Quote:
Originally Posted by Clazzers
Hello. We brought home our bundle of joy over a week ago. She's a beautiful 9 week old Border terrier, Jack Russell cross, with lots of character.
Things seemed to go very smoothly at first, so I guess we have been lulled into a false sense of security. Our main problem (so far  ) seems to have developed over the last couple of nights:
We use the crate at night, and previously, once she had come back in from toileting, she would settle straight away, and sleep most of the night - with us perhaps having to let her out once during the early hours!
HOWEVER!!! The last couple of nights, she has not settled and whined throughout the night. I'm not sure whether this has been triggered by her worming treatment, a change in her food (we changed her from Chudleys to Burns, but had to divert her to rice and egg when she developed the squits, as i think we may have introduced the new food too quickly - we're currently trying to slowly re-introduce her to Burns and take her off the rice & egg!) or whether it is something else!
We're not comfortable leaving her to whine, if nothing else, we want to make sure she's not asking to be let out to toilet, but a few people have suggested we should be doing this, to ensure she's not just seeking attention. Any opinions & advice really would be appreciated - we really do feel like novices, despite all the reading and researching we've done. Gawd, it reminds me of when I brought my new born baby home, 12 years ago!!!!! Thanks in anticipation, Claire. |
hi clare.
Your last paragraph i will respond to. I think your pup whines or cries in the middle of the night because she wants you, not because she needs a wee. I've had dogs my whole life and we've always left them to whine bark or cry in the middle of the night, just ignoring them. Why? Because coming down when they cry gives them attention and they'll know by crying mummy and daddy will come and make me feel better.
Some people will say yeah go down in the middle of the night let pup out then go back to bed. But IMO i don't see how that's teaching the pup anything with regards to being left alone throughout the night. If you are going to wake up in the middle of the night to let her out, then fine, do so but don't pay her any attention. Don't communicate with her - take her out, let her do her business, bring her in, put her back in her crate and go to bed.
Mika, my newest addition was a blessing at night time he never made one sound. I think the breeder trained him to cope at night or something because he never made one sound at night time. The first pup i've ever had who's silent at night lol
Good luck with her hon