Cockapoo 1 Owners 0 - Needing a cage tip!

[colin]

Well he has scored his first victory

I'm tired, cranky and desparate, already!!!!!

Left for Lincoln from Musselburgh this morning at 05.30 and returned @ 17.45

Dog travelled very well, christened the floor several times when we got home which is to be expected. Remarkably though came to life at about 20:00, despite the travel and ran about the back garden like a dafty.

He calmed down and I thought put him to bed at 22:30 so I could get kip but he is having none of it. He went into the cage quite the thing but after a couple of minutes he barked and barked and...

Tears and snotters followed because I'm the villian putting him in a cage, so for the sake of my family, sanity and new addition took the dog out of the cage "just this once".

Any tips on getting a pup to sleep for the first few nights home and how a dog should come to love a cage?

[Ashley]

Oh puppies are tough!! I didnt realise it until we got Holly. You need to just accept that the first few nights are going to be painfully restless, and your sleep will be disturbed with the little one howling for attention and clawing to get out to do the toilet.
The difficult thing we found was distinguishing between when Holly needed out to do the toilet and when she just wanted attention. After a few nights we had kind of sussed her. We obv couldnt expect her to last the whole night without doing the toilet... so JayDee was on night duty and would get up and take her out.

You cant give and let him out "just this once"... its so tempting to do that... but best to start as you mean to go on. You need to ignore his whining but be aware that some whining may be meaning that he needs the toilet.... its tricky, I know!

LOL... i havent been much help have I????
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Ashley with Holly & Murphy.
I hope to one day be as great as my dog thinks I am right now!!

[Ross/Ali]

sorry no tips other than keeping it consistent.

Giles wakes up every morning at 6am from about 1030/11 at night - i dont need an alarm clock any more!
I go downstairs, take him out crate, put him out the back until he poos, let him in, put sky one on (dog whisperer ) - make his breakfast, feed him, play with raggy for 5, put him back in crate and go for shower/ get dressed.

Didnt realise how hard it was to have a puppy! im knackered!
he still makes us both smile and laugh though!

[charlene]

oh those puppy days so cute but not when it comes to sleeping at night
u could try giving him little treats 2 in courage him 2 go in 2 the cage so he see's it as a positive thing, tina refused 2 go in 2 hers at first, whenever i gave her a chew or something i would put it in the cage, now she loves it!! infact both tina and my cat sleep in it together in the cage
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[Anna]

Completely agree with Ashley here! You really need to just ignore his cries for attention, he will eventually learn its his spot to hide or sleep.

Unfortunately my parents don't have quite a strong back bone when it came to this situation, I could ignore her cries but they couldn't (big softies) and now she sleeps on their bedroom floor. Now we have to start all over again at the age of 8months, be persistent, you'll be happy you were later, TRUST ME
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[paul]

I remember the first night we got koda, he slept in the bed with us, that was the one and only night he has ever done this. The second night we put him in the crate, but the crate was directly beside the bed, for two reasons: so that he still felt close to us, and so that we could anticipate when he needed to go.
In the weeks that followed, we gradually moved his crate towards the door and out the room, finally to were he is now, under the stairs.
When putting him in the crate, no matter what time it is, we would always put small amount of food in, so that he always thinks this is a good place.
The other thing we did was get up every two hours, to take him outside. Again as time passed we would wait longer between taking him out... I think this worked best, because very quickly he could make it through the night. We generally would stay up with him until about 12am or maybe even 1am, then we would be back up with him about 6, 7 or 8? Again after time it just got earlier to bed and later to rise.... now he's the laziest huskey we know and doesn't get up until 11 or 12??? shocking....
Anyway that's what we did, and its worked for Koda. The second dog... well that's different

[colin]

Made a compromise of sorts.

Left the cage door open (with blankets and stuff to intice him in) and gets the free run of the kitchen/dining room - which was always my plan anyway.

But he has just barked SOLID since 11.10pm and it's 11.43pm - I'm now only at my wits end because I am sure my neighbours will be going nuts.

Inclined to put my Ipod on and go to bed. What's the worst that can happen... sleep through the alarm and not make it in to work

[StuartW]

You mustn't give in!

If you know he doesn't need a pee and he's well, then ignore him. Ignore him!!! You must, must, must, must ignore him!

1/2 hr is nothing.. give it 3 hours before expecting him to give up.

A few nights of lost sleep for a lifetime of well-adjusted night time behaviour. Same thing goes for human babies.

Buy some earplugs. And kindly explain to the neighbours (if needed) that you're sorry for any disruption, but he will settle.. if you ignore him!!!

Puppies.. little bundles of attention-seeking-misbehaviour.

[Janis]

congratulations colin!!!!!!............welcome to puppy hood!

all good advice and the main thing is don't give in!

having a new puppy is like a new baby in the house..............for the first few days your world is upside down!

STICK WITH ROUTINE!

DON'T GIVE IN ......NOT EVEN 'JUST ONCE'

YOU ARE THE BOSS NOT HIM!

CRATE HIM AT THE SAME TIME EVERY NIGHT .......HE WILL SOON REALISE THAT'S WHERE HE SLEEPS!

TRY PUTTING A COVER OVER THE CRATE ........DARKENING IT MIGHT HELP.

FOR YOU AND THE FAMILY ...............EARPLUGS.......IPOD..........WHATEVER..........HE WILL GIVE UP!


he is a puppy and he like kids is pushing the boundaries to see how far he can get!.................it does get easier and becomes great fun and he will become a great companion for you your wife and the kids but you all need to sing from the same hymn sheet!
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Cockapoo's...a little of this, a little of that..........
the perfect combination!

[marcella]

OK - last night was our first night with 7 week old Tico too .............
She was put in her crate and the crate was beside Emily's bed. She looked for attention until Emily put a blanket over the crate so Tico couldn't see her and she went quiet and went to sleep.
She was awake twice during the night and Em took her outside where she did the toilet and then back into the crate and asleep again.
Only had 1 wee dribble indoors so far.
If you keep a close eye you can tell when they're going to pee and get them outside ASAP. Every time the pup wakes up take him straight outside, he WILL need when he wakes. When he's eaten take him out, he's likely to need again. When they wander around sniffing about, take him out - praise him every time he does it outside and he'll get the hang of it really quick.

But as all the others have said, consistency is the key. Don't feel bad because he'll settle into his crate routine in no time if you stick to your guns.
Leaving the door open with blankets toys etc is a good thing, means he can wander in and out and see that it's a good place to be.

[Dave Rowland]

I suggest that you get in the cage too!
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Quoting Jack: you know me - a complete hopeless case & Sadly - and mark it in your diaries folks as you won't see this happen often - but <gulp> I HAVE to agree with Dave on this.
Quoting Kendal: coulu you decapitate innes for me please

[colin]

Well, we got through the night and we are really pleased we stuck to our guns and didnt take him up to our bedroom.

He's just so cute and looks like the puppy we picked up again I have already forgotten how stressed out I was getting last night

Everybody has given me great advice and I appreciate that very much.

This morning I have on and off encouraged him into the crate so he realises it's a great place to be and at first he just grabbed the rugs and his toy out of the cage, but I've made a bit of a breakthrough in that he has gone in on his own and lay down for 10 minutes or so....

I am sure I will have an update - to think I thought we were really well prepared for this

[Janis]

[colin]

Yeah - it's Buddy.

The family wouldn't wear Elvis

I'll send some photos on, if he can stay still long enough - he is picking EVERYTHING UP from grass to stones!

Anyway, and I really do mean this....

Thank you so much to each and every one of you - the advice received directly and just from reading the postings in this forum has been invaluable.

This is such an amazing resource!

[Suzanne H]

We had one night of barking until 4am, we were shattered but didn't give in...and it was fine after that. But sometimes we would get a random bark at 4am.

If you think he might be needing a pee, don't move until he is quiet, otherwise they learn to bark to summon you.

He still whines now at 6.30-7, but we never go straight to him, I go downstairs, open teh curtains, have a drink, totally ignore him, particularly if he's whining. If he's sitting quietly, I'll let him out. This way I'm getting up anyway, not because he's told me to.

Weekends are tough, because they won't really want to go back to bed, but you can try it....but puppies just want to play. what we do now is pee him and feed him then he either goes back in for a few hours or comes up and sleeps on the bedroom floor to get some extra kip. Doesn't get on the bed, though he tries EVERY time.