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.

Squits were probably brought on by diet change - you might have been best leaving her for at least a month to adapt to new home cos it's a MASSIVE change for them before deciding which way to go with her food - and then introducing it over 3 weeks or so. But never mind now - it's done. As for the nights - I'd leave her to cry if I'm honest - she'll soon learn to cry for attention if you get up to see to her. I would however set your clock and get up every 3 hours for toilet - thats what I did for the first 5 weeks - tiring but worth it in the long run

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Jo, Nelly, Bhu and Molly
Some people talk alot.................and say nowt

I actually sleep downstairs for the first week or so, my choice, the pups stays in the crate, and I can just look to see if the pup is moaning for the sake of it or looks like it wants to go to the toilet, I do get up and put the pup out during the night, YES its very tiring but it works for me and so I am happy to do this.

mo

R.e diet- is she eating the burns or is she still reluctant to eat it?
If this continues after a while it might be worth considering giving her something else. I always advice Naturediet for pups (it's got no additives or anything like that - 100% natural)
Natural Dog Food | Naturediet

I would be inclined to sleep downstairs one night so that you can watch her behaviour in her crate. That way you'll be able to know if she's crying for attention or for some other reason. If it is for attention I'd then be inclined to totally ignore her and sleep upstairs as usual. You might feel a bit mean but it'd be the best for her in the long run

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I'm a new puppy owner too. I've never had a newborn but I'm sure this is harder lol

I second what has been said about maybe spending the night near the crate, if possible. We, or rather my husband, did this the first night to watch his behaviour. However we're very lucky as he seemed to take to his crate immediatley and only does a 10 second protest whine sometimes when you shut the door.

They do seem to have a habit of lulling you into a false security the first couple of nights!

Thanks for your responses!

We did stay downstairs the first night, and she was a little whiney at first, but then settled. The next nights were fine. But it looks like we may need to back track and spend some more time downstairs with her - if nothing else, it will bring us peace of mind!

Re: her food, with hindsight, I now know we should have left it longer, or introduced it a little more slowly than we did (we added it to the chudleys over a few days, slowly reducing the Chudleys, but obviously we should have left it longer!).

She actually loves the Burns, and eats it all, but it did cause Diarreah but in all other ways shes active and healthy. But we decided to try the rice to firm her up, which has worked, but its just knowing now whether its time to re-introduce Burns, leave her on rice for now or go back to Chudley!

Incidently, we emailed Burns, who were excellent, and responded really quickly. They advised us to keep her off it until her stools firmed, which they now have, but to be careful not to overfeed her - they felt the recommended amount may be too much for her - she's a tiny dog, at 9 weeks she's only 800gram - but not lacking the energy!!!!

We also have to finish off the worming, our vet has given us a sachet of wormer to use over 3 days, we have today and tomorrow to continue to add it to her feeds - so if last night's restlessness is anything to do with the worming, it looks like we'll have more nights sleeplessness to look forward to.

Anyway, again, thank you for taking time to post your suggestions!

Are ya still feeding her 4 meals a day??

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Jo, Nelly, Bhu and Molly
Some people talk alot.................and say nowt

Yep, still 4 meals!

Little and often is always best

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Jo, Nelly, Bhu and Molly
Some people talk alot.................and say nowt

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

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My two babies. Separated for a while but now both reunited on Rainbow Bridge, running in a field of daises. Gone but not forgotten. Love you always and forever



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