How can I get her to stop yelping/barking at night?

[Dahlia]

Sophie is 11 wks old and we've had her for 3 wks now. I'm crate training her, so she sleeps in her crate at night and she yelps and cries half the night. A few days ago I started putting her crate, with the door open, in a large playpen at night, with a paper in the corner of the playpen and toys for her to play with. Still she is yelping all night. She cries a while, then goes to sleep for a little while, then wakes up crying again. This goes on all night. Is there anything else I can do? I leave the TV on all night and the kitchen light.

[badger]

Could be all those damn infomercials.

[Dahlia]

Haha, badger that is too funny. I actually got up Saturday morning and an infomercial was on. I thought, no wonder she was crying!

[Eleni]

Sammy does the same thing,

my husband felt bad for him and slept on the couch while sammy was free all night


we woke up to quite a mess, I think my husband now realises why i turn the radio on and the the pup whimper away.


Im assuming its a separation anxiety of sorts, or maybe a lonliness

its really much safer for sammy to be crated and whining, then wandering the hosue and chewing random things, so i get over my awwww hes sad factor quickly enough


Eleni

[Trinitie]

Where is her crate normally? Beside your bed? If not, on the weekend when it's not going to kill you to miss a little sleep, put her crate right beside your side of the bed, or whoever she's closer to.

Bring her out for her last potty break just before you put her away. When she starts to whimper, check the time to make sure it's not because she may have to go potty. If you determine it's not a potty request, put a hand down and tell her in a stern, but not angry, voice to "hush!". She'll be able to see the hand and smell you, so she'll know you're close. The stern "hush" will tell her you're not going to put up with her protests. With any luck, she'll get used to the idea that kennel means sleeping. If she starts to get better, and quieter, you could always try moving her kennel a little farther away. Eventually, you'll be able to move her completely outside your bedroom, if that's what you want.

I hope this helps!

[Dahlia]

Sometimes I do get up and sleep on the couch with her so she won't wake the baby up, but I decided that if I just ignore it she would stop. That's why I put the paper in the playpen for her so I won't be feeling sorry for her thinking she has to go out. She is realy good about using the paper if she has to. But she seems to be getting worse, definitely louder. I guess she thinks she must not be loud enough or I would come get her so she gets louder. Maybe I should just turn on the tv or radio in our room and the kids' rooms so we can't hear her.

[Trinitie]

She's still very young, and you should try, at least once or twice, putting her beside your bed to help train her to be quiet. If you're not around to tell her it's not good to be noisy, how is she supposed to know?

[Dahlia]

Thanks, trinitie. Right now the crate is in the dining room because the baby sleeps in our room and I don't want her waking him up. He wakes up enough on his own without help from her. Maybe if I put her in our room she wouldn't yelp, though. She doesn't start it until we go to bed. Last night she was in her crate sleeping for an hour before we went to bed then as soon as I walked down the hall to go to bed she started. The baby is teething and has a cold so he was up and down all night as well. I think I'm going to go crazy if one of them doesn't stop soon.

[luvmybeagles]

I think she's feeling abandoned.

When my older beagle was a pup, she was contained to the kitchen at night. I made her a little "den" under the desk, and every night I'd put her to bed. I'd have to lay on the floor beside her until she drifted off to sleep, and then sneak away from her. As long as she didn't see me leave, she was fine, but if she saw me go she howled her head off.

It sounds like bedtime is a traumatic experience for Sophie. She knows everyone is going to leave her and she's going to be all alone. And up to 3 weeks ago, she was probably sleeping with mama and litter mates at night.

Is there anyway you can get her in her bedtime place in advance without her knowing it's bedtime? Then once she's drifted off to sleep you quietly drift away.

It may be the actual sight of everyone leaving her that's setting her off. If she just wakes up a few hours later and realizes she's now alone it may not trigger those feelings of abandonment she's getting from watching everyone walking away from her at bedtime.

[Trinitie]

The puppy is crying because she can no longer see you. If you don't mind her sleeping beside your bed, I recommend trying it until she's older. I don't know beagles, so I can't say if this is common for the breed or not.

Any beagle owners out there who can help Dahlia?

(I'm sorry to hear about your baby not feeling well!)

[Dahlia]

Sometimes I hold her in my lap until she goes to sleep, then put her in her crate and she seems to be better then. I just am not always able to do this. I would put her in bed with us, which she would LOVE but half the time the baby's in our bed and there's not really room for all of us. I'm going to try keeping her up more during the day since she naps a lot and maybe she'll be too tired at night to be up screaming her head off. I will also try putting the crate by my side of the bed. Maybe that way she won't feel so abandoned. During the day if I'm on the couch she's perfectly happy on the floor by the couch, so maybe she'll be okay next to our bed. I just haven't tried it yet because if she starts yelping in the night the baby will be wide awake and dh will be mad because he has to get up at 4:30 am.

[Dahlia]

Actually, I have read that beagles don't like being alone. :sad: We've had lots of beagles, but we always had more than one dog at a time and they were outside dogs.

[Princesss04]

I was going to ask what you thought about getting a friend. Maybe an older dog. So that she would have someone to be with but not another puppy because that could make thing worse. But an older dog that would help her alot. I would try to keep her up as late and as long through the day as you can. Than do not put her to bed until you all are ready to go to bed. When our puppies were little we would go to bed the same time they were because they felt like we were all going to bed at the same time. Because it is easy for them to fall asleep wake up see you up and stuff and than they want out. I would also recommend getting her up and taking her potty. Not letting her go in the house at all. Bad habbit to break. I would wake up and take her out let her run than let her go back to bed. That is what we did with Meater and Chino. We would never let them go in the house. Makes it harder to break. They think as long as I really have to go I can go in the house. Or I know that is how it was with our dogs. And I have rotten enough dogs I can not let them get any bad ideas.

[sammiec]

No dog likes to be alone. They are pack animals. She is whining and crying because she feels left out - all of you are all cozy in bed together and she's alone in the dining room! I would cry too!

She is still very much a baby and probably misses the heat and comfort of her litter mates. When we first got Briggs this was the first time that she was away from her litter mates. It was hard, and it will be. But you CAN'T get up to comfort her in the middle of the night or pay any attention to her when she acts this way.

She needs to have something warm in her crate to cuddle up to. We used one of those magic bean heating bag - like a hot water bottle, just not as dangerous.. Then wrapped it in a towel and put it beside her. This helped her sleep a little more comfortably at night.
Does she still go out for bathroom breaks at night? I would say that she probably should be. Briggs was out 2 times during the night at 11 weeks old. Living on the 18th floor of an apartment building really sucks for this, but it had to be done!

Hope things begin to look up for you!

[Eleni]

lol thats funy you say companion,

my mother had a bull terrier that was a big time suck, he would whine alot when he was alone too,

my mom ended up gettign a cat[i now have her]

the cat was his companion till he passed away, they went everywhere together, napped together, got into trouble together.

it was the sweetest thing to see.


Eleni

[Dahlia]

Actually, Princess, I have thought about getting another dog but I don't know if we can handle more than one right now. I had mixed feelings about the paper thing, but when she was waking up at night having to go potty she would just do it in her crate instead of waking us up first. Then she would have a fit wanting out. And I was exhausted and cranky as He** from getting up all hours of the night with her so I thought MAYBE giving her a place to go potty would keep her quiet at night, but it isn't working so I guess I should take the paper away and since she's waking me up at night with all that yelping, I might as well be taking her out. She has gotten a lot better about not going potty in her crate. As I mentioned in another post, she had diarrhea when we got her and is still being treated with Albon, so that's probably why she was going in the crate. She was just waking up and had to go RIGHT NOW, no time to let anyone know. At least that's what I think.

Don't get me wrong, I love my little puppy, but the next dog we get will definitely be older, but that probably won't be until we move to a bigger house in a few years.

[sammiec]

Based on her age she should be going outside about 1 - 2 hours. You can't wait for her to tell you, you have to tell her that she is going out, and now. We were very lucky with night time accidents because we made sure that one of us got out of bed at 1 am and 3am (then hubby is up at 5) to take her out. We would take turns. She won't necessarily whine when she has to go! You have to be the leader and TELL her that she is going out now!

I think she is having a fair bit of confusion with your training. She needs to be bought one or the other - how to use the papers, then graduate to the outdoors, or straight outside. One or the other.

[Dahlia]

Ugh, I can't set the alarm to get up every hour and take her out. Dh is NOT getting up to take her out since he has to work and I stay at home. The alarm would wake the baby and that would NOT be a good thing. I have never heard of anybody getting up at night to take a puppy out until I came to this website. I guess maybe I could sleep in the living room so everyone else doesn't have to be woken up, but I really don't want to. I am already so tired my dh keeps asking my why I have an attitude lately. Hmm, I can't imagine. I know having a puppy is just like having a baby, but I don't really feel safe going outside all hours of the night. At first it didn't bother me, but sometimes I just get a bad feeling being out there all alone, like someone's watching me and dh is in the house sleeping. It would take a trainwreck to wake him up at 2 am.

[Princesss04]

Here is what we did. Meater had a harder time with the potty at night thing than Chino did. Meater we got up about every two hours and woke him up even if he was asleep and took him out. He would go fast and then back to bed. Than we would move the time longer and longer till now they are fine. Than there is Chino that he was holding all night at at about three months easy. So I think you need to get up and take her out because I think she is getting mixed feelings and is not sure what to do. She is so CUTE! I love her ears. Youd did a WONDERFUL job picking her out. I know it is no fun but get her through a little longer and you will be glad you trained her this way now. Give her time and she will be able to hold it longer and will get lined out. Hang in there. You are a good mommy. You do not have to run in the yard with her just let her do her business and get back inside.

[sammiec]

Welcome to the joys of puppy hood.

Somethings just have to be scraficed for your pets. Some are willing to and others are not... :sad:

I live in a very busy city.. I too don't feel comfortable out at 4 in the morning..at an apartment complex... but it's not like you're parading around the neighbourhoold it's just a quick out to pee and poop, then in. Don't you have a backyard? That's a little safer.

If you're not willing to go out at night to let your little puppy relieve herself, you're going to have to work at just paper training... that means when she makes an accident in the house, off the paper you don't say no and take her outside, you take her to the papers... there are great books at the pet store, and if you research online you can find very helpful ways to make this training work for you. I personally don't believe in it and find it as the easy way out, but please, that's just my opinion. There is still the possibility that she can revert back to her old ways when she is older and use the papers/magazines that you leave on the floor for her potty when they are not intended for that.

[Princesss04]

Sammi that is what happend to my aunts dog. It was paper trained for about 6 mts. And than she trained her to go outside. Than at about three years old she started peeing and pooping on ANY paper she could find in the house. (School books, papers, etc) and they took her to the vet and nothing was wrong. So to this day she will go outside SOME time and than the other times go in the house where she thinks is okay. I think this is because she was so confussed. My aunt today says her next dog will be trained to go outside from the start. Because when they get bigger you have to have more and more paper to catch all the mess.

[sammiec]

Exactly my point Princess! They don't know the difference, because that's what they've been taught!! It's so very confusing for the poor dogs! And to have a 45lb pit bull peeing and pooping on paper is NOT my idea of FUN! I totally disagree with paper training, sorry, but I do.

[Princesss04]

When we got Charming from the shelter he was paper trained and he would pee down stair in the den (getting remolded at the time) becuase it was like the concrete (spelling) floor he was use to and than when he would see a paper he would pee. LOL They do get confussed.

[Dahlia]

Yes, I do have a back yard, and it is also fenced in, but I have actually seen someone moving around behind the fence before, not sure if it was just some teenagers out walking around late at night or what, but I didn't like it. I live in a subdivision and one day I was out walking and two teenage boys started walking toward me across the field and one of them was calling my name. I ignored them and walked home as fast as I could but they followed me the whole way. I came in the house and locked the door and they hung out in the street in front of my house for a little bit then went back where they came from. They live in an apartment complex up the street from my subdivision and they are known trouble makers. I don't know how far they would go but I don't want to find out. I'm not afraid of them, but I am smaller than them and I don't trust them. Just because my yard is fenced in doesn't mean someone couldn't climb the fence and be out there waiting when I go out. Not trying to make up excuses not to take her out, but that's the way I feel. I don't necessarily like paper training either, just the idea of dog poop in the house is gross to me even if it is on paper, and you're right, I was just trying to find the easy way out, but I guess I'll have to go back to taking her outside during the night. That sucks. I am just SOOO tired! I thought maybe if she didn't get ANY attention during the night she would stop whining to be let out. Guess not.

[sammiec]

LOL at first we had a bit of trouble with concrete as well... not in our apartment, but the sidewalks and the elevator floor was smooth! As soon as her little paws hit that floor she would go! We had to carry her out to the grass at first to make sure that she didn't leave a messy trail on the way!

[Princesss04]

Sammi I know all about that. LOL I can just picture you carrying your baby as fast as you can saying "Don't pee Don't pee) LOL !

[Bearsmom]

Originally Posted by Trinitie

Where is her crate normally? Beside your bed? If not, on the weekend when it's not going to kill you to miss a little sleep, put her crate right beside your side of the bed, or whoever she's closer to.

Bring her out for her last potty break just before you put her away. When she starts to whimper, check the time to make sure it's not because she may have to go potty. If you determine it's not a potty request, put a hand down and tell her in a stern, but not angry, voice to "hush!". She'll be able to see the hand and smell you, so she'll know you're close. The stern "hush" will tell her you're not going to put up with her protests. With any luck, she'll get used to the idea that kennel means sleeping. If she starts to get better, and quieter, you could always try moving her kennel a little farther away. Eventually, you'll be able to move her completely outside your bedroom, if that's what you want.

I hope this helps!

Trinitie---I LIVE for your advice....you just answered something I was going to ask.

[jjgeonerd]

Another option is to let her sleep in the bed with you while she is still so young. When she moves it should wake you up and you'll know she wants out. This will also satisfy her need for companionship. When she gets a bit older she could sleep beside the bed or something. Like everyone has said...she's just lonely.

From what I've read in her posts Tenderfoot uses this method for small puppies. You could PM her and ask about it?

Gabby was about 3 1/2 months when she started sleeping on the side of the bed. She would cry and whine otherwise, but as soon as we let her stay beside the bed she was quiet. She was crate trained, but only marginally house trained, yet she never had an accident in our room (we sleep with the door closed).

Just a thought.

[topaz_n29]

Harley is just over 10 weeks..we got him at 7 weeks..the first nite..i just put paper in the back 1/2 of his kennel and blankie to the front..he hardly whined at all..he cud see me..and we all go to bed at that same time..he has never from nite one..went in his kennel..so he just has his blankie in their..as soon as he sees me putting on my pj's..he goes in his kennel..he wakes me up around 6 or 6:30 am..goes for pee..then comes bak to bed w/me and our shep/rottie..we sleep till 8:30..when it is feeding time for all 4 dogs..i did this w/all my dogs and i dunno..it seemed to work..i think all going to bed at the same time helps..i read for awhile..he falls asleep..then lites out.
Wish i cud help more...Top. :

[Dahlia]

Thanks, everybody. I put her crate beside my bed last night and she never made a peep. Now I'm thinking, why didn't I do this sooner? I am used to listening for movement with the baby sleeping in a crib in our room, so I didn't wake her up to take her out. She slept from about 12:15 last night until 4:40 this morning, when dh's alarm went off. Actually the baby woke up first and I think his whining woke Sophie up. I took her out to pee then put her back in her crate and went back to bed til 6:30 when it was time to get the kids up for school. She protested a little that time, but I stuck my fingers in the door and she licked them til she fell asleep. I have given up on going back to bed after the kids get on the bus. I would love that extra hour of sleep but Sophie acts like she's starving at 7 am, then she wants to play. So I'm usually up for the day at around 6:30, then my nephew comes at 8. I watch him during the day while his dad works.