When will I get a good nights sleep again??

[tara]

I agree with Renate as well. When my humans were babies, they were never left alone to "cry it out." This was (and still is, I'm sure) a very controversial subject, but I thought if they are crying it's my responsibility as their mother and lifeline to comfort them. My kids are now 7 and 3 and go to bed on their own, sleeping comfortably through the night.

When Holly came here as a 12 week old puppy, she slept in her crate. But the crate was in the master bedroom, near my side of the bed. I had a night light on in the room and Holly faced me while in her crate. I found that she got up a couple of times during the night, looked at me, then settled back down. She slept through the night from around midnight to 6 or 7 am. Gradually, that time lengthened.

When she was 6 months old she joined us in the big bed. That really was my choice, not necessarily hers. I enjoy sleeping with her as my husband travels frequently for work.

Perhaps you could try moving the crate to your bedroom, near your bed?

[Cathy T]

Interesting information on both schools of thought. I expect I would do things a little differently with future dogsthan I did with Jake. I like the idea of the crate in the bedroom until they are able to comfortably sleep on their own. Shelby was so easily, she just settled right in. I have done the crate in the bedroom with fosters as they were coming to me at an older age. I really enjoyed hearing both sides of what works for everyone. Some good food for thought. I'm from the school of "let them cry it out"....but you've given me some really good things to think on for the future.

[Jay]

My dogs sleep in their own crates in my bedroom. Four crates in a small bedroom doesn't leave much room for much else, but I like having them near. When Gem and Monty were pups, if they started to cry or wimper, I would talk to them gently. Sapphire and Harley came to me as adults. Sometimes I get awakened by Harley's snoring....his snoring could wake up the dead!
J.

[SamT]

I dont agree with Renate however it does depend on each situation and how you run your household. We did let Charlie cry when he first came and it did him no harm. He is the happiest dog and always wags his tail. Sam only cryed for a few days then settled into his own sleeping pattern. When we come down the stairs in the morning Charlie runs up to you wagging his tail delighted to see you.

We are due a baby in 4 weeks and the baby will sleep in our room for 6 months and if everything is ok please god will be moved into their own room. I did this with my first child and he is now 9 and goes to bed at 8 and gets up at 8 and we have no trouble getting him to go to bed. Babies cry for a number of reasons one of them is if they cant see you or are unsure someone is around. A parent knows the different crys after bonding with the baby. You can let a baby know you are there but not pick them up and this reassurs them you will always be around. Its part of their development. The rule is not let a baby cry its dont pick them up immediately when they start to cry.

Our pups sleep downstairs together, they have a sofa, a big cushion and a bed to choose from. They are happy and healthy.

I do feel that having the dogs in the room with you can affect you relationship with your hubby or wife, but if it was just me on my own I would have the dogs in the bed with me!! Everyone should do what works best for them as baby/kid/doggie parents, no one gets it 100%.

[team bella]

When Bella was a pup she slept in the kitchen. At first she cried a little bit for a few nights and then after that nothing. She would even take herself off to bed at 9pm and that was her until 7am. She is a very confident and friendly, and enjoyed her Good Citizen training and reached Gold Standard. The fact that she slept on her own never effected her and she never suffered separation anxiety. She has slept on the sofa for the past 12 months no problem. I can't leave Jessie in the living room with her, because she is not house trained and Bella is still learning to live with her. Jessie is a completly different pup from Bella. Like Bella she is very confident and outgoing, but just wants to be with you all the time. Last night I tried everything again and tried extra hard to exhaust her before bedtime. I got into bed and all hell broke loose, with increadable howling and yelling with no prospect of stopping. In desperation (night no 6) and against my better judgement, I went to her and popped her into the pet carrier with her comfort blanket. I brought her into the bedroom, and placed her next to my bed. She went straight to sleep and did not stir until 8am.
Based on that I have gone out and bought a crate and will allow her in the bedroom tonight. Fingers crossed I will have a restful night. Next month we will be in our new house and hopefully both dogs will have bonded, and I will attempt to move her out of the bedroom and downstairs. I'll keep you posted.

[Love my Cavaliers]

There's no right or wrong way here - and every pup, like every child is different. We put Oliver in our room in his crate for the first year. Then he started snoring so we put his crate right outside our bedroom. We got Riley when she was 11 months old and we put her in a crate next to Oliver and she was fine from day one. By the time Madison came along, we were in a new house and all three of them slept in their own room - Oliver and Riley on doggie beds and Maddie in a crate. Same thing with Oz, but now three dogs on doggie beds and Oz in the crate. Now,things have changed again. When Riley had her SM decompression surgery, I couldn't stand to have her out of my sight. So, we put her in a crate right by my side of the bed. When she had recovered enough to be out of the crate without fear of jumping, she slept on the bed. She now sleeps right at the foot of the bed and doesn't move all night. Oliver has decided that he too would like to sleep with us, but he sleeps in his own bed on the floor. Oz and Maddie sleep in their own room because they are crazy in bed and move every time I do and have to sleep on me or pressing up to me. So, they're on their own and it seems like it's working well for all of us. When they know it's bedtime, Oz and Maddie go into their room, Riley climbs the stairs into my bed and Oliver lies down in his bed. Everyone is happy and we get a good night's sleep every night (except when I have to get up and pee 2-4 times a night - this getting older stuff is not always fun!).

[Mindysmom]

Max started out sleeping in a crate in our room (Mindy sleeps in our bed). He has never been a great sleeper. I probably got in the habit of taking him out when he whined at all for far too long as I didn't want him having to pee in his crate. He consistently woke up between three and 4 a.m. Finally at about 4 or five months I moved his crate downstairs. It made a big difference. I think he was getting no sleep because sadly, dh, Mindy, and I all snore. He still wakes early but he is never vocal - he scratches the bottom of his crate. Rylie came home and slept beside Max. Only on one occasion (this past week in fact) he made a huge fuss shortly after I put him to bed so I did let him outside. Sure enough, he had to pee and poo. In the dark I guess I didn't notice that he was too busy running around to do his business when I let him out. I don't know how long he'd sleep in the morning - longer than Max that's for sure.

[Cathy T]

There's no right or wrong way here - and every pup, like every child is different

Isn't that true?? After reading all of these responses you can really tell how different each dog is.

[tara]

Exactly, there's no right or wrong way -- just go with what works for you and your household. I found that hearing my babies cry (human or furry) was more disturbing than the work involved in going to them when they were crying or having them nearby so that they didn't cry. I have an extremely low threshold for any crying -- that of my kids / animals or other people's. But that doesn't mean that my kids / pets are happier or better adjusted just because I can't stand to hear crying. I really believe that every individual needs to decide what works for them and to &^$# with what others think! Breastfeeding was an example of this -- I'm aware of the health benefits to infants, but I just couldn't make it work and struggled with every feeding. I stopped after a couple weeks with my first baby (and didn't even start with my second). I felt the "heat" of those who clearly thought I shouldn't feed my babies a bottle.

It sounds like your little one is on her way to letting you sleep. Just keep going with what feels right and remember that they're only babies for a very short time. That was the beauty of my second child -- I knew that "this too shall pass!"

[Margaret C]

We have two little chins that expect to come on the bed each night. Benny sleeps on my pillow.

The other seven dogs don't even try to come in at night , they sleep on blankets by the bedroom door or on a dog bed, wherever they please.
We have a dog flap & a walled garden, so no problems as long as there are no hedgehogs paying a late night, or early morning, visit

All the dogs come in when my husband gets up. I get smothered by fur.

When he is away they all head for the bed as I turn out the lights, & I am lucky if I can even get my legs under the covers.