Night time terrors

When we first got Kipling (10 weeks old) he was doing well at night in his crate. He barked/cried a little when we put him to bed but made it through the night. That lasted about a whole 2 weeks then he started having accidents in teh middle of the night. We would listen carefully and at the first sign we would take him out in the middle of the night but the problem was he only barked after he had peed in his crate. Now we are setting an alarm every night for 3am to take him out. I am afraid now that we have programed him for this. He is 4 months now and I am wondering how can we get back on track? It seems that as soon as we start to push the clock back he then pees in his crate before we take him out. Currently his crate is upstairs while we sleep downstairs. Would it be better if we moved it down with us? He definately barks in the morning around 6ish before we get up (6:30) which I know my husband doesnt love but we need to get him to sleep throughout the whole night.

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(previous post for background info)

I posted earlier about Kip's bedtime habits. Per everyone suggestions, we moved him downstairs next to our bed, removed his food/water atleast 2 hours before bedtime, and made sure he was tired out before bed.

(For those who arent aware, Kip is 18 weeks old and cant seem to make it through the night)

We are making sure he is worn down before bed but he is STILL putting up a fight by barking, scratching, pleeding to let him out. We have been hiding treats in his crate, feeding him in his crate, and giving him a treat before bed to get him accustomed to it but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Since we have moved him downstairs, we are no longer setting an alarm to take him out, instead he is waking us up which is good. BUT before he was making it until 3ish in the morning and we had been moving it back little by little every couple nights. Now he is waking up around 12:30-1am and continues the whole barking/scratching routine again. Lately (The past couple days) he has been waking up at 5-5:30am crying and whining to go out. (Normally he goes to bed about 10 -10:30 and we are up by 6-6;30). Last night it was up at 12:30 then at 3 and again at 5:30!

By no means are we angry with our little guy, but we are so dissapointed in ourselves that our training isnt seeming to work/stick. It is very frustrating and saddening to hear him cry and know that we have been dealing with this for the past 2 months and we feel like failed parents.

My husband has been great in saying that he is still a puppy and it could take a lot more time (even though I know he is tired and gets frustrated by the barking, scratching, and whining), but here on the boards it seems like puppies should have it by 12-14 weeks. I dont want my Kip stressed out, I want him to love going to sleep and feel calm and relaxed. Sometimes I wonder if he is even sleeping at night, or if he is up all night chewing on his bed in his crate.

Please any help, suggestions, or reassurance would be great....:cry*ing:

I don't have much time so will just post some quick ideas without much explanation.

Could you try a dap diffuser ? Not sure if these can be used with puppies ?

or a snugglepuppy ? http://www.snuggleme.com/dog_products/snuggle_puppies/snuggle_puppies.htm

or
Do you have a small room that is tiled or vinyl you could put him in with his bed instead of a crate, or crate in but with door open, leave a radio on and ignore him. If he has a few accidents you can clean up the next day without incident until he can hold on longer ? This will also help him to not use the toilet during the night for attention. Have you have him vet checked to make sure there is no irregularity with his bladder ?

does he actually go when you take him out ? if so for ones or twos ?
do you exercise him before bed ?

Thanks for the suggestions, We do make sure he is exercised before bed, and he goes everytime during the night that we take him out.

Last night he woke up every TWO hours to pee, and he went each time.

We are going to the vet today and we will make sure to check again that he doesnt have any bladdar infections.

My Truman is the same age as Kip, and it was only until about 2 weeks ago that we didn't get up in the middle of the night to let him out...although it was only once in the middle of the night, not multiple times...if it was a weekend when we were sleeping in, I'd let him out again around 6:30 and then bring him back to bed. I think the timing was very similar with Miles, too...it seems unusual that he would have to go out that often, so I would definitely see if your vet can check him for a bladder infection, etc...I know it's frustrating and it seems like they're never going to "get it", but see what your vet says because that seems unusual. Good luck, and hang in there! :flwr:

We are hoping everything is ok. He isnt acting unusual otherwise and doesnt show any other symptoms besides frequent potty breaks.

It just has been wearing us down, and we feel that we are doing something wrong.

Just keep with it It will get easier

Oakley will still at 18 months ring his poochie bells at about 3 am if he needs a wee. All depends on wether he has had a walk in the evening/if he's been eating a chewy stick/been training.

Your baby is still ONLY a baby - be proud of the fact that he will tell you he needs to pee pee.:xfngr: it will all come into place soon.

My little guy is 4 1/2 months old, and we put him to sleep around 10-10:30 pm. Most nights he gets us up around 2:30 am to go potty (usually pee & poo). It's a bummer to get woken up, but he really needs to go, so that's what we do. He then goes back to sleep until 6:30-7:00 am. He then is really hungry for his breakfast. I too thought he would be sleeping through the night by now.

vicarrieous said:

Last night he woke up every TWO hours to pee, and he went each time.

We are going to the vet today and we will make sure to check again that he doesnt have any bladdar infections.

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That does seem to be an aweful lot of wees. I am glad you are taking him to the vet. At the very least it will be reassuring for you.

When my guys were little I usually only needed to take them out to pee once through the night, provided I took them out really late & just before we went to bed.

UPDATE!

We went to the vet and Kipling is doing fine. The vet reassured us that he didnt have a bladdar infection and that he probably didnt sleep well the night he went out every two hours or he ate something outside that was bugging him. She was very positive in reminding us that he is doing well if he is letting us know he has to go out and sometimes it takes pups longer to connect the training with what it really means.

Last night was much better. He calmed down after 2 minutes and went to bed. He only got up once to go and stayed quiet until our alarms went off. It might be a few more weeks until he can really handle so we will take it one night at a time.

YAY! I'm glad you got some answers and feel better

Glad the vet put your mind at ease!

My pup did it too

I had one of the folding fabric-type portable crates and finally figured out if I opened the top just enough to stick my hand in there he would settle back and go to sleep. After a few nights of that, he figured out he could open the top himself! Well, I decided I would try letting him sleep in our bed even though my hubby was opposed to it. Well, we've never had a problem since. He slept all night and went out first thing in the morning instead of in the middle of the night. Not the best way to solve the problem, but it worked for me!

Funny you should mention that. We know that if he slept with us he probably would be fine but we would never EVER get him out of our bed. He is a little social cuddle bug and loves when he can get up into our bed.

My husband isnt ready to let him sleep with us yet, but I am sure if he keeps it up for another month or so I am sure my husband might break.

LOL maybe that is why he is having so many issues, he knows that we will give in if he wont.

Oh well, we just got to keep the training going.

Sleeping through the night

Hi,
We are going through something similar. We got Sam in early December (8 months old)and after a few weeks he would sleep through the night in his puppy play pen and if he did his business he would have plenty of room to go back to sleep on his blanket. He learned quickly and John brings him out at 5am so he lasts through the night.
Then we got Charlie in late January (8 months old) and he was the opposit, he would sry if he did a wee/poo in his playpen (Sam was moved to his bed but he claimed the couch!!) for someone to clean it. He would wake up and scratch just for someone to go down to bring him out. We do ignore him when eh crys, I know it sounds mean but it is the only way he will learn. He is gradually getting better, he has gone two nights in a row now without doing anything in his bed. It is very hard to not go down because I always feel there is something wrong. John gets up at 5am so the pups are brought out then.
Its hard but if you keep it up it will be worth it and everyone will get a good nights sleep.
I also heard if you put something you wear in the crate this will help because he can smell you off it.
Emma