Crate Training at night - not working

Hello,

I have a beautiful 8 week old staffie puppy - Reggie, he is a great little dog and is very well behaved but we have issues at night time... he is used to being in a crate as the breeder kept all the puppies in a crate so bringing him home to one was a very smooth transition. He is happy to be in it and goes in it of his own free will, is happy to nap in there and is fine with the door shut whilst we are out etc. The trouble comes at night time! - We have had him for a week now and have barely slept!.. he goes to sleep fine, doesnt really whimper much now when he goes down but around 2am he is awake and then on and off, mainly on... he will consistently cry, so loud that the neighbours downstairs can hear. We have done what we believed to be all the right things - we dont get up to him and let him have the attention we ignore it and then get up about half 5 and he is clever enough to know that he doesnt get let out if he is making a fuss and will just sit there patiently, I just dont know what to do. He gets himself really worked up and is soaked all down his front from the constant barking which muct make him drool but is fine being let out...

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as I dont know how much more my neighbours will put up with!

OMG you poor thing. I cant offer any help as we are not picking our pup up till xmas eve.. but I sure would like to know what the others think about this.. my cat does this to me already!! i would hate the pup to follow suit.. none of us will get any sleep

its just a little confusing, I have been reading some of the other forums and maybe think it may be that he is trying to protect us - thinking he is the leader but then I already control his food, as it said to as well as determining when he can and cannot come on the sofa etc so that he is aware that he is lower down the pack so I dont think that it is that...

Do you take him out to relieve himself at 2am? He's a very young pup so cannot control his bowels or bladder yet. I too have an 8 week old staffy pup and I'm lucky that he'll quite happily sleep all night but he does mess on the paper i've put in his crate. If he woke up whining in the early hours, i'd quietly take him out to see if he needed the toilet then put him straigt back in with no talk or fuss.

We have toilet trained him to go on the puppy pads in the crate which he does fine with no problem both during the day and at night time as his crate is large enough for both and seems happy with this arrangement.

I hope you get him sorted out.. best of luck

i never used a crate before so i'm not much help i'm sorry have you read this?

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/cratetraining.html

thank you Mel,

Hi Steve - yes I have read this and we are following all the rules, we dont have a garden, just a balcony which we will be toilet training him on but with the snow isnt possible at the moment which is why we are using the pads - I dont think the issue is with the crate as surely he wouldnt be happy to sleep in it or be in it during the day etc - he is a little hardy thing and is as good as gold with literally everything else but although I can cope with no sleeping my neighbours must be tearing their hair out!

great link thanks

Maybe try putting a stuffed toy in his crate? Or wrap a hot water bottle in a blanket and put it in there. You could also try putting a clock that ticks loudly next to his crate. He's prob missing his mum and littermates. Its such a huge adjustment. Wish I could be of more help

thanks for the suggestions, its worth a go - he was the first puppy to leave the litter so I do understand that it is a big adjustment for him.

All you can do is give it a try. Let us know how it goes. Good luck. Oh, and welcome to the forum!

thanks very much, its really nice to know that there are people like you guys willing to offer advice and help!

chris 84 now for some light at the end of the tunnel i had the same problem as you and my friend had it to memphis would sleep to about 2-2.30 then he would start wineing i would let him out to relive himself put him back in his crate he would sit there i would leave him and then he would start its more like a baby crying than a pup (I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I FIRST HEARD IT)this went on for just under2 weeks then it just stopped and he been fine since
i think the best thing to do is just leave them and they quickly ajust

i actually never used a crate for any of my dogs but they seem to be a god send for some people

So glad that someone else has experienced something simliar - its good to know that yours grew out of this and it was just a phase... we were contemplating moving the crate into the bedroom and then trying to wean him back out into the living room again.. But I may hold outt if this is hopefully a phase he is going through!!.. just hope the neighbours can put up for it for that long! Saw them today to apologise and asked if they could hear him, unfortunately they can! thankfully they are lovely people who seem to be very accomodating! I think that a box of chocolates may be in order for thier patience :-) Thanks again for your comments - it has helped to put my mind at rest!

Shane - we are grateful to the crate as with Reggies teething we wouldnt have much left in the morning.. lol!