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Last night was night 5 for our 5 month old puppy. We put him to bed tired but he still cried in the kennel (in our bedroom) very loudly for 30 minutes. Finally my husband moved him to the back room because he works weekends and had to be up at 5am. We figured if he was going to cry anyway, might as well be in the backroom. I didn't think it would be mean considering if I were to be gone all day, he would be alone anyway so what is the difference. He barked and cried all night long.

Even when he is in the bedroom he starts barking and crying again at 5am-6am. And if I take him out to go potty, he just stands there. If I put him back in his crate, he would not shut up.

And how is he suppossed to learn that crying doesn't get him anywhere when he cries the whole time he is in it, even up until the point where it is time to come out anyway?

I don't think he is neccessarily going through separation anxiety from his mom and siblings anyway because he was the last one and used to being along, i think he us going through separation anxiety from me.

I think I am spoiling him during the day. He is never in the crate except for at night. He is on a leash by my side either following me or sleeping on the sofa. Should I be putting him in his crate more? Would this make him not cry so much at night? In a few weeks, I will be working again so he will have to be in the crate anyway so should I be making him spend more time in there now?

I know he is a puppy and crying is normal but it is driving us crazy!!!!

I wish it were as easy as some say: take him out in the middle of the night, tell him go potty, he goes potty, put him back in the crate and go back to bed. He never goes when we take him out, it normally takes me hours of going in and out for him to finally go so getting up in the middle of the night is pointless plus it would just start the crying all over again.

I have no clue what to do with him at night.

Thanks in advance for any help and/or support you can provide!

>>Last night was night 5 for our 5 month old puppy. We put him to bed tired but he still cried in the kennel (in our bedroom) very loudly for 30 minutes. Finally my husband moved him to the back room because he works weekends and had to be up at 5am. We figured if he was going to cry anyway, might as well be in the backroom. I didn't think it would be mean considering if I were to be gone all day, he would be alone anyway so what is the difference. He barked and cried all night long.
>>
>>Even when he is in the bedroom he starts barking and crying again at 5am-6am. And if I take him out to go potty, he just stands there. If I put him back in his crate, he would not shut up.
>>
>>And how is he suppossed to learn that crying doesn't get him anywhere when he cries the whole time he is in it, even up until the point where it is time to come out anyway?
>>
>>I don't think he is neccessarily going through separation anxiety from his mom and siblings anyway because he was the last one and used to being along, i think he us going through separation anxiety from me.
>>
>>I think I am spoiling him during the day. He is never in the crate except for at night. He is on a leash by my side either following me or sleeping on the sofa. Should I be putting him in his crate more? Would this make him not cry so much at night? In a few weeks, I will be working again so he will have to be in the crate anyway so should I be making him spend more time in there now?
>>
>>I know he is a puppy and crying is normal but it is driving us crazy!!!!
>>
>>I wish it were as easy as some say: take him out in the middle of the night, tell him go potty, he goes potty, put him back in the crate and go back to bed. He never goes when we take him out, it normally takes me hours of going in and out for him to finally go so getting up in the middle of the night is pointless plus it would just start the crying all over again.
>>
>>I have no clue what to do with him at night.
>>
>>Thanks in advance for any help and/or support you can provide!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dogs have an instinct to try to avoid being alone. In the wild, being alone is very dangerous. Whenever the puppy makes noise and you go to the puppy, the puppy is not alone. Thus every time you pay attention of any kind to the puppy for making noise, you communicate to the puppy that making noise is necessary for survival!

If you want the noise to stop, you have to totally ignore the puppy whenever the pup is making noise. Because that has not been done, it will take longer now. This is important for the puppy's welfare, because reinforcing noise by going to the puppy teaches the puppy to stress out more and more in a crate, to the extent of the puppy suffering great harm and even serious injuries from fighting the crate.

The puppy will not be able to stay in a crate for 8 hours until a minimum of 7 months of age, and probably not then. I hope you have someone set to come midday and let the puppy out to potty. Tiny dogs have less holding capacity than larger ones.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

It took us 2 weeks to get Cody to stop crying at night except to go potty. The most sleep we got during that time was about 2 hours at a time (with 1-2 hours awake in between). It was affecting me so bad I actually started passing out at work from exhaustion. We had to be very careful of noise levels as our landlord had him on a probationary period, so we couldnt really let him cry too long.

Eventually we worked out a system of allowing him to cry for 20 mins (or until he sounded hysterical) before we got up to him, when we did we didnt show him much affection, simply took him outside, then put him back in the laundry and shut the door. This way he knew that we were there, but that during the night wasnt playtime or time for fun. After a few days this worked really well, then he started falling asleep in his kennel outside and hasnt been inside since.

We learnt that getting up to the pup as soon as he crys just makes him cry more, its best to show him you are there (especially if the crate is in the room, he should be able to smell you), without giving him to much attention, as this reinforces his behaviour. Things like a soft radio or clock; a teddy; hot water bottle (cody was scared of it but it has worked for others); and something with your smell on it all work well for settling young pups.

>>It took us 2 weeks to get Cody to stop crying at night except to go potty. The most sleep we got during that time was about 2 hours at a time (with 1-2 hours awake in between). It was affecting me so bad I actually started passing out at work from exhaustion. We had to be very careful of noise levels as our landlord had him on a probationary period, so we couldnt really let him cry too long.
>>
>>Eventually we worked out a system of allowing him to cry for 20 mins (or until he sounded hysterical) before we got up to him, when we did we didnt show him much affection, simply took him outside, then put him back in the laundry and shut the door. This way he knew that we were there, but that during the night wasnt playtime or time for fun. After a few days this worked really well, then he started falling asleep in his kennel outside and hasnt been inside since.
>>
>>We learnt that getting up to the pup as soon as he crys just makes him cry more, its best to show him you are there (especially if the crate is in the room, he should be able to smell you), without giving him to much attention, as this reinforces his behaviour. Things like a soft radio or clock; a teddy; hot water bottle (cody was scared of it but it has worked for others); and something with your smell on it all work well for settling young pups.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you go to a pup quickly when it cries, you teach the pup to cry often. If you wait and wait while the pup cries and cries, but then you still do go to the pup when it is crying, you teach the pup to cry for long periods of time. This is dangerous, because these are the dogs who get themselves extremely worked up and get sick and injured from stressing out for so long. It is very important never to go to the crate when the dog is making noise or stressing.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

I know you are not suppossed to go to him when he cries but what about in the morning when he cries because he has to go to the bathroom?

Do I get up and let him out?

This is what I have been doing because I don't want him to go potty in his crate of course.

I usually don't put him back in his crate afetrwards because if we go to bed around 10:30-11 and he cries at 6:30ish then he has been in there for a really long time for a puppy already.

What do you think?

Although on weekends I would like to put him back so I could go back to bed!!

>>I know you are not suppossed to go to him when he cries but what about in the morning when he cries because he has to go to the bathroom?
>>
>>Do I get up and let him out?
>>
>>This is what I have been doing because I don't want him to go potty in his crate of course.
>>
>>I usually don't put him back in his crate afetrwards because if we go to bed around 10:30-11 and he cries at 6:30ish then he has been in there for a really long time for a puppy already.
>>
>>What do you think?
>>
>>Although on weekends I would like to put him back so I could go back to bed!!

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wait 'til he's quiet, take him out, no play or happy-talk or food, then back to crate.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

I wish I had done this with Duncan when we first got him. Me and my husband eventually stopped putting him in the crate altogether because we were sick to death of his crying. He goes in now all by himself to play with toys and take naps. I thought that was quite strange.

Duncan - JRT/Pug