Puppy won't sleep through the night!

[DaniLouise]

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Help!

We have an 11 week old Cockapoo, we got her at 9 weeks. We are really struggling with getting her to sleep through the night. The first night she was home she didn't make a peep (in the kitchen), we thought all our dreams had come true and we had got a really well behaved puppy! Second night...she absolutely screamed the house down, I have never heard anything like it. After this we got her a crate and put the crate in our bedroom, she seemed to sleep a bit better knowing we were in the room and just woke up for the toilet. Things we read said to only have her in our room for a few nights so we started her downstairs on a night having the run of the living room and kitchen as I don't want her sleeping in our room, it was only to get her used to the crate that we did this initially. Now she wakes up without fail at 2,3,4 o'clock and me and my partner take it in turns to go spend the rest of the night on the sofa. It's not even her waking for the toilet as she doesn't do anything when we take her out, she just wakes up howling and I feel bad ignoring her as I don't want to wake the neighbours up! We have tried leaving a radio on, the tele on, a lamp on, using baby monitors to tell her no, we take her out to the garden just before we go to bed at around 11.

She also seems to suffer very badly with separation anxiety, I can't even go to the toilet without her howling and crying. We've tried a diffuser, calming tablets etc and we are just at a loss of what to do next!

Any advice or help would be welcome please!

 

[JoanneF]

Go back a few steps. Remember she has been in a litter, being alone is a horrid scary thing for her. Have her in your room, in the crate if you want, to reassure her. many people make the mistake of allowing a puppy to cry in the hope that they grow out of it, when actually all they have done is cement in the puppies mind that being left in the crate (or alone, or whatever is causing the crying) is indeed a terrible thing, and for many dogs this fear becomes a learned habit. So you can put a hand down to stroke and comfort her if she gets distressed. It wont make her clingy; it will reassure her and make her more confident. Please dont ignore her, you wouldnt ignore a crying child and leave her in an empty room. Make sure she doesn't need to toilet - at her age I would take her out a couple of times in the night - if she cries after being out you can tell her to settle so she learns night times are for sleeping. When you do take her out to toilet in the night time do it with little fuss; just praise her when she goes.

Gradually you can start to move the crate away, to outside your room for a few nights, further away for a few nights until eventually she is in the room you want her to sleep in. But if you get a setback in behaviour you have gone too fast and need to go back a step and move more slowly.

The separation again is something that needs to be built up. Wait until she is relaxed, maybe give her something like a stuffed Kong, and leave the room for 30 seconds, then come back. Slowly build up the time. Very slowly. This may take weeks. But don't rush it, if you do she will get stressed.

 

[gypsysmum2]

I agree with Joanne.

Also I would try to make her more independent overall. Try to ignore clingy behaviour and reward independent behaviour with attention. Whenever she is playing or resting by herself make sure to just say "good girl" and smile at her.

Try not to let her rest touching you all the time. Once she has settled then just move away from her so that she wakes up having slept independently. This will increase her confidence that she can do it.

An unwashed item of clothing sometimes helps to comfort them.

Early morning waking is natural to animals. If you can make the room really dark and use a radio to drown out the dawn chorus it might help. Of course she is still young and will need to toilet during the night. Just don't be too interesting to her when you do get up. Just out, toilet, back to bed.

Don't forget to socialise, socialise, socialise!

 

[DaniLouise]

Thanks so much for your replies, took your advice, put puppy in her crate in our room and not a peep until 7 this morning

Just to keep on with it now and all the other training to hopefully make her a happy confident dog!

 

[JoanneF]

Thanks for the update, I'm glad you had a good night!