First night w 9 week old puppy and she’s crying in the crate

[zailan3]

@shieldoffaithlb Tire them out a lot! No food, water, or naps, a few hours before bed.

Do not pull her out everytime she cries. She'll never stop, as you would of trained her to cry to get out, and thus she'll keep it up forever. You want to wait for silence, then say "yes!" And get her out. As soon as possible teach her sit, so she can go quiet, sit, be still, then be released. She'll not associate the crying with the freedom as much that way.

That travel carrier sounds like a good idea. If it's small, you could put the carrier on a bedside table or even on the bed with you. Make sure she's able to know you're right there, it'll calm her down.

Don't let her sleep in bed. That'll just worsen the problem, she'll have more accidents, and it'll not going to help to create the habit you want.

 

[tmcp]

@shieldoffaithlb Things I did with my 9 week old pup:

• Had multiple crates: one in the living room on a tarp with an ex pen so she had a play area.
• Made sure crates weren't too big. Small enough to stand & turn around is enough room.
• Took her potty just before bedtime.
• Developed a bedtime routine of going to the bedroom for quiet pets and cuddling, putting her in her crate, telling her good night, then if/when she started crying, telling her "shhhh. I'm right here". I also started playing a couple of aps I have on my phone. Windchimes seems to be the one that really worked with her. edit: It still does, too!

Now that she's a year old there are no more crates in the bedroom or living room, but she does still have a crate for a doggie den that she loves. Playing windchimes tells her it is time to sleep and she settles immediately. Of course I slept with my ears open, and every time she started whining I got dressed up and took her outside. Thank Gawd I don't have to do that any more! I got SO tired of keeping my winter coat in the bedroom! lol I had to get dressed, THEN put her leash on and take her out. Usually we'd make it completely outside, but not all the time, and if I took the time to grab a jacket off the hook as we passed, it was too late and I was mopping/picking up at 0200.

Stick to a routine and she'll get used to it very quickly! Mine doesn't mind sleeping in a crate, but now there's no room for one in my bedroom!

 

[shieldoffaithlb]

@tmcp We’re already very routine-oriented, so that’s great!

I’ve started introducing her to the crate more today and she’s been sleeping in it for the last hour and half without issues! So hopefully we can get this to translate at night

 

[motorolo]

@shieldoffaithlb I put the crate right next to my bed. When the puppy cries, stick your fingers through the bars and give them some touch until they settle down. Eventually you can move the crate farther and farther away. Also, you'll need to get up with the puppy to take them out to pee in the middle of the night, so this is nice and convenient.

 

[lisaf]

@shieldoffaithlb It's a 9 week old puppy off course they're crying. You wouldn't expect a 9 week old baby to not cry

 

[christianwife123]

@shieldoffaithlb My experience: Slept where the new to us 3 month old puppy could see me in the crate (on the couch so not to disturb my partner), softly and calmly reassured puppy to go “night-night.” Up about every 2-3 hrs at first to go potty. This lasted about 4 nights then I transitioned her to crate in room, still with frequent night time potty breaks although fairly quickly tapering off to only 2 then 1 per night. Carried the pup to the outside potty area and then straight back to crate with no fuss: do not pass go, do not collect $200 .
After about 4 1/2 months old, could make it through the night till about 6am. At 5-6 months old, sleeps quietly in crate from 8-830pm to about 6am.
It is very difficult and not a lot of sleep. Similar but not quite as hard as having a newborn baby. It gets better.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@shieldoffaithlb Hi! We had the same problem. it used to break our hearts everytime.

Then we discovered frozen kongs. Buy and puppy kong and then fill it with puppy kong mixture and then freeze it. You can also use other things like peanut butter if you'd prefer. When we put our pup in her crate we'd put it in there with her and she'd be totally engrossed by it. She'd then promptly fall sound asleep. And no crying at all. Not a peep. It also meant that the crate became a possitive assosiation for her.

Hope this helps.

Edit - Also remember that you should be taking her out at night in those early days. Good luck!

 

[rishley]

@shieldoffaithlb

1. Get an xpen.
2. Set it up close enough to your bed that you can gently and calmly reassure her that you are still there. I like to put the xpen right against the side of the bed so I can randomly hang my arm off the side of the bed to reassure them.
3. Put her crate inside the xpen with a comfy bed in it, a piece of your clothing that has been worn and her favourite toy.
4. Leave the crate door open or remove it completely so she realizes she isn't trapped but that the crate is just a comfy place to rest.
   

I know it can be incredibly frustrating but keep reminding yourself that she isn't being stubborn or a brat, she is just a scared baby looking for reassurance from her family. The crate needs to be the BEST place to be in their eyes, so you can start also feeding them their meals in it with the door open to help create more of a positive association.

You got this and will both be sleeping peacefully in no time!

 

[shieldoffaithlb]

@rishley Thanks for this! That’s a great idea!

 

[rishley]

@shieldoffaithlb Absolutely, I hope it works well for you and your pup. I looking forward to seeing an update in the near future!

 

[yochanannorth]

@shieldoffaithlb I used my cat crate at the very beginning and I put it on my night stand so it was at eye level when I was in bed. I wouldn't take him out except for scheduled potty breaks, but I would put my hand on the crate or stick my fingers through the bars so he could be close to me. I use the word settle if he whined and then good boy when he stopped. No fun at night, even when we were doing two potty breaks at night no chance for fun I'd carry him out, set him down to potty, then pick him back up and carry back to crate. It worked pretty well.

But im not a crate person. Soon as I could trust him not to pee on the floor at night I just gated him in the bedroom with me and my other animals.

 

[sanna89]

@shieldoffaithlb My girl doesn't sleep in the crate anymore because she is fully potty trained now and I trust her to not chew on everything. When I brought her home, 1st night was hell because she's got a big mouth. On night 2 I put a matt to sleep on in the living room with her. Each night I moved the matt further away and started moving the matt toward the bedroom. By the end of the week I was in my bed but slept on the edge so she could still see me. Eventually, she was completely comfortable in her crate and slept all the way through the night without her needing to see me.

One thing to mention, do not let her out of the crate until she is completely quiet. By taking her out while she is whining or crying this teaches her that this is the way to get out of the crate. When I would take my girl out of the crate I would sit down in front of the crate and would wait her out until she was calmly laying down not making a peep. She learned this within a few times. My husband didn't do this and she would go berserk and piddled when he took her out. He never did learn and she still piddles when he interacts with her. Super annoying because he won't listen to what I tell him so he can have a successful relationship with her.

 

[shieldoffaithlb]

@sanna89 This is confusing because some people say to take her out to potty when she cries then put her right back in. And other people say to let her cry-it-out. But some people say they’ll develop a negative association with being left to cry in there.

It’s hard because it’s not just here, even when I Google it there isn’t a clear consensus. Everyone is contradicting each other.

 

[sanna89]

@shieldoffaithlb I just know this is what worked for me, I'm not an expert. I tried a couple of different things (including covering her crate, didn't work). She learned from me that crying wasn't going to get her what she wanted. Now sticking her cute lil nose in my face does get her what she wants, which is me awake and food in her bowl. Or special lovings from both me and hubby.

I also didn't really let her cry it out. I made sure she knew I was there and she was loved. Thus, why I slept near her for the first week. Another thing to mention. I had her potty breaks timed. I knew she could hold it for 2hrs, so I took her out every 1hr and 45 min. At night she could hold it for 5 hrs, so I would take her out at 4hrs and 45min (and yes put her right back in after giving her some loves). I even set an alarm to get up. I also listened for her being restless. When she got restless, I would get up and take her out. So, I never really gave her an opportunity to whine or cry.

I also did do positive things in her crate, like play with her in there, give her yummy treats, etc. So, she would have a positive association with the crate. I also loved on her every night while she was in her crate (at bedtime), kind of like rocking a kid to sleep. She didn't love her crate, but she also didn't mind it.

When I was a teenager I had a pup and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. He would whine and I would let him out. I was never able to get him crate trained and wasn't able to get him fully potty trained. On top of that, he was the biggest basket case. He had a severe case of separation anxiety. Tore up door jams, carpets, and stairs when he was left alone. So, I took a much different approach with my current pup and she is much more successful. Fully potty trained within 2mths, no separation anxiety and is now allowed to roam free all the time.

You'll get to know your pup and figure out what works best for her. Take the different advices and mix and match, experiment with what works for your girl and don't use what doesn't. Hope that helps.

Edit: wanted to mention, my girl is highly motivated by affection and she loves praise with a high quality treat. I learned that in the first 2 days with her.

 

[sanna89]

@shieldoffaithlb You're welcome, let me know I can help further.

 

[sanna89]

Treat time in the crate.

https://imgur.com/a/3orQDEs

This is after successful crate training.

https://imgur.com/a/s7NBeuK

 

[callmestormy]

@shieldoffaithlb They all do that. You’ll be fine. Don’t cave.

 

[shieldoffaithlb]

@arlond005 She was next to our bed to begin with

 

[kuroe]

@shieldoffaithlb I slept on the floor until they fell asleep. Usually put my hand in the crate. Then quietly would go back to my bed. Didn’t have to do this very long.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@shieldoffaithlb

Then how do I get any sleep?

You can start sleeping again in about 3 months. Have fun!