We have a 10 week old lab. Every night is the same. My GF sleept with him downstairs in the coach for 3 or 4 days to help him settle in while I was preparing for my PhD defense. Now we’re doing the tough love route. He has his zoomies at around 10 p.m. Then we go potty outside (he more of less has learnt to do this) and we crate him around 11 when he has fallen asleep. We put toys in his bench. The night goes smoothly as long as he doesn’t realize we’ve left the room. He usually wakes up at 1 and then starts crying/barking until about 2 pm and then he’s tired out. Is tough love and just ignoring him the correct route here? Is this “normal” after a week? Can we do better?
Puppy incessantly cries for an hour every night
hazelelponi
New member
@tami1959 I recommend reading the Wiki pages linked in the Automod comment. You have a tiny baby who still had the instinct that if he's alone, he might die. That instinct fades around 12-13 weeks old and puppy will start being more confident and independent, but until then he needs comfort and for you to be close by.
Don't ignore him. Right now you're showing him that you can't be relied on to help him. For the early days I always responded to puppy when they vocalized for help. Is he needing night time potties or a sip of water? Do your best to meet his needs at this point. If it's possible to keep sleeping on the couch for a bit longer, or to have him closer to you somehow, that can help.
Don't ignore him. Right now you're showing him that you can't be relied on to help him. For the early days I always responded to puppy when they vocalized for help. Is he needing night time potties or a sip of water? Do your best to meet his needs at this point. If it's possible to keep sleeping on the couch for a bit longer, or to have him closer to you somehow, that can help.
@hazelelponi Yup, too early for tough love according to the research. But hey the fact you're asking means you're going to be fine! You're doing great!
Start teaching fetch and start scouting areas you can go play fetch to tucker the pup out. Preferably areas dogs don't go normally as your vaccines won't be done. I thought zoomies were just a fact of life but really it's just an excess of energy. A couple rounds of fetch will make that a thing of the past.
Scout during the time you'll be going and get a long lead, idk if you got a full sized poodle but my husky has grown out of the 30ft lead already for fetch and I need to get something longer til I find a place where she can be off leash and she's better at recall.
Start teaching fetch and start scouting areas you can go play fetch to tucker the pup out. Preferably areas dogs don't go normally as your vaccines won't be done. I thought zoomies were just a fact of life but really it's just an excess of energy. A couple rounds of fetch will make that a thing of the past.
Scout during the time you'll be going and get a long lead, idk if you got a full sized poodle but my husky has grown out of the 30ft lead already for fetch and I need to get something longer til I find a place where she can be off leash and she's better at recall.
@hazelelponi I read that wiki. But I also read other advice elsewhere that you’re instilling behavior in him that whenever he cries, we come. And that we’re then not teaching him that it might take longer to come back but eventually we do. So I’m generally confused by all the advice
@tami1959 Well yeah the internet sucks for dog training advice.
This subreddit, and the American Veterinarian Society of Animal Behavior recommends the use of positive reinforcement techniques over aversion techniques as they are better for the dog and human in the long run.
If you are reading articles, a well-respected accreditation is CPDT-KA. If you are on YouTube you could ask Google if person has any qualifications or what other people say about them.
Positive reinforcement methods can take longer for some things but yield long lasting results and don't cause harm.
The ignoring techniques for crate training isn't great because what if your dog needs to pee or is thirsty.
Unfortunately, if you want a well trained dog you either pay an expert or you pay someone.
This subreddit, and the American Veterinarian Society of Animal Behavior recommends the use of positive reinforcement techniques over aversion techniques as they are better for the dog and human in the long run.
If you are reading articles, a well-respected accreditation is CPDT-KA. If you are on YouTube you could ask Google if person has any qualifications or what other people say about them.
Positive reinforcement methods can take longer for some things but yield long lasting results and don't cause harm.
The ignoring techniques for crate training isn't great because what if your dog needs to pee or is thirsty.
Unfortunately, if you want a well trained dog you either pay an expert or you pay someone.
@hazelelponi I've got a litter of 8 week old Labradors who all sleep together in a pen right next to their mum. They also scream for about an hour each night. I think they sometimes just enjoy screaming.
@tami1959 is the crate in a separate room?
having the crate in the same room as you sleep will help the puppy feel not alone.
move the crate slowly from the bedroom to the hallway. eventually you’ll have the crate to wherever you want the crate to be.
crating takes a while but it’s normal for a 10 week to cry at night.
having the crate in the same room as you sleep will help the puppy feel not alone.
move the crate slowly from the bedroom to the hallway. eventually you’ll have the crate to wherever you want the crate to be.
crating takes a while but it’s normal for a 10 week to cry at night.
@tami1959 My puppy has never slept in my room with me, and now as a young adult he even prefers his own space. However screaming for an hour is not great. For the first 4-6 weeks I would sit with him until he settled and fell asleep. He slept in a pen with an open crate attached. I would time how long it took him to calm. The first couple weeks it took anywhere from 10 minutes to 40 minutes. If it was more than 4-5 minutes I took him out petted him a bit tried to get him to stop vocalizing, and put him back in the pen with a couple of small treats. We just repeated the process until he was tired and fell asleep. Letting him scream for an hour is just getting him more and more upset and it’s going to make it harder for him to calm down. At 10 weeks I wouldn’t ignore any type of frantic vocalization. But sometimes you can’t get there right away and that’s ok (like if you’re in the bathroom or shower). Now at 19 months if I hear him barking at night I just tell him everything is ok and go back to sleep. But if he barks more than a couple times I still get up and check. I don’t think there is a right or wrong place to teach your puppy to sleep, but if they are further away from you it may take longer for them to feel comfortable with their sleeping arrangements.