Puppy started to whine again at night

[Hello Dog]

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Hey! Happy new year all! I’m just after some advice. Our 15 week old whippet puppy, from about day 3, settled really well (most nights) in his crate in the living room which is down the hall from our bedroom. In the last couple of weeks we had a great routine where we had no problems with him at nighttime, only making a noise if he needed the toilet but otherwise sleeping fine on his own in his crate in the living room, away from us. Over the holidays, we went to my parents and spent 2 nights there (he knows them, their dog and their home from multiple mini visits). Due to the sleeping arrangements we had no choice but to keep him in one of our bedrooms during the night. We set up his crate and he slept fine but he was in my fiancé’s room so wasn’t alone. Now we are back home and did our usual bedtime routine but he would not settle and whined when left alone. I took him to the toilet multiple times and waited for him to settle but as soon as I left the room he whined and pulled blankets through his crate, shredded newspaper and moved his bed around. I have had to sleep on the sofa just to keep him calm (kept him in his crate and I have not fussed him. He soon settled). Have we just undone all our hard work? Does this mean we just have to start from scratch? It seems worse then when we first brought him home. I thought sleeping on the sofa for one night might help him understand we are not abandoning him but I don’t want to make it a habit and we do want him to be able to sleep alone in the living room. Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

 

[Hello Dog]

Also wondering if it’s advisable in this case not to stay away with him until he is an adult? So as not to disrupt his routine? I know it’s limiting but I don’t want this to cause long term problems.

 

[JoanneF]

I'd sleep next to him or have his crate in your room for as long as it takes for him to be settled. You want him to be calm and reassured, not anxious, and being there for him will help with that. After a few nights you can make the move apart, but gradually, so if the crate is in your room put it by the door for a few nights, outside the door for a few nights, a few feet down the corridor for a few and so on. If he cries at any stage you have gone too fast so go back to the previous step for a few more nights.

 

[Hello Dog]

I'd sleep next to him or have his crate in your room for as long as it takes for him to be settled. You want him to be calm and reassured, not anxious, and being there for him will help with that. After a few nights you can make the move apart, but gradually, so if the crate is in your room put it by the door for a few nights, outside the door for a few nights, a few feet down the corridor for a few and so on. If he cries at any stage you have gone too fast so go back to the previous step for a few more nights.

Thank you for your reply, it sounds like going back to the beginning which is fine, I just wanted to check if it was the right thing to do. It’s our fault for messing up his routine and I take full responsibility for that. I woke at 3.30am and could hear he was sound asleep so left the living room and didn’t hear a peep from him until 7am so hopefully it’s just some reassurance that he needs for a few nights and we will be back into our routine. I’m going to ensure nothing disrupts it again while he’s so young