Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog health - Ask members * If your pet is vomiting-bleeding-diarrhea etc. Vet time! > Puppy health

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old May 26th, 2011, 07:59 AM
Doggiedose Doggiedose is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 18
New puppy - waking up a lot overnight!

Hello,

I need some help....I'm sleep deprived and starting to break down - and feeling stressed out whenever I want to go to bed.

About a week and a half ago, we got a boxer puppy - she's a female, and turns 10 weeks old today (she was 8.5 weeks old / 2 months old when we got her). Each night we put her in her crate and she falls asleep for a few hours, and then from that point on - usually from about 12:30 / 1:00 a.m. until we get up around 5:30 a.m - she gets us up every 45 minutes to 1 hour. Each time we get up and let her out in the backyard (to ensure she doesn't have an accident in her crate) and she seems to be going to the bathroom each time.

Is going out for the bathroom this frequently (at this age) normal, or is she just trying to get herself out of the crate? I've read that if you take a puppy's age in months and add 1, that's generally the number of hours that they should be able to hold their bathroom habits - e.g. my puppy is 2 months old, so she should be able to hold it for 3 hours. Does this "rule" only apply when the puppy is a bit older - is she just too young to even attempt to hold it at all?

Are we doing anything wrong, are we missing a critical step in this process? We also have a 3.5 year old male boxer who (now) is completely trained and reliable in the house. I remember when he was a puppy, he also woke us up at night, but I think it was only a couple of times at most, and that only lasted for a couple of weeks. I don't think we're doing anything different in how we're treating/training the new puppy compared to our first dog (although I think he may have been closer to 11 weeks old when we first brought him home).

Can anyone reassure me that this will get better? Any tips on how to get her to settle for longer periods of time at night? Someone please tell me this will get better real soon!!!......Thanks.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old May 26th, 2011, 08:10 AM
Melinda's Avatar
Melinda Melinda is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 5,247
some pups can hold it longer, but the rule of thumb is an hour per month plus one, I was lucky, at 10 weeks mine would hold it all night, how much exercise is your pup getting before bed? Boxers like labs need lots of exercise, a tired dog is a good dog remember. at 10 weeks we would do a half hour "soft walk" meaning no running and walking on grass, then 1/2 hour of play time, ball chasing, kid chasing etc and finally about 15-20 minutes of obedience training, this really tires them out because you're working their brain.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old May 26th, 2011, 10:57 AM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 23
We're kinda going through the same thing. We got a Pug/Beagle mix around the same time you got your pup. Trust me, I'm feeling the same as you, I'm pretty strung out right now. Our puppy typically wakes us up twice during the night to go outside, but does have the occasional accident in our room. I've been told multiple times that things will get better soon, so I guess I'll pass those sentiments along to you as well.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old May 26th, 2011, 11:12 AM
Doggiedose Doggiedose is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 18
Hi Melinda,

We haven't started walking the pup yet as we're waiting for her second round of vaccinations (which will be in about 2 weeks), per the advice of our vet. (I can't wait to get her out walking!) Otherwise, she plays a ton with our 3 year old boxer - chasing each other around the yard, running after balls, and a lot of the puppy pouncing on the older one - and both are pretty crashed out in the evening. As I can't wait for her to be crate-trained and potty-trained, I've been trying to do some training with her as well. Thanks for the tips!
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old May 26th, 2011, 11:13 AM
Doggiedose Doggiedose is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 18
Hi Sunaj52,

I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one experiencing this - as much as it sucks, at least it makes all of this feel more normal. I can withstand the multiple wake-ups, but just hope it'll be a much shorter term thing than longer term!
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old May 26th, 2011, 11:27 AM
H.P.'s Avatar
H.P. H.P. is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: VA
Posts: 312
puppy exhaustion

You have hit the point I call puppy exhaustion, I have been there myself, and some of the new owners of foster pups I have adopted out have hit it as well. At this point, some call me in tears, "I can't do this anymore, you have to come get him/her." I have never had to take one back. I have had to go stay at their house for a night so they could get some sleep. Not to worry, it will get better. Make sure you remove water sources 2 hours before bedtime, including toilet lids down! You may think she can't reach it, but you might be surprised. Also, make sure that when she does wake up to potty at night, there is not play time, it is all business then back to bed. Good luck and enjoy the pup!
__________________
Allie the shy dog
Benny the failed foster
ShazBot shelter mutt
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old May 26th, 2011, 11:33 AM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 23
I've actually heard from a couple different sources (Trainers, vets) that you shouldn't restrict a puppies water access during the night. That being said, everything I've read online regarding housebreaking recomends it. So I'm slightly confused as to what we should be doing. I know when we did take the water away 2 hours before bed she'd only wake us up once, but I'm not sure if it's o.k. to do that to the pup or not.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old May 27th, 2011, 08:28 AM
Doggiedose Doggiedose is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by H.P. View Post
You have hit the point I call puppy exhaustion, I have been there myself, and some of the new owners of foster pups I have adopted out have hit it as well. At this point, some call me in tears, "I can't do this anymore, you have to come get him/her." I have never had to take one back. I have had to go stay at their house for a night so they could get some sleep. Not to worry, it will get better. Make sure you remove water sources 2 hours before bedtime, including toilet lids down! You may think she can't reach it, but you might be surprised. Also, make sure that when she does wake up to potty at night, there is not play time, it is all business then back to bed. Good luck and enjoy the pup!
Thanks H.P. Your words are very reassuring. I think we're going to try and limit water later at night, but last night she was looking for water so we gave in and let her have some. She ended up getting up about 4-5 times (can't remember in my sleepy haze, lol), but will bespending more time in her crate today - hopefully that'll help train her a bit.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old May 27th, 2011, 10:33 PM
Sunaj52 Sunaj52 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 23
I think I hit the puppy wall this past week as well. Especially when I came home Wednesday evening and found that our puppy had ripped the top sheet of our bed to shreds. But...I think I'm getting to the point where I'm just expecting something to go wrong each day, that way if everything is fine then I'm pleasently surprised.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old May 29th, 2011, 02:28 PM
Doggiedose Doggiedose is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunaj52 View Post
I think I hit the puppy wall this past week as well. Especially when I came home Wednesday evening and found that our puppy had ripped the top sheet of our bed to shreds. But...I think I'm getting to the point where I'm just expecting something to go wrong each day, that way if everything is fine then I'm pleasently surprised.
Sunaj, it sounds like we're living the same life right now! Sorry to hear about the sheets...that sucks. I'd probably be freaking out. Ours hasn't done that (yet), but she's a lot more "scrappy" than our 3.5 year old dog which I think is partly what's making me feel stressed....I think training will be a totally different experience than my first go at puppy-hood. This puppy is way more into nipping than our first (from what I remember).

We're starting puppy classes in a week and a half. Hopefully I can make it till then! Good luck with your classes. I saw your pics in another thread and your little one is adorable!
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:44 PM.