i have adopted a 12week old pup from the local welfare. he has been without his mother (the police shot her! but bottled it with the pups!) for most of his life and has been kept in an indoor pen with his sister previously.

we put him to bed in a similar pen complete with water, toys, chewing items and newspaper for toilet mess.

we are now on night 4, when he is put in his pen he goes in ok not too much fuss, sometimes even lays right down. when we shut him into the bedroom though he begins to whine. he whines at the moment for between 10 and 20 minutes.

I dont think this is too bad all things considered but wanted some opinion on whether there was anythign i could do to make it more stress free for him??

all advice greatly appreciated.

I did find when I had my little puppy that a hot water bottle in his bed settled him down at night. Don't know how effective that would be now its summer though. It replicates the warmth your dog would get from its brothers and sisters. Also a soft toy might help.

he does have a teddy (a fluffy collie) that he loves and we do put that in with him. i might give the bottle a try.

i have heard of tales of putting a ticking clock in a pillow to try and soothe him?? is this a wives tale?

Ah bless him, a clock may help

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You could also try leaving a radio on for him, might make him feel like he is not alone.

all things considered is 10-20 minutes that bad? i presume that as he learns that whining doesnt = attention or release and he becomes more settled in his new abode and routine this time period will decrease until he happily accepts it bed / alone time?

I think that as you are only on night 4, he is still trying to adapt from being away from his brothers/sisters - after all he has been with them 24/7 for the past 12 weeks.

Our choc lab is now 9 weeks and we've had him for just over a week now, the first 3 nights in his crate were hard as like your pup all he done was whine for a while but he soon settled down. Give it another few days and I am sure after this he will be much more settled at night.

Do you leave him alone in his crate during the day? Maybe try doing this for 10 mins or so at a time, start off near him where he can see you and then get further away each time - this may help him adjust to it before night times!

HTH

x

its difficult because we will have a set routine as we both work but between us have this week off to settle him in a little. our routine at the moment is:

0600 - get up feed him and take him out for walk
0730 - back in pen in closed bedroom
0930 - outside to go toilet then in to play and free roam parts of the apartment
1200 - outside to go toilet then in to play and free roam parts of the apartment
1300 - back in pen
1500 - outside to go toilet then in to play and free roam parts of the apartment
1800 - feed him walk him then free roam
1930 - out to go toilet
2100 - maybe a walk if he is still excitable then into pen for the night.

sorry for being so full on with the details!!!!! just want as much help and advice as possible. we try our best but things like the heat outside, being in an apartment, working etc etc mean that we have to just try our best!

Personally I would'nt worry too much you hav'nt had him for that long. 2 doors down from me have not long had a collie pup that cryed and whined for close on 2 wks. It was great used to set Arnie off 2-3 in the mornings but he's calmed down now dont hear a thing

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• Arnie and Alf - The A Team

Your routine sounds very good and I think 10 to 20 minutes isn't bad at all as you have only had a short time. Do you have to shut the room door? There is a soft toy dog you can buy that has heart beat in it that makes them think its a litter mate and comforts them on seperation.