Sleeping Habits I would really appreciate any tips. In the past I have always gotten my babies at different times when I had older dogs. One puppy at a time. I now have 2 babies - both born within a week of the other - currently 4 months old. THEY DON'T SLEEP! This means I don't sleep. It's 5:04 am now but I've been up since 3:00 am. They will sleep for 3-4 hours and then wake to go to the bathroom and then sleep again for a couple of hours then they are UP! They eat their last meal at 4:00 pm. I cut off water after their 7:00 pm walk (and we WALK ON HILLS as that is all that is in SW Iowa!). They go outside again, to pee and poop, around 8:30-9:00 pm and then they start to wind down for bedtime. They have separate crates but I have been putting them in the same one at night. They are alone from 7:30 am until 11:00 and then from 12:00-3:30 pm Mon-Fri due to our working schedules. Any suggestions? Do i just need to have some patience still or is there something else I can do to work them into a routine? My older dog is VERY old but his routine is very set in stone. I know I can't expect them to be there with their little bladders but I feel I need them to learn to "hold it" longer to strengthen those muscles. Thank you all, in advance, for your suggestions and encouragement. :D |
Hmm, I'll have to defer to others on meaningful advice on crate training. I've never done it, although I'm convinced that's the smart way to go. One thing I can suggest is putting a blanket with your scent on it in the crate. You can sleep with it one night and put it in their crate after that. I've recently heard from someone who said that alone made a huge difference in a separation anxiety issue with their pup. I'm not sure about the wisdom of both dogs being in the same crate. I haven't heard of anyone doing that. Hopefully, someone will weigh in. Also, I'm wondering about the time between meals. If you're feeding at 4 p.m. for the last time, then not again until what I'm guessing is 6 a.m., that's 14 hours. That seems like a long time for a puppy to go without food. I wonder if it would help to cut that down a little bit. Again, I'm just trying to help you brainstorm right now. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. In the meantime, hang in there. Things will improve. |
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You have a great point about the last meal for the day...THey are at 2 main meals for the day and then a healthy snack or two between (carrots, etc.) I could try to move their last meal of the day to 6:00 or so? My dogs have always slept together (pack mentality) so I thought these two would also sleep together. Perhaps they have different personalities and want their own pillows! heehee We have a t-shirt in the crate with my smell on it and I change it out every couple of days. That's in there along with their blanket. I really appreciate the suggestions!!!!:aimeeyork |
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And you're probably right about the pack mentality thing. |
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