# New puppy owner seeking guidance.



## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Hello I am the proud owner of a new puppy this week named Mac. He is getting on really well and starting I think to understand some boundaries but he is very stubborn. It has been three nights now and he cries all night in his crate. I have done all the regular things such as leave a radio on and a ticking clock. Wrap the crate in blankets so it feels like a den. Just wondering how many nights it takes before he is able to calm down and get some sleep at night. I am worried as he is doing all his sleeping during the day. I have been getting up at 445 every morning in order to give my wife and neighbors some sleep but I know that this can't go on forever! How long does this crying seems to last?? My other worry is that he tends to graze rather than just eat his meals which isn't ideal as it means that to finish his food it takes ages. I don't want him to lose weight but sometimes he hasn't finished his meal by the time it time for the next one. I am feeding him Royal Canin Junior as that is what he was on with the breeder and from having him for three days I don't more changes. I put soft meat food in as well and sometimes a few small pieces of cheese to get him going which works but he still stops about 1/2 to 1/3 in. Any thoughts on how I can get him to eat up in one go??


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## cloquinn (May 9, 2011)

I wish I could remember how long the crying at night lasted. I do remember getting increasingly frustrated and we gave in to holding our puppy at night. I would recommend AGAINST that, unless you're willing to do it forever. It took us months to break him of the habit to where he would sleep alone. The poor guy was used to sleeping with all of his brothers and sisters (there were 9 in the litter), and now we were asking him to sleep alone. Now it seems like a distant memory. 

As for food, what we did was add a little water and zap the food in the microwave for a few seconds (maybe 10 seconds?). It made the food smell great to him and he ate much more. We also had his food in front of him for 15 minutes and then took it away. You might try this for a couple of days. If he goes hungry once or twice he won't lose too much weight. It taught our V that meal time was meal time and it also made potty training much easier. We gave him his food for 15 minutes and then went outside until he pooped, which was about 10 minutes after he ate (not sure if that was just him, though).

Good luck! Let us know how he's doing!


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

We also went through this with Holley. We did not get her from the breeder until she was almost 4 months old. She was crated through the night but her sister was in the crate next to her so she was upset when she was all alone. What worked for us was having the crate in our bedroom for a couple nights. Each night we would lay on the floor next to her crate until she settled in. We gradually moved her crate to the living room (where it is still) and we still layed next to her crate each night for a little bit. Then we made the time less and less that we stayed with her and she got the hang of it. It was difficult because we live in an apartment and we didn't want the neighbors to report us. 
As for the grazing thing, I definitely agree with trying cloquinn's recommendation. We did this as well for a while but it never worked for Holley. The vet told us that some dogs are just grazers and that we did all we could. Now, I just leave her food down all day for her. She usually only eats when I am there with her though. The vet also said that sometimes it is a good thing for them to be this way. It cuts down on the change that they get sick from eating too fast, etc. 
Good luck with your new pup and you will make it through everything.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Search the threads on crate training & feeding. There are lots of them. You are not alone, so hang in there  ! Vs are notorious picky eaters or at least a little weird about their eating habits ;D Our V Pup, Pumpkin (10m) cried 2-3 nights, but some pups take a lot longer. Depending on the age, they may need to go out during the night, but other than that, do not give into the crying! Good Luck!


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## Annajean (Jun 20, 2011)

Hi!
I have a new puppy as well, Laszlo who is 9 weeks old. I got him 2 weeks ago and we have gone through our challenges with barking inside the crate. The first few nights he cried for a long time, eventually would fall asleep but then after we went out to potty (multiple times in the night) he would start all over again. This last week he is doing SO much better! One thing that seemed to help is when he goes in his crate for the night I will spend 10-15 minutes sitting next to him (I usually read a book or something). My being close to him seems to calm him down enough so that he falls asleep. Then he is conked out for hours until he has to get up to use the potty. Now he also goes back into his crate each time in the middle of the night with no fuss and goes right back to sleep 
So hang in there and know that it will get better! Just don't give in to the crying.

Now I am working on having him not cry when he is in the crate and I am out of the house. I am trying to handle one thing at a time to keep from being overwhelmed...
Good luck to you and enjoy your new pup!


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## jaylena (Jun 13, 2011)

Congrats on the new pup! We have had our little boy Gator for a week as of today and went through similar pains during the first few days. I found laying down next to him in his crate would help him feel a little more comfortable being in there and he would just fall asleep. The first night we woke up every 2 hours on the hour to let him outside to pee. He was crying pretty much each 2 hours. The next 2 nights we let him cry a little and then he would fall back to sleep and the next we new, he was able to last through out the night until 8am when we would wake up to let him out. Also for the food consumption, Gator was the same way in that he wouldn't eat that much, and we were super worried as well! as he was a little on the skinny side. We just kept it up and slowly realized that if he was hungry he would eat, so we just took it away when he wouldn't eat and gave it to him again during "meal times".. now a week later he is finishing most of his meals. (we are slowly transitioning him from Purina puppy chow to Acana... initially he would just pick out the Acana kibble and leave them, eating only the puppy chow, but now he's eating the whole lot!).. Congrats again and enjoy puppyhood!


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## hollyandnick (Apr 28, 2011)

Congrats! We have had Lucy for almost 5 weeks now. She wimpered a bit the first night and the only barking was because she needed to go potty. She still wimpers some, but one of us will sleep next to the crate. Usually that happens more in the morning after her first potty run between 6-645am. If we want more sleep one of us sleeps next to the crate on the ground. She wants to be up and playing not sleeping. But, when she sees us and curls against the side near us she will fall asleep.

As for feeding, we have a miss piggy. However, the breeder told us to feed her in the crate. That way she is not distracted by anything else. She flies into the crate for her food and it is all gone in less than 60 seconds. 

We have some other issues going on with her now, but hopefully they clear up. Good luck and just keep at it!


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the pointers. Last Mac was able to sleep from 10pm til 2am with no crying! Can't believe it. After taking him out though at 2 for potty he did then cry on and off until 4:45 when I came down let him out and then slept on the floor so my wife could get some sleep, although I guess it meant we all got some sleep. 
The food thing is still the same. He is grazing on his breakfast. His food always smells yummy to him as I poor hot water over it and let it cool and then add some soft meat over the top. It seems he grazes over his breakfast and lunch but eats up all his dinner. Not sure why that might be. Thanks again for the help and fingers crossed that he gets better and better. He love playing fetch already and for an 8 week old I find it amazing!


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