Help!!!

domermom

We've had a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy (9 weeks old now) sinceDecember 9th. My family (husband, 3 kids) haven't had a night's sleep ever since. I don't mean to sound like and idiot, because I really feel like one, but at what point do most dogs get used to being in their crate at night? We've been doing a routine as best we can and we've put him in his crate for the night as late at 11pm, but to no avail .. he wails, howls, cries until well after midnight. My husband is ready to send him back to the breeder, but I'm still thinking that he's getting acclimated to his new home. Am I wrong? His crate is in the foyer on our main level. I'm not thrilled with the idea of having him in our bedroom ... but at this point, I'll take any suggestions.

Sleep deprived in Indiana

all4thedogs

I would for the time being put him in your room. Remember he has just been pulled away from his family and all that he knows.

Also be sure he is getting plenty of exercise and is good and tired before going to bed for the night.

I would also crate him for short times during the day, and reward when he is quiet.

Make the crate a good thing, try giving him a stuffed Kong or other treat while he is in there.

Its all worth it in the end! He is just being a puppy.

Sawyer

I'm a big fan of this breed. I saw your pic on the other thread and he's so cute.

You also mentioned on that thread that he pees in his crate. He's still so very young and should be let out at night. Like yours, our pup did great in his crate during the day but he didn't like it at night. We moved him to our room which helped. It was also useful when he woke and needed out - he was close so we could hear him whine and take him out right away before his whines turned to barks.

Any new situation takes time, of course you know this already with 3 kids. Which also means you know the importance of sleep If you are up to it try him in your room (in his crate) for a few days, give it time.

LoveLilly

Some things that helped us were:
Potty pads b/c they just can't hold it that long that young and I needed to sleep
a t-shirt that smelled like me
the crate was covered on at least 3 sides but we needed to do all 4 (have ventilation
2 chew toys and 1 snuggle toy only used in crate
a little toy that was heated in microwave (you could fill a sock with rice too & accomplish this!)
All of this worked well for us and of course she had to be in our room.

luvmyshihtzus

I know exactly what your going through and all it takes is time and a whole lot of patience! He'll get it, don't worry. Good luck!

domermom

Thanks! At least you can put diapers on babies!!! It's getting better ... yes, time will make things better.

sobreeze

sorry i got upset with you early on but you scared me when you said you were ready to send him back sometimes to have a realy great dog and i have some realy great ones you have to put a lot of time and i mean a lot mo. and years yours is just a baby wouldnt it be sad it you missed out on a realy great dog because you you didnt give him the time as a puppy some of mine i thought would never get to that point i have 6 dogs in the house 2 pups less than 6 mo. old and a rescue dog from a puppymill that was used as a breeder and she is only 2 years old and i may never be able to potty train her because puppy mill dogs are hard to train so you have a baby that no one but you have worked with and i know you can make it a great dog even if you do get very little sleep sometimes in a year when you look back you will think this was not that bad just keep up the good work and dont give up i have faith in you as a furkid mom

mistyinca

LOL. After I just got the puppy, I was telling some family members about all the work involved in watching her during the day. One of them remarked..."it's like having a baby." I said, "heck, it's harder than a baby, cuz a baby at least wears a diaper. With the dog, I have to watch her every minute!"

So true.

drfong

I ended up putting ours next to the bed in their crates durring houstraining. If they were restless I could stick my finger in the crate and they would clam right down. Worked for both of them. It is also easier to catch them when they need to go out i the night without it escelating to lots of noise, which then teaches the dog to make noise to get out of the crate. Bad. Now they don't sleep in crates as we like them in the bed, but if we decide we need to sleep alone any given night, they now calmly sleep in the crates in the kitchen. Stick with it. He's very young and away from his family. This is a pain from the stand point of sleep, but a great opportunity to bond with your dog.

zipbags

We have our cocker/lab mix in our room. He was 8 1/2 weeks when I got him two weeks ago. The first night he cryed. But, I put my fingers in his cage for a minute or so. And it stopped. And he has been quiet ever since. I know we are the exception and not the rule. We were going to move him out to the hallway. But, my wife (not a big dog person) said he has been so good let him stay. We also have been lucky with him going potty at night. I take him out between 11:30pm-12am. And he sleeps until after 7am.

Now if I can only get him to stop nipping...I hope age will stop it.

domermom

You were upset with me? Lord, I must be really oblivious! Things are getting better. With the blessing of my vet and the breeder, they suggested that we put his crate in the basement (it's finished) and have some music going. I was nervous and felt like caca for doing it, but guess what ... it worked! No more peeing either. I don't know .. maybe the alone time in a squared off room is calming. I'm still stressed out and feel like I'm screwing Charlie up for life, but he really is coming around. It's amazing how well he takes "no". We start puppy school next month and after that, we will probably have further training with a dog behavior specialist. I like to call them puppy owner specialists as I feel at that point, it's us who are going to be trained.

domermom

Well, he bit 2 of my 3 kids today ... right in front of us ... left a mark on my 5 year old's cheek. We have a behaviorist coming tomorrow, but I'm pretty depressed right now.

Bobby Jane

I couldn't agree more with you.