seconds, THEN you let her out. Don't make a big deal about getting up in the middle of the night, take her out to potty and right back in the crate. She you can praise her for pottying, but don't let her think waking you up is a good thing! She will think she can bark for playtime whenever she wants! In a few months you will learn the difference between "I need to potty" and "I'm bored and want to play" barks.

[Lea's Mom]

That is so true Lauren, I got my yorkie when she was 10 weeks and I had no idea how much bark they really have. No worrie, I promise that if you crate train your puppy (which will make for a much happier owner and doggy) you will reap the rewards. It took a couple of months for my pup to sleep through the night (the last few nights were her first) but I agree that you should wait until a few moments after your pup cries/barks to let them out. Good luck!

[Thirteen]

thanks everyone! we will implement this tonight!

[faithopelove31]

This was very informing guys. I just came from the vet getting Bailey's 9 week shots and they told me that I should be crating him to help him become housetrained. Right now, I leave him in the bathroom while I'm at work (with door open and half of the bathroom blocked off - even though he now climbs over his house to get to the other side, but I bought another gate) and he just barks when I leave. Should I just ignore him? Also I let him sleep in my bed at night (well last night, I put his crate on my bed next to me and he slept in there) and normally he gets up and potty's on the bed somewhere at the bottom. I know that's not good and he is establishing very awful habits. How long should I keep him in the crate at night? Or should I just place him back in the bathroom at night?

[Thirteen]

well last night little Emma went for 7 hours before crying to go out! Making progress

[Erin]

Originally Posted by faithopelove31

This was very informing guys. I just came from the vet getting Bailey's 9 week shots and they told me that I should be crating him to help him become housetrained. Right now, I leave him in the bathroom while I'm at work (with door open and half of the bathroom blocked off - even though he now climbs over his house to get to the other side, but I bought another gate) and he just barks when I leave. Should I just ignore him? Also I let him sleep in my bed at night (well last night, I put his crate on my bed next to me and he slept in there) and normally he gets up and potty's on the bed somewhere at the bottom. I know that's not good and he is establishing very awful habits. How long should I keep him in the crate at night? Or should I just place him back in the bathroom at night?

If he can't wake you up to tell you he needs to go potty he is too young to sleep with you. I know it's hard, but it also establishes your role. (Loki now sleeps with us most nights, but he does get an overnight time out when he acts like a monster. He usually comes out sweet the next day ready to please!) Also, I have read that it's not really safe to leave your dog in a bathroom all day, because of all the chemicals on the floor. Unless you never use hairspray or anything then I guess it's OK but there can still be other dangers. (Loki is not allowed in the bathrooms here because he likes to get in the trash can. He actually knows the word "out" and will get out of there if I tell him to!)

A crate is truly the safest place for them to be. At 9 weeks you will be getting up 2-3 times a night to let him out of his crate. Don't let him out while he's crying/banging on the cage, wait til he quiets down for a minute and then let him out. It's just like having a baby. There are a lot of sleepless nights!

[Sarah515]

I got Lucy when she was about 9 weeks, and she whined a little the first night in her crate, but I just layed down next to her and put a towel over the crate to show her it was sleepy time. Once she was settled I would just go to bed and would set my alarm to take her out like 3 or 4 hours later. I only needed to do that for about a week, She is 14 weeks now and sleeps ALLL night, even if I oversleep. Also, sometimes I let her cuddle in my bed while I rub her belly to get her to fall asleep and then I put her in her crate for the night. I'd be too scared to let her sleep with me through the night, bc I have a really tall bed and I'd be scared she'd either fall off, jump off, or I'd roll over on her. I've noticed now that in the afternoon when i have to put her in her crate for a little bit if she barks and I say "no" she keeps barking, so I just ignore her and that works better for me. Good luck!

[az jude]

Have had Bitsy since she was 10 weeks old (she is now 10 months old) and she has slept in her crate every night since the first night. Whatever clothes I am wearing that day- I lay them over the crate and position them to keep the light out. I then pull the front door of the cage up close to the bed so it is within touching distance. This trick was told to me by her breeder and it has worked like a charm. When she was first home, I would gently tap the crate and say shhhh and she would go right back to sleep. She now sleeps in there from about 9:00 p.m. until around 7:00 a.m. We live in AZ and the time does not change so will be interesting to see if she starts waking up earlier.