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Post by anova on Jul 19, 2006 12:49:35 GMT -5
We’ve got our puppy 1 month ago. He is 12 weeks old now. His name is spalding. My puppie's crate stays in the basement where our family room is located. So, I put my puppy in bed at 10 ~ 10:30 pm. he is really good, he doesn't wake up during the night to pee. I do wake up at 6:15am to stay with him (I play with him and I walk him for 30 min) until I leave to work, 8 am. So, he used to sleep until 6:15 am until last week when my neighbor started to wake up earlier to work (around 5:30 am). We live in a townhouse and our puppy hears the noise coming from the neighbor and I guess he thinks that are us. So, he starts to whine and to howl at 5:30 am. SOmetimes, I just ignore him, he stops and after a little while he re-stars again. Somedays, he cries really loudly and my husband gets worry about the neighbors and he end up getting up to take our puppy out of the crate. Then we don't put him back in the crate for other 40, 45 min until 6:15 am that is the time I get up to stay with him. Last night we put his crate in our bedroom so that he couldn't hear the neighbor's noise. From 10 pm to 1 am our puppy was whinning on and off. My husband and I put him back in the basement (we went back to our bedroom) he whined for 5 min and fell asleep. At 5:20am he started to whine and howl again, we put up with that until 5:40am (it was getting louder and louder) my husband went to the basement and whacked the crate door with his pillow and told spalding to be quiet. My husband layed down in front of his crate until 6:30 am. spalding didn't cry or whine while my husband was there. During the weekends, our puppy is really good. he sleeps in until 6:30 that is the time I get up to play with him (my neighbor doesn't work during the weekends), then I put him in the crate as usual at 8 am, then I go to bed to sleep a bit more.... I don't know how to keep him in the crate until 6:15 am ???without whining. And do you think I am doing the right thing waking up earlier even during the weekends, so that he can keep his routine? Can you help me with some tips? spalding stays in his crate during the night and during the day while we are at work. while we are home he stays out of his crate. so yeah, i could say that he is in his crate just when we are about to leave home or to go to work. Thank you!
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Post by kaos on Jul 19, 2006 21:14:12 GMT -5
I guess my first question is how long are you at work for during the day? If you work full time this is in my opinion way too long to expect a puppy to be crated and may be contributing to him wanting to be on the go earlier...
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Post by Aussienot on Jul 19, 2006 23:53:11 GMT -5
The general rule of thumb for puppies is that they can wait to eliminate one hour for every month of their life plus one hour. So at three months, your pup will need to potty roughly every four hours.
His tolerance for the crate is roughly the same. So four hours during the day, and at night while he is sleeping is more crate time than is ideal. It sounds as if he's crated all night and most of the day, with a little time in the early morning and evenings.
Guess what he does most of the day in the crate ?Sleep. Admittedly, he's an infant so he needs a lot of sleep, but he's unlikely to sleep soundly at night unless he has adequate play time during the day.
There's one golden rule in crate training. Never let him out of the crate for making noise. Because it worked once, he's going to keep trying it. You have to put in earplugs and bear through it for a few days. Alert your neighbors and ask them to ignore it for a few days. If it never works, even the stupidest puppy stops that particular tactic. But because it worked, your smart puppy is going to keep playing the crying game.
It's not easy to raise a puppy, and it takes a lot of time and a bit a sacrifice. But it's totally worth it.
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Post by anova on Jul 20, 2006 9:27:49 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies.... And, yes I know you are right! now, he keeps whining because he knows we will show up. My husband and I work full-time, and our puppy stays in the crate during the day for 7.5 hs. I have no other option. Do you think it is a good idea to leave him out of his crate during the night? I can put him in the bathroom (there is one upstairs next to our bedroom, and the other one in the main floor - which one should I leave him?) . This way he wouldn't be crated the whole night. What do you think? Thank you one more time
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Post by kaos on Jul 20, 2006 18:42:05 GMT -5
Wow that is just way too long to leave any dog in such a confined space. How about checking out whether you can find a 'doggy daycare' place near you that could look after him for you during the day while he is little? That way he would have company of people and other dogs, as well as adequate supervision and would probably come home nice and tired...
Alternatively you could look at puppy proofing a much larger area for him during the day and paying somebody to come and walk or play with him at midday.
I think crating him at night is just fine, it is the length of time he spends in there during the day, and the lack of stimulation that will be causing problems.
Sorry to sound judgemental, but I found your post upsetting. I too work full time, but have given very careful consideration to the welfare of my dogs while I am at work. It is just not fair to expect expect your dog to cope in solitary confinement for so long, especially at such a young age. Please find a better solution.
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Post by anova on Jul 21, 2006 8:30:39 GMT -5
Thank you for your tips.
It is the first time I have a dog, and I don't know much about a lot of things, I am learning as I go... I do care so much for my puppy - you have no idea. That is one of the reasons I registered myself to this forum.... I've been reading and learning so much. So please don't judge me. And, if I am doing something wrong, i really did not mean to.
Anyway, I will look for someone who can come home during the day to walk and play with him.
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Post by Aussienot on Jul 21, 2006 20:11:45 GMT -5
Apologies Anova. You're doing the right thing by seeking help with your new puppy, and usually you will get supportive and non-judgmental advice here.
The basic take away from kaos' post is that anything you can do to entertain and amuse your puppy during the day will result in better sleep patterns, not to mention a happier dog.
Lifestyle enrichment ideas include food toys like Kongs (they make puppy Kongs), chew toys, ropes or bones (as his adult teeth start to come in he will need to chew a lot) and any toy that makes noise or that he can play with by himself. They have some great talking toys that you can record your voice on and it talks when the toy moves.
You can freeze treats in ice cubes, and leave them for him to lick.
Leaving a radio on can make him feel less alone, particularly if you put it on a timer so that it goes on and off periodically. There are also stuffed animals that have a beating heart sound that are supposed to resemble his litter mates that may be helpful for longer sleep.
With a puppy, he'll quickly grow out of his current problems and present an evolving set of new problems as he grows up. So take heart that this is only temporary.
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Post by anova on Jul 21, 2006 21:44:27 GMT -5
Thanks for your support Aussienot!
Some of the tips regarding to toys/radio are already in place. I will look into the other options you gave me this coming weekend.
I will keep you guys posted regarding our progress....
Thanks!!!
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Post by kaos on Jul 31, 2006 22:57:43 GMT -5
Anova, I am really glad that you are seeking advice with your new puppy, but bringing up a puppy is a big responsibility and it is a shame that you didn't take time to consider the arrangements you would make for his welfare while you are at work before you took him on. The above suggestions are all good ideas for keeping him entertained, but the fact remains that he will need to be housed somewhere bigger than the crate during the daytime, and preferably have some company at some stage as well as the radio, toys etc.
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Post by Nicole on Aug 1, 2006 11:45:49 GMT -5
Anova, I am really glad that you are seeking advice with your new puppy, but bringing up a puppy is a big responsibility and it is a shame that you didn't take time to consider the arrangements you would make for his welfare while you are at work before you took him on. Please tell me how this is helpful to the poster. She has the pup, she obviously cares very much for him and she is here asking questions and making changes. That is commendable. Chiding her for what you think she should have done is unnecessary and I really hope that you stay here Anova and let us help you as you learn. And I also want to say that Doggie Day care is a horrid idea. There is no reason to ever expose your pup to potential bullies or an attack so that you end up with a dog aggressive dog. Never leave your pup with a group of unknown strange dogs period.
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Post by Dom on Aug 1, 2006 13:05:13 GMT -5
I can second that doggy day care is not a good idea. I am still having issues with my almost 2 year old dog from just the "puppy socialization" classes I had her in. And this was a class with a "trainer". To be fair, the "trainer" made a lot of mistakes but I was present to help my dog through some of them. I can't imagine how mentally damaged she would have been if I had left her alone with the other bully puppies that were there.
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Post by Dom on Aug 1, 2006 13:43:28 GMT -5
I had the same problem with our puppy waking up at all hours of the morning when she was around 14 weeks. At the time, my Mom and her boyfriend was living with us. He went to work at 2am, my mom would get up at 4 am, my husband left for work at 5 am and I didn't have to get up till 7 am. I got zero sleep the first month. I made a lot of mistakes too. Everytime Sadie heard someone get up she wanted to go out (she slept in our room) and say HI! I would be tired so I would just open the bedroom door then go back to bed. HUGE mistake. Finally I started looking through websites and saw the error of my ways. We spent about a week listening to her whine at our door waiting for us to let her into the rest of the house. She found that her whine wasn't working so she whined louder and for longer periods of time. The only way we broke her from it was to keep her to a schedule. A tight schedule but allowing her some wiggle room because she was a puppy and I didn't want her to have an accident in the house. I didn't know about crate training back then either. During the morning hours I would take her directly outside when she whined. She was not allowed to say Hello to everyone along the way. Outside to potty then back to her bed. No playing. She soon found that there was no fun in that all and stopped whining for attention. Is there someone that could watch him all or part of the day? I know I jumped at the chance to dog sit our neighbors dog when they were on vacation. I have a weakness for four legs and furry. Just make sure if you do find someone to watch him, they understand and enforce your rules. Jumping, chewing, etc. A lot of training was undone when my munchkin stayed with my Mom for a week.
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Post by kaos on Aug 1, 2006 16:18:34 GMT -5
Nicole, I agree that it is commendable that the OP is seeking advice, and yes of course she cares for the pup, BUT it is not and will never for me be ok to make a decision to take on a puppy when you work full time without seemingly giving any thought at all to what will happen to the puppy for 8 hours a day or more - extremely irresponsible. Others will read this post and may assume from previous responses that it is ok to have a very young puppy alone and caged in such a small area for such long periods of time as long as you provide a kong and a radio??? In my opinion it is not. I don't feel that there is any point in addressing the crying for attention early in the morning issue, when so clearly other very important needs for the puppy are not being met by the daytime routine.
Yes, there are definitely badly run doggy daycare centres, and you are right to point out the very real dangers, but there are also well run and responsible establishments that would be a far far better alternative than social isolation and total confinement at such a crucial stage of development. Better still, if possible follow Dom's suggestion and find someone they trust to 'puppy sit'.
Sadly many people who thought they loved and cared for their puppy end up having them put down or surrendering them to a shelter because they had not given sufficient consideration to their care, socialisation and training. I am not suggesting this will be the fate of the puppy in this instance, but I am simply worried that some people will interpret previous responses to mean that finding an alternative care arrangement is optional rather than essential.
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Post by Aussienot on Aug 2, 2006 5:32:21 GMT -5
Kaos, I've tried ignoring your unwanted behavior and it's not working.
There are other forums on this board where you are welcome to express your rage on the sad fate of companion animals in our society, or air your opinion on people who not are qualified to raise a puppy. But when people ask for help, could you please not openly and personally attack them?
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Post by kaos on Aug 2, 2006 15:40:06 GMT -5
OP asked for advice on how to stop her puppy waking up early. This is a public forum, and I gave her an honest answer - expect problems unless you make a radical change to the current regime. I think it is perfectly valid to point out that anybody taking on a dog should make adequate arrangements for times when they will not be at home. Sometimes we owe it to the dog to be blunt!
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