# Night time terror



## SJD (Mar 15, 2021)

Hi all,

I have Sacha, almost 5 month old puppy.
we still have a lot of work to do with ‘staying down’ and recall, but on the whole is a marvellous puppy. However, I am struggling with her sleeping. Her place is under the stairs (I created a little spot for her there) and she happily takes herself in the during the day and naps.
However, at night when I leave her, the same story with the howling, barking and distress. Over the past couple of weeks Ive relented and taken her to bed (she’s fully potty trained and doesn’t want to wee/poo - she wants to be by her mum).

When she was 2/3 months she used to sleep through the night in the space under the stair - but now the howling starts rangeing from 30mins to 4hours after Ive put her to bed.

The door is shut but not locked. Sometimes she’ll just open it and come up the stairs, sometimes she’ll stay howling there. I've relented, as I have neighbours who have complained (in worrying about her) if I leave her, which is why I’ve caved.


My question is how to I settle her?
Anti bark devices? cbd oil? Or do I just start again with with crate training in my room and gradually move her downstairs? I am single so it’s just her and I. And her preferred method of sleeping is her neck on mine (see image). So she is Velcro on another level!
Can anyone offer my expert advice on how I can get her sleeping through downstairs at least 12-6am?








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## Dan_A (Jan 19, 2021)

Everything I have read says that you should decide to allow them to sleep in bed with you or not if you are against that behavior. It's like flying first class , once you do that , coach class feels like complete garbage. You didn't know what you were missing out on. I think its the same situation. Now the pup is conflicted that you want her to sleep in her designated spot; however, she knows you are up in bed and wants to be there. Consistency is rule #1 when training. It sounds like you started with a crate then moved to a space under the stairs. Maybe having her crate that she is used to would be more comforting at night time? From what I have seen, people that start with a crate eventually move to allowing the dog to sleep wherever it wants to, as in leaving the crate door open and letting them settle wherever they are comfortable. It is then a decision to allow or not into bed.


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## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

Our 11 month old V also sleeps under the stairs, but crated. When she was 7 months old she had very bad diarrhea which caused her too poop in her crate several times at night. She quickly learned that whining would mean us coming downstairs, so even after it took us another 3-4 weeks to transition her back into sleeping through the night, without us. 

If you don’t want to have her sleep with you, I’d suggest starting with going downstairs to calm her, but not let her come upstairs with you. Maybe go back to a crate, it could help giving her feel a bit more secure. And it would give you the peace of mind to let her whining for while, without being on the loose. 

We have moved back and forth with being crated at night, we are now slowly transitioning but still have the crate up. At 5 months, I can’t say I felt Fred was mentally ready to sleep out of the crate. I feel like she is just becoming more adult in the last few weeks, becoming really stable and calmer (mentally, not physically )


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

You could try putting a crate in the bedroom.
That way she could sleep closer to you at night.


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## SJD (Mar 15, 2021)

One week on, I have a crate in my room. Not next to my bed - but on the other side. No quibbles - she gets into it, and chooses to go there if it’s too noisy down stairs and needs a time out. She’ll sleep for almost 12 hours without fuss. At 7am she wakes and would like to get out. She only wants love and to climb into bed (which I allow) and isn’t driven by food or even the toilet. But can hold her bladder and her poo forever.
So maybe we can start moving downstairs again - but I’m less troubled now she isn’t howling and barking. And I’m sure so is she!! Thanks all for the understanding and advice!


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## Dan_A (Jan 19, 2021)

@SJD wow that is fantastic that your pup can sleep that long now and you found a strategy that works! Ours can go from 11pm to 6am, we only wish she can make it to 7am! Perhaps when she grows some more.


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