# Need sleep...please help!!



## norabrown (Jul 20, 2007)

How fun to have a new pup, but it's hard to be patient when you are tired.

I'm sure everyone has their own ideas on this, but where is your crate? I recommend having it in your bedroom then your pup can hear you breathing and smell you and not feel all alone.

We brought our pup home at 5 weeks (he was a rescue) and just a quiet "shhhh" usually was enough. Sometimes it wasn't and he would bark. I make sure he has a soft blanket and some quiet toys in his crate. He even has a little pillow which he loves.

It will get better. Just think of all the adjustments this little pup is making. 

How about some pictures?

And let us know how it goes.


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## norabrown (Jul 20, 2007)

Oh, another idea....for some pups a blanket thrown over the crate helps. It makes it more cave like, so they feel more secure. For our pup, thowing a blanket over the front of his crate can give us a few extra hours of sleep on a morning when he feels we should be up playing. His crate looks directly at my husbands side of the bed. LOL


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## mk9906 (Aug 16, 2007)

The crate is in our room. I'll try covering it tonight. Here are some pictures of our little baby. And one of our old boy


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Congratulations on the pup, and sorry for your loss of your beautiful GSD. He looks like he was a real character. 

Having a new puppy is like having a newborn -- most of us who have been through it were sleep-deprived for a while. 

The good news is that you are doing things right, and it usually does get better after a week or two at most. 

One point: make sure he's not whining because he has to potty. When Brandy was tiny, we didn't give her water past 7 p.m. and took her out one last time at 11 p.m. She got us up at 5:30 a.m. or so and immediately needed to go outside. 

Hang in there!


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## mk9906 (Aug 16, 2007)

Sleeping from 11pm to 5:30 am would be a blessing compared to last night. Tonight i think I'll cut off the water at 7pm and play play play and then a potty break before bed. I'm also going to try covering the crate.


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## Nugget9806 (Aug 10, 2007)

The loss of a beloved one is very difficult. My thoughts are with you. 

Your new baby is very cute. It does not surprise me that he is doing so well with house training. My Nugget house trained extremely easily, He spoiled me rotten because he caught on to all training so easily. I also used the same techniques that Nora suggested. They worked very well for Nugget and I.


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## bwoz (Jul 12, 2007)

hi and welcome! first of all, so sorry about the loss of your beautiful boy. what a smile. i love Shepherds and actually we got our golden pup Banner after we lost our two GSD's. your puppy is a CUTIE! lots of good advice here. as hard as it is, we just tried to ignore the crying for a few minutes. if it persisted, we took him out on leash, then right back in the crate. no playing or anything like that. I just really tried to get him into a routine of day=play, night=sleep! i am sure he is trying to figure out what has happened in the last few days and he misses momma and siblings too. it DOES get better . can't wait to hear more about your little guy.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Hang in there! Most pups get the hang of the crate within a week.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

I think you will just have to find what works with your puppy....I just got a foster puppy who is 13-14 weeks old.... He went to sleep at 11 pm lastnight, in his crate with a pillow and toys, crate covered and was back up at 2 am , I took him out and put him right back in covered the crate gave him a kong with treats in it and he barked from 2:15 am to 5:45am.... I just shut my door and let him bark. It will take some time...we are talking a puppy.... Each one if different.. all my other foster puppies have never barked or cried in there crates..... Good luck.. and hang in there......


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## mk9906 (Aug 16, 2007)

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!

our little guy woke up only twice! Once at midnight, just talked him back to sleep really fast. Then once at 4am, he went right out to pee pee and right back in the crate to sleep. 

We are SO HAPPY. 

We have a genius dog  hehehe


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Glad to hear that his sleeping routine is getting better. That first week or two can be very tough. Thanks for the positive update.


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## Buffy & Abby's Mom (Nov 27, 2005)

Congratulations on your new baby and a better night's sleep! He is absolutely precious!! What is his name?


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## DelmarvaGold (Mar 7, 2006)

mk9906 said:


> THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> our little guy woke up only twice! Once at midnight, just talked him back to sleep really fast. Then once at 4am, he went right out to pee pee and right back in the crate to sleep.
> 
> ...


Great news!! I always cover my crates when I have a new puppy. I suppose it feels more like a den. I also have them sleep in another room (living room). Glad things are working out and you are getting much needed rest


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## mk9906 (Aug 16, 2007)

His name is Zach. 

We planned to name him something different. As I've said we got him after losing our German Shepherd. When we went to meet all of the puppies we were immediately drawn to him. The family said he was the only one that already had a name. His name was Zach but they told us we could change it if we wanted. When I got home after we decided we wanted him I looked up his name online. It means "in memory of" 

 How could I change that? It brings tears to my eyes everytime I tell the story. 

It made me feel not as guilty about "replacing" Gero.


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## justmejanis (Feb 25, 2007)

I hope things get better now with sleeping. It takes awhile but eventually they do get into the routine. Keep us updated on how things go!


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## Strohm (Aug 13, 2007)

*This too shall pass.*

Keep up the good work. The nightly wakings will end before you know it. Our Fontana (11 weeks today) did basically the same thing when we brought her home at 8 weeks. The first night she was up only once. The second night, she was up every hour or two and would fuss. I found that if I laid on the floor by the crate she would go to sleep, but I didn't want her to think that was the routine. I moved the crate so she could see and hear me better while I was still in bed. On the third day she was up only once during the night to pee. If she fusses shortly after going out, I usually roll over or cough a little and she quiets down. 

Now at 11 weeks she is able to go most of the night. The biggest problem is when when gets up just before the alarm goes off. I hate those mornings.


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## Jazzys Mom (Mar 13, 2007)

Hi there and welcome! Your new little guy is adorable!

Yes, covering the crate may be a big help! I cover Jazzys' crate every night and she loves it. If that doesn't work you can try leaving a tv or radio on low so he has some noise in the room with him. Sometimes that helps.

When we got our Flirt she screamed --- and I mean screamed all night long the first night. I had the tv on and tried everything I had heard of to quiet her, nothing worked! At that time I didn't even think about covering her crate. We had 2 adult Goldens when we got Flirty. The 2nd night she began her screaming again. All of a sudden ----- QUIET!! I thought she had strangled herself or something so I got up and in the dark tiptoed to the door of the kitchen. This is what I saw ------- Flirty curled up in her crate sound asleep and my older Golden girl, Chelsea curled up in front of Flirt's crate. Chelsea shot me a look that said "You wake this screaming mimi up and she's all yours! I'm done!" Flirt loved her crate from that night on! Even tried to have her puppies there instead of her whelping box!:

Jazzys Mom


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

So glad that Zach did alot better last night. I think that the name is just perfect. I cried when I saw the meaning of Zach. Dont feel guilty, you are not replacing Gero you are adding to your famlly. Gero would not want you to be sad, he would want you to remember him in happiness.


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## Wrigley's Mom (Nov 6, 2006)

Zach is a beautiful boy! So glad he's sleeping better and so are you! I never put Wrigley in my rooms when I brought him home at 8 weeks--at the breeder's reccomendation. He whined for a while the first night then went to sleep. Never heard a peep after that--but I think I was lucky.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

So sorry about your loss of your sweet Gero.
Your new puppy is darling. What a cutie pie.
Can't give any advice about the crate because we didn't even last one night!!! Brooks cried for a while and my son said he couldn't bear to hear him cry so took Brooks into his bed (and there was no more crying!!)


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## cleynehage (Jul 26, 2007)

I am crate training one of my pups i bred. if she cries i let her out in the garden to make sure she is not wanting to do job. then i put her back in with a tit bit. and just mess about in the kitchen and when she makes a noise its a definite NO and she knows eh he sound. if you just let them bark and cry its like a child they get themselves all worked up. One of the family should do this. why keep the whole family awake sleep on settee so you are at hand if the noise start. there is actually a toy on the market that looks like a puppy - seems a nice idea. or use an old teddy for the pup to cuddle up to.


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## mk9906 (Aug 16, 2007)

I just wanted to give everyone an update on our baby Zach. He is down to waking up only once during the night. Usually around 2am. 

Tonight at around 9:30, his usual bedtime, we thought he went back to get a toy and once he was gone for a few minutes we went to check on him. He was asleep in his crate, the door was wide open! We were so impressed. 

We haven't even had him home for one week yet, he's doing so well.


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## Jazzys Mom (Mar 13, 2007)

Sounds like you are well on your way to having an excellent crate trained puppy! Once they go in on their own like Zach did they love their crate forevermore! Zach sounds like he is really a good boy!

Jazzys Mom


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