Help!!! What am I doing wrong???

we have an almost 8 wk pomapoo. we want him to kennel train. he does really well during the day (usually) until now. But during the night it is AWFUL! I am home most of the day but for a few times he NEEDS to go in his kennel and a few naps I usually put him in there as well. Up until today he has done great with that. A couple of his naps he has while he is out with us. he is so little he naps a lot and i dont want him in his kennel ALL the time.

at night he does great the first stretch, usually 2 or so hours. then he wakes up. he sometimes will go back in that second time but whine/bark for 15 or so minutes then quiet down . But then the next time he gets up he doesnt want to go in and he will cry most of the time.

Last night was a turning point though. he did well for the first 2 hrs then the rest of the night he was crying/yelping! i ignored him thinking he would eventually go to sleep, well he did not! after an hour or hour and a half i would go take him back out and start the process over again. if he sees us or hears us he is yelping even more. We have him downstairs in the hallway. we have a nightlight on a radio on and a ticking clock by his kennel. What more can i do?? I went down at one point and told him no sternly but he just went even more crazy! he was like this from 1:15 till 5am! straight! Finally I got up and laid on the cough with him and he slept for 3+ hours!! What is up with that??

I just am at my wits end. i dont want to give in but I can only listen to yelping for so long. I am sick right now too which doesnt help and need my sleep. I do not want him sleeping with us, i really want him kennel trained to sleep there at night when we are away etc. I have two small children too and they have been waking by his yelping, luckily last night my kids were with grandma.

Any advice?? I am stressing out!

I know they say to put the kennel in your room but he literally freaks out more when he sees us or hears us that we are thinking he would do worse there. plus my husband and i usually dont go to bed at the same time so therefore causing some interrupted sleep to whoever goes down first as the puppy would go in when the second person goes to bed.

he was doing great during the day but after last night he does not want to be in his kennel AT ALL, he will just whine and whimper all the time. he did quiet down after a little bit but then was doing it the minute he heard me again.

Ok whew... I got that all out. hopefully it makes sense.

another issue we have is he wants to be held all the time if you are sitting on the couch or at the computer or anytime you are not sitting on the floor with him. I cant attend to him 24-7. i dont mind cuddling every so often or sitting on the floor at times but i have other things going on too. he will literrally climb up you to try to get on your lap (which i hate as well).

Can you tell i hardly got any sleep, everything is just bothering me. I just thought after a week of having him he would be doing better at night then he is.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated? THANKS for letting me vent!

 

The only thing I will add the response I gave in your last post....

http://www.auspet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13490

is...if your picking him up or letting him out the crate as hes making a fuss then your basically teaching him that when he makes a fuss he gets your attention.

What you need to do is open the crate in those couple of split seconds that he isnt making a fuss and then give him a lot of praise (theres always those few seconds where they go quiet even if its just to 'catch their breath and recharge'. Every time you go to the crate at night and tell him to stop crying and then you walk away (or worse go right up to the crate make direct contact with him) just adds to his frustration.

Like I said in the last post hes still a bit too young to be away from the mom and his litter mates, hes probably a bit lonely and scared/anxious. The radio usually works pretty well, I dont know if you only started doing that after your first post, if so then you havent give it long enough, its only been 2 nights.

By putting him on the couch with you then hes already learned how to get you undivided attention, although hes probably figured that out anyway as your picking him up every time he cries. Have you tried using something like a toddlers playpen? With some pups they can be a little intimidated by having so much space to move around in so if you confine the area a little that might work for him, make sure there are plenty of toys in there for him and dont leave him in for prolonged periods. Only pick him up when he isnt making a fuss....seriously, the difference of a few seconds with this just to let him quieten will gradually teach him exactly what it is that gets him the attention he wants....which is to be with you.

Its a tough situation though because of his age and I know its easier said than done....just a thought, is he warm enough in the crate? The really little guys can lose their body heat pretty quick, at 7 weeks it shouldnt be enough to cause him a medical problem due to the fact that his crying and trying to get out of the crate will generate heat but it could be enough to where its actually waking him up. Usually a warm blanket or some towels in there should keep him warm enough if the room hes in is normal temperature....leave him a little space to get off it though in as you dont want him to over-heat. I was just wondering with you saying he lay on the couch with you....it could have been a combination of having your attention and being a little warmer.

Are you putting some 'treats' in the crate for him?, water? (a non spill bowl or one of those bottles that attaches to the side).

Other than that its going to take some patience, I know its hard but if he picks up any frustration or anger from you it will make him worse.

During the day you should teach him that your not going to pick him up all the time, if he cries and keeps following you, thats okay, he's got to learn that he cant have you to himself all the time, just dont react to him, ignore him (while keeping an eye on him of course....but he doesnt need to know).....again when you ignore him and he quits crying thats when he gts the praise from you and gets your attention. Also if he wanders off by himself to another part of the room to play with a toy then leave him, the more you pick him and give in to him....your setting yourself up to having a dog with a major problem with seperation anxiety.

Dont take this the wrong way, Im not 'having a go at you' or anything, Ive just seen the exact same scenario too many times.

Good luck.

 

Thanks! I appreciate your input. This is all new to me so venting here helps. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.

 

Its always a good place to vent

Your very welcome BTW, really....I do know what your going through, been there a few times myself.

Hope some of it helps.

 

Hi,

Just wanted to update you if you are still reading...... we moved the kennel to our room at night and the first night he did ok.... and then last night he did AWESOME! He was in it continually from 1130-515! We were so proud! It is just so much easier to deal with him when you get some rest!

Thanks!

 

Good to hear your all getting some sleep now. Dont be disheartened if he has an 'off night', hes still very young, but it sounds as though he might settle into a routine now. :y_the_best:

 

This looked so familiar. I have a 13 week old Peke-a-poo that we have had for 3 weeks now. The first 2 nights we had her were miserable and I ended up sleeping on the couch with her just to keep her quiet. The 3rd night I brought her crate upstairs into our bedroom and she has been and angel ever since. Just being close to us is all she needed. I

'm glad things are working out for you now though.