General Chat

Thanks for the really good advice. Have been following the thread as son and his girlfriend collected their Lhasa Apso pup Molly today and I have been able to prepare them both with the sound advice given by you all.
She is beautiful, but wimpering a bit as I suppose she's missing mum. They have her blanket so she can smell mum, a hot water bottle and a clock. Think they are expecting her not to settle tonight, so are preparing themselves.

Di

Always had our pups sleep in a box by the bed where I could dangle my hand into it. They soon progressed to a bed downstairs. Its the first couple of weeks that they miss Mum so much, poor things!

I'm glad the pup is settling now Alyson and that you are getting some sleep. A good habit to start with him is for him not to be fed first. The pack leader always eats first and you don't want him to think he is the boss, because he will start to act like he is! Get his food ready, then let him see you eat/pretend to eat your food and drink some of your coffee for a few minutes before you give him his food. He will understand this natural 'pack' behaviour even as a small pup. Good luck with him, he sounds as if he will bring you a lot of joy.

Hi All..

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

It has been a few nights now since i put my old dressing gown in his bed and a clock near by.
The pup has been great so thankyou all for your advice. He is ready to greet me when i come down in the mornings. I firstly make a coffee then i give the pup his breakfast. By the time i have finished my coffee he is ready to have his mad hour playing. He is bringing so much joy into my family and he is spoilt rotten by all.

Alyson xx

I know this is not a puppy, but when we first had our cat as a little kitten, we were frightened he would chew through the electric wires, and OH bought some plastic guards for the wiring, he got it in an electrical shop.
Our boy kept on mewing, and he came up to our bedroom one night, and actually made a hole in the carpet outside bedroom door, trying to get in. So we let in him in. Now he sleeps in the spare bedroom.,or on his own chair in the living room. whatever takes his fancy.

Mo

Glad you got some sleep and hope tonight has been ok too.


Shows how many people actually read through the thread lol

Lizx

Hi Alyson,
Judes advice is spot on. Your puppy needs to get used to you being away for increasing periods of time, with the reasurance that you'll be returning. Put him in a room & tell him to stay. Go outside closing the door behind you for a say 10 secs. Go back in & if he's stayed quietly where he was, give him loads of praise.
From this point increase the time he's alone, repeating the praise & he'll become confident that when left alone that you'll be returning.
Also leave with him his basket/tcrate & toys which will help him to feel comfortable when he's alone.
Do this during the daytime. I get the impression that he's with you all day, which is why he's feeling abandoned at night.

Regards,
Steve

Hi Alyson,
The only way he will learn is if you leave him to cry. When he cries if someone goes to him he will keep on crying. When we have had a new pup we play with him shortly before bedtime so we know he's tired and ready to sleep. Its heartbreaking and I have cried but its the only way and it doesn't usually last more than a couple of nights and it is worth it.
Good luck.
Pat

i put our puppy in the kitchen with a hot water bottle under his blankets and an old jumper of mine that i had worn for a few hours, he cried for a while and i went back down to him twice to stroke him and see he was ok and after about two hours he sttled and i never had any sleepless nights with him! you have to be firm from the start, i also left the kitchen light on for a week or so just to reassure him

definitely get a dog cage - he will look on it as his home - another thing they reckon is good is a hot water bottle and a ticking clock - will soothe him to sleep!!

Evening All.
Well..... we all had a good nights sleep last night.
I put my dressing gown in the pups bed and a loudish clock near him and he stayed quiet all night.

Thankyou all for your advice and Merry Christmas.
Alyson

I will try putting my dressing gown in his bed and also the clock. My hot water bottle is in my sons room so i cannot get that until tomorrow.

Thankyou all.
Alyson

When my puppy was feeling lost and alone I put an old dressing gown (or anything you have really) which had MY scent on it into his bed.

This settled him enough to make him feel we were close by and we all got a good night's sleep.

He's got used to you now and relies on you to comfort him and it's your scent which will settle him down - try it, you've nothing to lose!

Daughter has just phoned and said Dotty has just opened my christmas pressie lol Annie

Thankyou Alice.
I know you are right but it is so hard to put into practice..

Alyson

Awwww Grannie.
I know how the Mum felt.

Alyson

Amanda.
I did try just leaving him with his bed, toys and a drink in the kitchen last night but i gave up at 4am because he kept us all awake with his howling.

He is adorable during the day and very very wicked but a nightmare in the nights.

Alyson

My daughters dog had 2 pups 7 weeks ago.Mum used to lay on the sofa and both babes were in a crate.They created merry hell and kept my daughter awake.Mum lost all interest in them after 4 weeks.In the end they must have drove mum mad as she would get off the sofa and get them both out of the cage and climb back on the settee lol.One has now been rehomed but still has the other one that she now takes to bed. annie

Alyson.........if you definitely want the pup to sleep downstairs on his own then that is what he has got to get used to. You have to ignore his howling etc and he will give up and go to sleep ( eventually ).

As you say , one of you having to sleep on the sofa just isn't going to work in the long run .

Amanda

You could try leaving it in a room for a few minutes, aslong as it is quiete give it a treat,and make a fuss of him, then leave abit longer, say 15 mins and give another treat, etc etc.The most important thing is that the pup knows who is boss, if my dogs anything to go by........he's the boss!!! lol
Actually he was the boss and can sometimes be bossy, but he also knows his place now. We relented to a dog trainer.
We've had simular probs in the past with our dog, we have a stair gate now and the downstairs is open to him and he's fine. Last thing at night he comes up on the bed with me whilst l read, when OH is ready to come up he whistles and the dog goes back down:o))
Crate is a good idea,but again he needs praise and perhaps treats for the time he is good.
Or ask advice at vets!!
Good luck

jude :o)