When will I get a good nights sleep again??

[team bella]

Well Jessie has been in the house for 5 nights now and each night is the same...nightmare. I expected her to cry the first couple of nights but to start to settle down. I have never heard screams and yelling like it in my life. I actually thought something terrible was happening to her and went to see what was wrong. It happens about 3 or 4 times a night and the whole house is awake. I have left the radio on for her, put my fleece in her bed, not went to her when she's crying but nothing is helping. I put her to bed for periods during the day just to get her used to time on her own, I don't make a fuss when I leave her and don't fuss when I go back to her. I don't know what else to do. What an I doing wrong ????

[Yorkysue]

I don't think you are doing anything wrong. Some dogs are really laid-back, and settle in straight away, and others take longer for all sorts of reasons. Jessie is one of those! I know what you mean about the screaming - it sounds as if the end of the world has happened!!

I would carry on doing more of the same for a bit longer, maybe try and tire her out just before bed and invest in some earplugs? Hope you don't have close neighbours.
Otherwise, if you really think she won't settle (and this is a matter for only you) I have heard that people will put their puppy cage in the bedroom for the first week or two until puppy feels more confident and settled, and then move it downstairs again, and this has worked. Good Luck

[Karlin]

when I go back to her.

That's your problem. Simply by returning, you reward her behaviour as she gets attention and your presence. You need to ignore this, as difficult as this is. if you want her to remain elsewhere. Many of us have been there with adults, rescues and puppies. Best advice is to invest in some earplugs. Also: Is she all by herself or with other dogs? As noted pups are a lot happier sleeping in a bedroom or with other dogs, rather than left entirely on their own -- she has gone from the warmth nd security of a puppy pack to what to her is total abandonment. In her mind, that places her survival at risk and she is going to howl for attention.

[team bella]

I don't go back to her when she yells, that was only once when I thought there was some sort of slaughter taking place, as I'd never heard anything like it. When I say I go back to her I mean in the morning or when I've been out anyware. She is on her own at night as Bella is still a little unsure of her. We're actually renting a flat from a friend until we move to our new place in Scotland next month. The good thing is the flat above is empty as the doctor who lived there moved out this week.(Before Jessie arrived of course). I'll stick with it at the moment and see how it goes and just pray.

[pikkupupu]

Is she sleeping in the same room with you? If yes, then you could try putting your hand down from the bed to her, so that she can feel that you are here. Then,when she feels more confident, you can change it onto something that really smells like you. If not, some advise to put a warm bottle and ticking clocks in her bed. That can remind her of her littermates and mommy because most likely she is crying because she is scared and is missing her previous family.

Also, maybe the puppy wants to go to the toilet? Did you try walking her out? Minnie woke up in the middle of the night and cried because her bladder was full.

[SamT]

It will all stop eventually, dont worry!! Sam settled after a week. We had a dog playpen for ours and they slept in that. Charlie took months to settle, he used to wake in the middle of the night and scrape and cry but we just ignored it, we knew he was safe. I would say he was crying to get to Sam because Sam was allowed to sleep in the big boy bed when Charlie arrived and Sam was only 4 months. Sam was house trained by then, he just stopped when he was moved out of the playpen. You just have to keep it up and dont go down to him. Its worth it in the end. Our two sleep downstairs and cuddle up on the couch together or their bed they sleep for the night. No trouble anymore!!!! Well they might be in for a shock in a few weeks when baby arrives and starts to wake them with their crying!!

[Tania]

Canine concepts sell this puppy comforter http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/item...--bonzo---dogs

The puppy probably feels a bit lonely, when we got our puppies the same thing happened, we gave in almost straight away, they both sleep in the bedroom with us!

[renate]

at the risk of offending, here is my view of this matter:

i seem to be the only one here who thinks that letting a puppy cry and screem with loneliness and probably also fear of being left alone is not right at all.
how will this small dog ever be able trust completely in a person who is supposed to be responsible (pack leader or whatever one wants to call it), when this person leaves him alone in loneliness and fear, instead of doing the obvious thing, which is to take the little thing into the room where the person sleeps?
the puppy can be in its crate, as long as it is allowed to be in the room with its person/s. what is so wrong about that?

when my cavaliers were puppies i never ever left them on their own at night.
either the puppy was in its crate beside my bed, so that i could touch and comfort it when it was crying, or it simply slept in my bed.

none of my dogs have ever attempted to become topdogs in my household, taking control etc. which i believe is one myth about what happens when one comforts a small dog who is crying with fear and loneliness.
i really do not agree that they howl merely for attention.

none of my dogs is spoilt, has bad manners or pesters me for this or that.
they ar delightful companions who trust me completely, which is one reason why they all do so well at competitions.

who would let a small baby cry itself to sleep? i think the times when such things were practised are long gone.
and why on earth is it supposed to be right to do this to a puppy?

i am sorry if i offend, but i simply cannot see the logic in ignoring the cries of a lonely 'baby'.
i do not think it contributes in a positive way to a trusting and respectful relationship between dog and owner.

[antigone]

Actually, I wondered the same thing when I had human babies. The Absolute Command then (and here) at the time was to put the infant in his/her own room and ignore the crying. I thought it was going to make me crazy! Two weeks after I had my first baby I weighed 10 pounds less than BEFORE I was pregnant. And (unlike now!) I hadn't been at all over weight before I was pregnant. I was nursing my baby and I couldn't tell when he was hungry or cold or lonely. La Lache League (which promotes breast feeding) said to nurse the baby when the baby cried and I was getting up all the time, nursing my baby and falling asleep and drooling all over his head. Finally I just decided that I could not stand it any more. I made a little bed for him that was connected to the bed where his father and I slept. He wasn't really IN the bed with us but his little bed did not have any divider between where I slept and where he slept. When he cried in the night I could just reach over and scoot him over to me and nurse him. He stopped crying all the time and I finally got some sleep. When I tried to justify my actions to all the people who thought it was the wrong thing to do, I pointed out that puppies never sleep alone when they are little. Puppies almost always sleep in a little pile, over and under each other. And so do other little baby animals. That it is UNNATURAL for baby mammals to sleep alone.

So I agree with renate. I think that tiny puppies need to sleep close to their new parent(s). It is too frightening for them to suddenly be all alone. Also, most baby mammals are NOT that good at regulating their own body temperature for quite a while after they are born. They still need a lot of help with everything and they "know" it instinctively (I think). Making baby mammals sleep all alone far away from help is not kind and doesn't exactly set up a relationship of trust.

Just my opinion, though. I have absolutely no facts to support it so take it for what it is worth!

Kathy

[waldor]

I agree with renate, also. Every new puppy of ours has cried, barked and howled until we brought it into our bedroom to sleep. In its own crate, of course.

They need the companionship after being plucked from their litter and sibs. After a month or two ( or three ) they each happily slept in their crate, in a different room. They learned the crate was their bed, were accustomed to the house, and felt safe.

With our Cavalier, if she stirred during the night in her crate - in our bedroom - during the first couple weeks, I would say a few words to assure her and she went right back to sleep.

She knows her place in our family, and is not spoiled rotten.