New Puppy SCREAMS all night....
 

I am so happy to finally have a HEALTHY puppy after everything I went through. But for the last two night he has been screaming and crying all night long. We have a nice size crate, a dog bed, blankets, toys, food and water in for him at night. But he still screams in there. I took him out last night at 3:30 a.m. after having him in there for 3 hours. I tried putting him in bed with me, but that didn't work either. He still cried. He didn't want to sit still. He was climbing all over the bed, trying to jump off which is a very high bed and the reason I didn't want him in the bed with us in the first place. Everytime I would try to hold him, or have him lie down, he would scream and cry. I don't know what to do. I think tonight my husband and I are moving on to the couch because the crate is in our bathroom and with all the noise he makes, we haven't slept in two nights. Should I keep him in there so that he gets used to it? Is it like a baby that if you give in to them when they cry and keep taking him out, he will continue to cry cause he knows it is working? I am not upset or frustrated I just want to know what is the right thing to be doing in order for him to get used to his crate. I do take him in there and sit with him in there during the day. I feed him in there sometimes by hand. I put him in there for short times during the day and when I do he cries and when I let him out, he stops. Any other ideas? Or should I just stick with what I am doing and he will eventually get used to it?

Hi there myjordash!

I am sorry you and your puppy are experiencing this. How old is your puppy? Was the puppy weaned too soon? Did you get your puppy from a breeder that lived in a home enviornment? Or, did you get your puppy from petstore, shelter, or puppy mill?

Has your puppy seen a vet? Does he or she seem to be in pain? How does your puppy respond throughout the day? Is he or she home alone during the day?

I think it would be wise to rule out anything physical causing the puppy to be so restless and whiney. I would definately take the puppy to a vet for an examination and talk to your vet about the pup's behavior.

If you puppy is home alone all day and spends majority of its time in the crate, you may want to talk to the vet about some training courses.

The puppy sounds like it is either in pain or having a lot of seperation anxiety. He or she might also do better in the crate if he or she was next to you, just knowing you are close by might be of comfort to the puppy?

Good luck and keep us posted on what you find out :-)

Huggies,
Tinkerbell and Annie

I agreed with babygirlyorkie, talk to your vet to make sure she is not ill or in pain, etc. Also I was told to hide a clock on a dark towel or puppet to mimic the mother's heartbeat. I heard this sometimes works. I hope you can figure out soon why she seems so restles at nite. Please keep us posted.Good luck.

When I first moved Carter out of his crate at night, he was restless and roaming around the room. That was until I pulled off the large tshirt I was wearing and put it in his bed. I know you're not at that point where the puppy has truly bonded with you but if possible get something from the breeder with their scent on it. It may help your baby.

A friend of mine would leave a radio on an AM station (talk radio station) with her pup. She claimed it worked wonders.

Best of luck to you.

you could try and wear your baby out before bedtime...... get him to play A LOT so you tire him out and he wont have the energy to cry...... Toby did the same screaming thing, and all i can say is that we ignored it for the most part, he only got let out of his crate when he was quiet (he learned this one fast) and he also got fed in his crate so he pretty much learned to love it.......

The puppy is about 10 weeks old. He does not seem to be in any pain. When I come in, he jumps on me is tail is wagging and he wants to play. He just seems like he doesn't want to be alone. I am home most of the day so he doesn't go in there unless I delibrately put him in there in order for him to get used to it. He even cries when he goes in there during the day when he is alone, but if I stay with him, he is fine. It is not really a crate that he is in, it is a small half bath. When I do go out and he is in there he cries and as soon as I take him out, he jumps plays, and licks. He is eating and drinking well and going to the bathroom regularly. I bought him from a breeder and he was weened about 5 or 6 weeks, but he was in a laundry room with his brother and sister. That was why I thought the bathorom would be a good idea.

Audrey

I do have a sock with their scent that they gave me and it is in with him.

Hi Audry,

Sounds like your puppy is okay physically....I think the word screaming and crying kinda made me think there must be something wrong physically. However, my puppy hardly ever whines or crys...only if she got scratched from the cat or something of that nature. Mine likes to bark or jump up and down if she wants out.

I found a really good article about seperation anxiety, maybe this will help?

http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/app...s/anxiety.html

I think a crate is better than a half bath, unless you have a baby gate at the doorway, with the door open. Otherwise, it is too scary for him to be in there by himself and not be able to see out. It would be too closed in for a little baby all alone. :(

We do have a baby gate on the door. Is crying just got so bad that we had to close it. I tried with the lights on/off the door open/closed, he didn't even stop when he was in our bed. He just was crying I guess cuz he wanted to play, not sleep.

Seem like your puppy is just going through the normal stages of bonding and testing you limits.

Fist I suggest you get a small crate. Then as the other suggested put a t- shirt or something soft in there with your scent...next
bring the creat upstairs with you at night and place beside your bed...
if he starts to cry... tap on the top of the crate and say quiet.

when you turn of the lights to go to sleep say something like (bed time.. )
he won't know what it means now.. but he will get the hang of it.. ( that now it time to sleep and be quiet.)
What every you do not take him out of his crat unless it is to potty.
Then he will still keep crying. Thinking you will let him out.


When he get better and stops crying at night ,then you can slowly start moving his crate to the location you want him to sleep in.

For the first few weeks it is really hard but it does get better :)

:rolleyes: Then, my next suggestion is to wear him out before he goes to bed. Then, bring him on your bed with a chew bone (greenie) and hold it while he chews on it. That's what I used to do when my gurls were young and restless. They would be content to chew on it (while I was holding it) and fall off to sleep (with me still holding the bone) lol Good luck!

That is exactly what worked with Mia as well. Now at 6 mo I tell her it is Bed night time and she brings me a bone or sits looking up at the container of greenies. She definitely knows the procedure, and most nights will settle in to chew on her own now, or just go to sleep.

Your baby has been given some wonderful advise. :) good luck with your baby and keep us posted!!

I agree with Schatzie. Good advice. Another thing (I watch the Dog Whisperer LOL) is to not pick him up when he is crying - that reinforces his behaviour. Wait until he is quiet and then go in and get him.

Hi, I went through the same exact thing. my baby would cry at night. the best thing is to get her a crate or a play pen( that is what I have), so she can see out, a half bath isnt a good idea, the puppy feels like it is totally cut off from its environment. put it next to your bed... and be tough... when it starts to cry, just ignore it and in a calm but stern voice, tell it to be quiet or No. ITs gonna be tough but remember to spend lots of quality time with your puppy, and let your puppy know when its time for bed. My puppy learned quickly... took about 2 wks. and now she doesnt mind being in the crate.

Maybe he cried at 3:30 because he had to go to the bathroom. I take mine out at 10pm, 2am, and 6am.

Mine always cried in the crate. I did the crate at night thing for about 2wks but my husband gets up at 2am to go to work every morning and he'd disturb the puppy so I decided to just put him in bed with me. It made my life easier. :)

Gracie *hates* the half bath! Occasionally I put her in there if we are going to be gone more than a couple of hours so that she has room to move and go potty (on peed pads) etc. She cries when I shut the door, and when I get home and open it, she screams and runs around frantically! Even when I pick her up she tries to wiggle out of my arms.

She sleeps in a small kennel, it's plenty big enough for her to move around in but small enough that she feels secure. We put her beside our bed the first night and she whimpered at first when we turned the lights out, but I would just tap on the top of the kennel and say "Quiet" and eventually she figured it out. She cried maybe 5 minutes the first night, 2 or 3 the second, and never made another sound from that time on.

I think your little one is definitely showing separation anxiety. I'd try something small beside your bed so he knows you are there within touching distance and that he's safe and secure. Put him in it several times during the day and DON'T let him out if he's crying. Tell him to be quiet and then when he is, he can come out.

It's hard training him, and even harder if he trains you! :)

Update...It actually took 3 nights, and the puppy started sleeping through the night. The first couple of nights were really bad and then on the third night, he started only crying in the early morning. We have a night light in there with him and I would say within the week, he wasn't crying at all. I cannot put him on our bed because he likes to walk around and our bed is VERY high and I was afraid if I was sleeping and he decided to walk off the bed he could get very hurt. I didn't really want to leave him in a crate near my bed because I have two other dogs and I didn't want him to see them and then cry when they got up and started moving around. Also my children come into the room during the night and I knew that would disturb him too. For now things are going very good. He goes in there when I leave during the day and at night, and he has some quiet time. It is his time to sleep and he has food and water there that the other dogs can't get to. I think we have a busy house, and a little time to himself to sleep has to be good for a such a little puppy. Thanks for all of your advice and I am happy that he has gotten used to it, and is happy and resting peacefully when in there.