New Puppy That Won't Sleep

We just bought a 6 week old Cocker Spaniel. Last night she cried all night long; I'm new to this what am I to do????? :blob2: She's a beautiful puppy but I'm at the point of wanting to return her already. Any suggestions?

Jayla's Mom

[Deja]

First off - Welcome to PT!

Your puppy is so very young. She's been removed from her source of food, comfort, security, companionship and direction. her natural instinct is telling her to cry. In the wild a young pup who has wandered off will cry to be found. She must now transfer her trust and security to you. Establishing a new routine with a young puppy can take some time. She'll adjust and so will you.

Be patient and for the first few days spend as much time as you can bonding with her, comforting her and reassuring her. Think about the type of dog you want her to be and develop a plan. Routine and repetition is something that will come into play for the duration of your relationship

My first and best suggestion is to go to the threads that are "Stuck" at the top of this section. Read them, and know you aren't alone . There is great information there. Also, go to the Featured Article section. There are articles there that you may find interesting.

We are here to help and to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to post often - someone is always here with great suggestions and advice. Do you have any pictures of her? What is her name?

Again - Welcome to the board!!

[Christi]

I can't recommend this book enough - Smarter Than You Think - it's amazing. Both of our puppies were trained to go outside and to sleep at night within 2 weeks or so.

Thanks

Again thanks. I bought a clock that ticks, took my daughter's pillowcase and wrapped the clock in it. She's been asleep now for almost 3 hours. I should've done this yesterday but hind sight it 20/20. I hope I get the hang of this. She's such a sweetheart.

[CTChin]

Awww...poor little pup. Normally she should still be with her mommy for two more weeks but what is done is done. She may still cry off and on for several days but she'll get used to your routine. When I have new pups in the house, I put them in a crate near my bed so they don't feel like they are alone She'll probably need to go out to relieve herself during the night also for a couple more weeks. Are you feeding her a minimum of 3 times a day? At this age 4 small meals may be better. At 8 weeks go to three and then gradually start cutting back.

Hang in there!! It will get better

Thanks Brenda for the response. Yes she does eat three times a day. Last night she cried every three hours on the hour. I let her out to relieve herself and then she went back in the kennel and off to la la land! :-) Much better night last night than the first. So you think she should get 4 meals instead of the 3? Please let me know what's best for her. She seems to be a healthy happy dog.

[CTChin]

That great It'll get slowly better, I promise!

If 3 meals seems to be working for her that is fine. If she is thin and is constantly hungry, you may want to break up the meals more often...kind of like an infant baby. Their little stomachs are so small. But if she seems content, keep the routine you have now.

Over the past couple of days, I've noticed that seems as if her stomach is have convulsions. Is it my imagination or is something really going on with her?

[CTChin]

Do you think it could be puppy hiccups?

[Gecko]

when i first got my dog she is 3/4 cocker and she used to cry at night but she's an outside dog and the first few nights we slept outside with her til she got used to it. we would also give her some milk sometimes at night. we got her when she was 6 weeks old.

Jayla's not on outside dog, although I'd love for her to be. She's much better with the sleeping thing but has now picked up another bad habit :blob3: . She's trained to paper and will only eliminate on paper. Now, she's tearing up the paper and chewing it! I tell you; if it ain't one thing it's another with this child! Any comments on what to do about this. She's now 7 weeks old.

[Gecko]

Im sorry I wish I could help but I dont really know much about potty training a dog as i have never done that before. but good luck.

[PicOlio]

Personally, I would remove all of the paper and start training her to go outside rather than having to keep "retraining her" until she graduates to the outhouse usage

Our pup went on paper when we first got him ... We made sure we got it all up and started taking him outside every 2 hours (we like positive reinforcement rather than negative so we do our best to set him up to succeed rather than fail). The paper I didn't pick up however was a pile of newspaper that is stored under the parrot cage for convenience. That lil'terd bucket crawled under the cage... grabbed a piece of newspaper..dragged out to the middle of the floor and then peed on it! I couldn't fault him for trying EXTRA SUPER HARD to do the right thing LOL

We have a gallon bottle of Nature's Miracle at the ready for mishaps. It works GREAT! I wish I could tell you that there have been no accidents but I can't. Though, now that I think about it, we have not had an accident today!! (hope I didn't just jinx it lol)

It just takes time and a lot of patience as well as remembering to bring the pup outside OFTEN for success. Also, rather than leaving food down for the pup to eat whenever he feels like it, it may help to have scheduled feeding times so you know when he'll need to go

[NjMalta]

Quote: Originally Posted by PicOlio Personally, I would remove all of the paper and start training her to go outside rather than having to keep "retraining her" until she graduates to the outhouse usage Our pup went on paper when we first got him ... We made sure we got it all up and started taking him outside every 2 hours (we like positive reinforcement rather than negative so we do our best to set him up to succeed rather than fail). The paper I didn't pick up however was a pile of newspaper that is stored under the parrot cage for convenience. That lil'terd bucket crawled under the cage... grabbed a piece of newspaper..dragged out to the middle of the floor and then peed on it! I couldn't fault him for trying EXTRA SUPER HARD to do the right thing LOL We have a gallon bottle of Nature's Miracle at the ready for mishaps. It works GREAT! I wish I could tell you that there have been no accidents but I can't. Though, now that I think about it, we have not had an accident today!! (hope I didn't just jinx it lol) It just takes time and a lot of patience as well as remembering to bring the pup outside OFTEN for success. Also, rather than leaving food down for the pup to eat whenever he feels like it, it may help to have scheduled feeding times so you know when he'll need to go

good advise. I'd lose the paper.
I went thru same exact situation!