NGKUR: Pup stopped sleeping through the night!

[longhornwino0907]

Ladies, I could really use the sage advice of the GKU team here. We got our newest little man back in July when he was two months old. After about a month at home, he finally started sleeping through the night -- still woke up early, but wasn't disturbed during the night by our other pup making noises, me getting up to pee, anything.

But ever since maybe mid-November, he has ceased being able to sleep through the night. He's up until probably 11 or midnight consistently, and if I get up to go to the bathroom, if our other pup yawns or sneezes or does her quiet barking in her sleep, he's awake and whining in his crate until one of us gets up with him. We'll get up and take him outside to potty and put him back in his crate to teach him it's time to sleep, but he's immediately back to whining. Ultimately, one of us will take him downstairs, and he'll usually crash on the couch after 15-30 minutes, and the one who took him down is stuck sleeping on the couch the rest of the night.

He has a very bad case of FOMO, which I think is contributing to his whining until he's with us in the middle of the night. He's become a very light sleeper, and even benadryl won't help him make it through the night. It's really starting to wear on me and MH; neither of us is sleeping much, our morning routine has been thrown into chaos. We can't just let him sleep on the bed with us because he's still being aggressive with/annoying toward our other dog. We've considered moving his crate to another area of the house or letting him sleep outside of the crate downstairs (where he can be gated in to only a smallish area).

Anyone have any insight or help with what we can do to get him through this phase?!

[lgraceh]

Ugh, that is rough longhornwino0907. I'm sure you've tried this, but have you tried offering a bedtime only quiet toy or small treat? We used to give greenies at night at bed. My mom always gave a treat before bedtime and my dog who hasn't lived with her in 5 years will still head to her room at bedtime for a treat when we are visiting. Maybe if that bedtime routine could be established with something like that, you could give him any chewy/treat when he wakes up?

[longhornwino0907]

Dec 16, 2015 10:51:28 GMT -5 lgraceh said:

Ugh, that is rough longhornwino0907 . I'm sure you've tried this, but have you tried offering a bedtime only quiet toy or small treat? We used to give greenies at night at bed. My mom always gave a treat before bedtime and my dog who hasn't lived with her in 5 years will still head to her room at bedtime for a treat when we are visiting. Maybe if that bedtime routine could be established with something like that, you could give him any chewy/treat when he wakes up?

That's a thought. We've tried establishing a general routine of saying like "Time for sleepies" and giving him gentle snuggles and telling him night night before putting him in his crate. But this boy... He's still nipping really badly, too, and no amount of anything will get him to understand "no bite"

He's definitely the most difficult puppy I've ever dealt with. I didn't have nearly this much trouble establishing routine with our older dog, getting her to not bite, all of that. And it was just me working with her.

[samanthasays]

This is so hard! I agree with lgraceh that a bedtime bone is a good option to try.

If that doesn't work having him sleep in another area of the house might work. He will probably whine or bark at first, but if you can stay strong and not go to him he should adapt. We have one dog sleep in the office, while the other 2 sleep in the bedroom. I was always a "dogs sleep in the room with us" person, but some dogs have other ideas

Good luck! He is lucky to have such a caring dog mommy.

[piccyami]

We had to move our puppy to the other end of the house so the cats wouldn't bug her at night. We all started sleeping better when she had her own quiet space. We give her a treat every time she goes to her crate and if she wakes us up in the night, we go an check on her, take her out if she's doing the potty dance, close the door to her room, and go back to bed.

We don't reward her when she wakes us up but we do check to make sure she's OK and let her know we're still there. Maybe you could try a busy treat (like a stuffed kong) when he gets in the crate at night or maybe even putting him to bed earlier?

[longhornwino0907]

Dec 16, 2015 10:55:48 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

This is so hard! I agree with lgraceh that a bedtime bone is a good option to try.

If that doesn't work having him sleep in another area of the house might work. He will probably whine or bark at first, but if you can stay strong and not go to him he should adapt. We have one dog sleep in the office, while the other 2 sleep in the bedroom. I was always a "dogs sleep in the room with us" person, but some dogs have other ideas

Good luck! He is lucky to have such a caring dog mommy.

Thank you

I really think having him in another part of the house, at least until we've had him neutered and some of his aggression is calmed down, is going to be our best bet.

My mom is so worried about H and I since we're getting ready for our overseas IVF and now dealing with Fitzy being crazy... she actually asked if we were willing to consider rehoming him, and I swear I cried for an hour just at the thought of it. I love our little man!

[longhornwino0907]

Dec 16, 2015 11:02:15 GMT -5 piccyami said:

We had to move our puppy to the other end of the house so the cats wouldn't bug her at night. We all started sleeping better when she had her own quiet space. We give her a treat every time she goes to her crate and if she wakes us up in the night, we go an check on her, take her out if she's doing the potty dance, close the door to her room, and go back to bed.

We don't reward her when she wakes us up but we do check to make sure she's OK and let her know we're still there. Maybe you could try a busy treat (like a stuffed kong) when he gets in the crate at night or maybe even putting him to bed earlier?

He does love his kong toy with a bit of peanut butter in it. And that's much quieter than some of his bones! We may try that, thank you!

Ultimately, I'm the one who can let him cry it out, but H just can't do it, so he gives in, lets him out, and stays with him. I keep telling H that Fitzy's got him trained now, so it'll be hard to break this, but he just can't let him whine.

[piccyami]

Dec 16, 2015 11:03:53 GMT -5 longhornwino0907 said:

Dec 16, 2015 11:02:15 GMT -5 piccyami said:

We had to move our puppy to the other end of the house so the cats wouldn't bug her at night. We all started sleeping better when she had her own quiet space. We give her a treat every time she goes to her crate and if she wakes us up in the night, we go an check on her, take her out if she's doing the potty dance, close the door to her room, and go back to bed.

We don't reward her when she wakes us up but we do check to make sure she's OK and let her know we're still there. Maybe you could try a busy treat (like a stuffed kong) when he gets in the crate at night or maybe even putting him to bed earlier?

He does love his kong toy with a bit of peanut butter in it. And that's much quieter than some of his bones! We may try that, thank you!

Ultimately, I'm the one who can let him cry it out, but H just can't do it, so he gives in, lets him out, and stays with him. I keep telling H that Fitzy's got him trained now, so it'll be hard to break this, but he just can't let him whine.

Yep, Fitzy definitely has him trained now.  It seriously helped Lucy so much to be in a separate room where I can't hear her (because I can't handle the whining).  We don't disturb her and she can handle hanging out in her crate until 6:15 most nights.

[longhornwino0907]

Dec 16, 2015 11:08:49 GMT -5 piccyami said:

Dec 16, 2015 11:03:53 GMT -5 longhornwino0907 said:

He does love his kong toy with a bit of peanut butter in it. And that's much quieter than some of his bones! We may try that, thank you!

Ultimately, I'm the one who can let him cry it out, but H just can't do it, so he gives in, lets him out, and stays with him. I keep telling H that Fitzy's got him trained now, so it'll be hard to break this, but he just can't let him whine.

Yep, Fitzy definitely has him trained now.  It seriously helped Lucy so much to be in a separate room where I can't hear her (because I can't handle the whining).  We don't disturb her and she can handle hanging out in her crate until 6:15 most nights.

Oh my gosh, 6:15 would be so blissful!

I'm insisting that we move his crate tonight and give this a try.

[mustloveerica]

Our Dane pup is doing this now. He was sleeping thru the night with no potty breaks until the last couple of weeks he is up and ready to go at 3am. We tried walking him at midnight to make him tired. Tried 3am potty breaks but once he's back in his crate he is whining. Even tried letting him stay out of his crate between 3 and 6 but he tries to tear up the carpet or get in other trouble.

Right now we are just trying the ignoring method. He starts barking his fool head off at 3. And usually after an hour of ignoring him he will go back to sleep. But it's an hour of hell for us because he is extremely loud. But I am hoping by not getting his way and getting to be let out of his crate when he barks that he will learn he has to wait for us to be ready.

Best of luck to you. My motto will work for you. "This too shall pass". Puppies are frustrating but it's so worth it in the long run.

[samanthasays]

Dec 16, 2015 11:02:25 GMT -5 longhornwino0907 said:

Dec 16, 2015 10:55:48 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

This is so hard! I agree with lgraceh that a bedtime bone is a good option to try.

If that doesn't work having him sleep in another area of the house might work. He will probably whine or bark at first, but if you can stay strong and not go to him he should adapt. We have one dog sleep in the office, while the other 2 sleep in the bedroom. I was always a "dogs sleep in the room with us" person, but some dogs have other ideas

Good luck! He is lucky to have such a caring dog mommy.

Thank you

I really think having him in another part of the house, at least until we've had him neutered and some of his aggression is calmed down, is going to be our best bet.

My mom is so worried about H and I since we're getting ready for our overseas IVF and now dealing with Fitzy being crazy... she actually asked if we were willing to consider rehoming him, and I swear I cried for an hour just at the thought of it. I love our little man!

Puppies are so hard, so cute, but so hard. It wont last forever

[longhornwino0907]

Dec 16, 2015 11:13:04 GMT -5 samanthasays said:

Dec 16, 2015 11:02:25 GMT -5 longhornwino0907 said:

Thank you

I really think having him in another part of the house, at least until we've had him neutered and some of his aggression is calmed down, is going to be our best bet.

My mom is so worried about H and I since we're getting ready for our overseas IVF and now dealing with Fitzy being crazy... she actually asked if we were willing to consider rehoming him, and I swear I cried for an hour just at the thought of it. I love our little man!

Puppies are so hard, so cute, but so hard. It wont last forever

I keep reminding myself that I made it through Daphne's phases, I'll make it through Fitzy's, too!

[teraiin]

Random and unhelpful anecdote:

This is going to sound strange, but I sometimes wonder if this time of year is a 'witching hour' for dogs.

My lab is 3. Every single year from about mid-November until January-ish he will go from sleeping solidly all night, to waking up in the middle of the night.

Nothing in the routine has changed. I've tried adjusting feeding times and water. I've tried a blanket with my scent on it for him to sleep with. I've tried talking to him but not walking him. Walking him, but not turning on the lights. I've tried petting. Etc.

After a month or two he goes back to sleeping through as if nothing ever happened.

My friend has a theory that heat turning on/windier time of year sets him off. I'm not sure. I just know it happens like clockwork.

[daisy818]

Daisy did much better when we moved her to another part of the house (and her crate has actually stayed there - it's her little nook). At night we put a blanket over her crate so it's a nice little cave for her, and after a while she wouldn't really make any noise until we uncovered the crate. I hope that works for you if you give it a try tonight!

Also, I've never tried one of these, but I've seen the bedtime calming toys at the pet store where you spray the soft bone with a spray that is apparently a calming scent for dogs - has anyone else tried that? Here's an example: www.petsmart.com/dog/stress-anxiety-relief/sentry-good-behavior-trade-cuddlin-companion-beadtime-bear-dog-toy-zid36-26043/cat-36-catid-100061?var_id=36-26043&_t=pfm%3Dcategory

[longhornwino0907]

Dec 16, 2015 11:28:24 GMT -5 teraiin said:

Random and unhelpful anecdote:

This is going to sound strange, but I sometimes wonder if this time of year is a 'witching hour' for dogs.

My lab is 3. Every single year from about mid-November until January-ish he will go from sleeping solidly all night, to waking up in the middle of the night.

Nothing in the routine has changed. I've tried adjusting feeding times and water. I've tried a blanket with my scent on it for him to sleep with. I've tried talking to him but not walking him. Walking him, but not turning on the lights. I've tried petting. Etc.

After a month or two he goes back to sleeping through as if nothing ever happened.

My friend has a theory that heat turning on/windier time of year sets him off. I'm not sure. I just know it happens like clockwork.

That's really interesting! I have noticed our other dog having trouble sleeping, too, but I chalked it up to us boarding her back in September and then leaving her with my folks over Thanksgiving. She has pretty bad separation anxiety, so I just assumed it was a result of that... But maybe not!

[longhornwino0907]

Dec 16, 2015 11:28:57 GMT -5 daisy818 said:

Daisy did much better when we moved her to another part of the house (and her crate has actually stayed there - it's her little nook). At night we put a blanket over her crate so it's a nice little cave for her, and after a while she wouldn't really make any noise until we uncovered the crate. I hope that works for you if you give it a try tonight!

Also, I've never tried one of these, but I've seen the bedtime calming toys at the pet store where you spray the soft bone with a spray that is apparently a calming scent for dogs - has anyone else tried that? Here's an example: www.petsmart.com/dog/stress-anxiety-relief/sentry-good-behavior-trade-cuddlin-companion-beadtime-bear-dog-toy-zid36-26043/cat-36-catid-100061?var_id=36-26043&_t=pfm%3Dcategory

H is 100% on board with this. We already cover his crate with a blanket, but this will keep him away from any of our nighttime noises.

Also, picking up one of these toys ASAP!

[pismoduo]

Dec 16, 2015 11:28:24 GMT -5 teraiin said:

Random and unhelpful anecdote:

This is going to sound strange, but I sometimes wonder if this time of year is a 'witching hour' for dogs.

My lab is 3. Every single year from about mid-November until January-ish he will go from sleeping solidly all night, to waking up in the middle of the night.

Nothing in the routine has changed. I've tried adjusting feeding times and water. I've tried a blanket with my scent on it for him to sleep with. I've tried talking to him but not walking him. Walking him, but not turning on the lights. I've tried petting. Etc.

After a month or two he goes back to sleeping through as if nothing ever happened.

My friend has a theory that heat turning on/windier time of year sets him off. I'm not sure. I just know it happens like clockwork.

Hmmm... now that you mention it, H and I have noticed that our JRT (who sleeps with us) has been getting up at night and making mischief. And I feel like it was right around a year ago that she went through a phase like this too.

[pismoduo]

Dec 16, 2015 11:43:45 GMT -5 longhornwino0907 said:

Dec 16, 2015 11:28:57 GMT -5 daisy818 said:

Daisy did much better when we moved her to another part of the house (and her crate has actually stayed there - it's her little nook). At night we put a blanket over her crate so it's a nice little cave for her, and after a while she wouldn't really make any noise until we uncovered the crate. I hope that works for you if you give it a try tonight!

Also, I've never tried one of these, but I've seen the bedtime calming toys at the pet store where you spray the soft bone with a spray that is apparently a calming scent for dogs - has anyone else tried that? Here's an example: www.petsmart.com/dog/stress-anxiety-relief/sentry-good-behavior-trade-cuddlin-companion-beadtime-bear-dog-toy-zid36-26043/cat-36-catid-100061?var_id=36-26043&_t=pfm%3Dcategory

H is 100% on board with this. We already cover his crate with a blanket, but this will keep him away from any of our nighttime noises.

Also, picking up one of these toys ASAP!

Our vet recommended this spray for our shih tzu when we he was a baby and we were trying to get him used to us being gone during the day. I didn't end up using it, but I thought I'd at least throw it out there that it has a vet recommendation.

[requiressnacks]

The only thing that ever really solved this for me was making sure our dog gets enough exercise during the day. We got a fence for our backyard and thought we could just let the dog out and she'd be fine. Newp - we still have to walk her so that she's actually "tired."

Good luck!

[butlerfan]

I would suggest moving him to another area of the house and giving him a quiet toy/treat before bed. That way H won't hear him and get up. Puppy has your H trained to get up and will continue to whine because of this.

[teraiin]

As far as nipping goes, is he nipping at clothing or your hands? Or everything?

I'm not sure if this is technically an 'official' technique, but when our lab was little he always seemed to think our sleeves and hands were more appealing than the toys. If he managed to get our hands, I'd grab his lower jaw with that hand, thumb on the bottom of his mouth, rest of the fingers curled under his jaw. I'd pull down (GENTLY). He didn't like the bite being controlled and he stopped nipping. Sorry, my explanation stinks.

[longhornwino0907]

Dec 16, 2015 12:55:22 GMT -5 teraiin said:

As far as nipping goes, is he nipping at clothing or your hands? Or everything?

I'm not sure if this is technically an 'official' technique, but when our lab was little he always seemed to think our sleeves and hands were more appealing than the toys. If he managed to get our hands, I'd grab his lower jaw with that hand, thumb on the bottom of his mouth, rest of the fingers curled under his jaw. I'd pull down (GENTLY). He didn't like the bite being controlled and he stopped nipping. Sorry, my explanation stinks.

It's all the things. Including our other dog's front leg (and she's too sweet to bite back).

Your explanation is perfect, and that's actually exactly what we've been doing for months now. But he still thinks biting is just the best thing in the whole wide world. My dad has had many, many dogs throughout his life, and even he said he'd never met a dog who was so hard to break of the biting habit.

[teraiin]

Dec 16, 2015 13:00:35 GMT -5 longhornwino0907 said:

Dec 16, 2015 12:55:22 GMT -5 teraiin said:

As far as nipping goes, is he nipping at clothing or your hands? Or everything?

I'm not sure if this is technically an 'official' technique, but when our lab was little he always seemed to think our sleeves and hands were more appealing than the toys. If he managed to get our hands, I'd grab his lower jaw with that hand, thumb on the bottom of his mouth, rest of the fingers curled under his jaw. I'd pull down (GENTLY). He didn't like the bite being controlled and he stopped nipping. Sorry, my explanation stinks.

It's all the things. Including our other dog's front leg (and she's too sweet to bite back).

Your explanation is perfect, and that's actually exactly what we've been doing for months now. But he still thinks biting is just the best thing in the whole wide world. My dad has had many, many dogs throughout his life, and even he said he'd never met a dog who was so hard to break of the biting habit.

How quick is he? You could try booping him on the nose when he comes up to nip. Hopefully you guys can get it straightened out.

Random but my friends got a German Shepherd puppy who nipped horribly. He now doesn't nip but he nips the air when he gets excited. it makes me think of a lobster or crab clicking it's pinchers haha

ETA: one forum I looked into suggested pushing yourself into the nip. Like if they grab your hand, push your hand deeper in their mouth.  If they grab your arm push your arm into them. I haven't the foggiest what good that would do and never tried it.

[caz1221]

Ditto requiressnacks - making sure the pup is getting enough physical and mental exercise is key. At 7 months old, he should be able to go 7 hours without a potty break (as a general rule - each dog is an individual - my pug could easily go 10+ hours overnight at 7 months old). Ensuring he's getting enough physical and mental exercise could help with the sleep issue and the nipping, both of which might be the result of pent-up energy. In addition to physical exercise (walks, fetch, etc.), try feeding meals from a puzzle toy and working short training sessions in each day to wear him out mentally. In addition to the exercise, moving the crate, a white noise machine, crate cover/blanket, and special night-time toy could all help.

For the nipping, have you tried stopping all play and ignoring him (leaving the room if needed) every single time he nips? That is the method I've found most effective, as touching them and/or giving a command can sometimes make them think it's a game (or if they are doing it for attention, touching/talking even in a negative way is still attention and therefore like a reward for them).

[mustloveerica]

teraiin we have done the pushing into the bite thing. Our pup likes to grab our hands. Not a nip so much as a bite and holds on. So we push our hands into his mouth and now it's very very very rare that he does it. Pushing your hand into the bite makes them really confused and eventually he stopped doing it.

[teraiin]

Dec 16, 2015 13:32:46 GMT -5 mustloveerica said:

teraiin we have done the pushing into the bite thing. Our pup likes to grab our hands. Not a nip so much as a bite and holds on. So we push our hands into his mouth and now it's very very very rare that he does it. Pushing your hand into the bite makes them really confused and eventually he stopped doing it.

Ah that makes sense! Grabbing the lower jaw worked for us so we never investigated the 'pushing into the bite'. Thanks.

[longhornwino0907]

Dec 16, 2015 13:21:40 GMT -5 caz1221 said:

Ditto requiressnacks - making sure the pup is getting enough physical and mental exercise is key. At 7 months old, he should be able to go 7 hours without a potty break (as a general rule - each dog is an individual - my pug could easily go 10+ hours overnight at 7 months old). Ensuring he's getting enough physical and mental exercise could help with the sleep issue and the nipping, both of which might be the result of pent-up energy. In addition to physical exercise (walks, fetch, etc.), try feeding meals from a puzzle toy and working short training sessions in each day to wear him out mentally. In addition to the exercise, moving the crate, a white noise machine, crate cover/blanket, and special night-time toy could all help.

For the nipping, have you tried stopping all play and ignoring him (leaving the room if needed) every single time he nips? That is the method I've found most effective, as touching them and/or giving a command can sometimes make them think it's a game (or if they are doing it for attention, touching/talking even in a negative way is still attention and therefore like a reward for them).

I'm very big on the stopping all playing, and H is pretty good about it, too. This guy is just so persistent.

[icedtea]

Belated, but I've been dealing with the nipping too. Our older dog never really did it, but the younger one has been a total jerk about it.

Things we tried:

[gently!] holding his mouth and saying "no": Just pissed him off

Per the ASPCA, we yelped when he nipped, so he would know that he was hurting us: I've heard of a lot of success with this one, and it worked a bit, but then it also just pissed him off.

Time out: This was recommended by the ASPCA and our trainer--we have a short lead that has a thick end so you can put it under a door and hold it still (I'm having trouble with words, let me know if that makes sense). He gets a couple warnings, and then we calmly say "No, time out" and bring him over and clip him. He stays there for up to a minute. It's best if they can still see you and know they're missing out (that sounds terrible, ha). This has been doing *wonders*.

Lastly, I think it's just age. He's about a year now and at some point it just clicked. And, of course, agreed on the exercise/play/etc. We also give treats every time they go in their crates (small training ones) and that fixed any issues with him not wanting to be in there. Good luck!

[cheshie6]

longhornwino0907, Great advice by previous posters and I'm so happy we have a large knowledgeable group here. I will need to remember this thread in a few months (puppy is here and I'm exhausted) but I'm wondering if you considered Dog Adolescence? You may want to talk to a trainer. Tanner (now 7yrs old) went through this and we remained consistent and he eventually got back into the routine. A lot of it has to do with pushing their boundaries and seeing what they can get away with. But I like all the previous posts a lot!

[pismoduo]

Dec 17, 2015 16:44:43 GMT -5 budders said:

Lurking, and you have great advice, but wanted to add something that worked for us:
We used an alarm clock to tell the dog it was time to get up/come out of the crate. You could also use a bell or something else. That way, he learned that he wasn't getting up until he heard the sound, so there was no point in barking or making noise sooner. He's almost 4 and we still use this because he likes to rise and eat about an hour and a half before we do.

<snip>    

Hm. I may have inadvertently taught our dogs this. They both used to try and wake us up in the middle of the night or at like 3 in the morning. Now, they don't even bother to try unless they really, really, REALLY need to go out or my alarm clock has gone off and my thermometer has beeped. Even then, they'll usually just lift their heads to see if someone is really getting up or not.