# Serious whining at night (8 wk old shih tzu)



## adp25 (Aug 5, 2009)

I just got my 8 week old shih tzu on Sunday evening. He is very well behaved. The first night he slept soundly in his crate... not a peep and no accidents. We put him in around 11:30-midnight and took him out around 7am. 

The next night, he went to bed fine, but woke up at 130am and cried for about 15 minutes and then went back to sleep. Then he woke up around 550 and cried until i got up and took him out, but he didn't pee. Then i realized he had peed in his crate over night at some point...
Then last night, he cried for 10 mins when we put him to bed around 11pm, then woke up at 250 and proceeded to cry until 650am. 

Our vet advised us to ignore him in the middle of the night, and if he messes in his crate, clean it up and proceed as normal. He said he is too young to realize that he needs to go out to pee, so ignoring him is out best bet. He is a very good pup otherwise, loves attention and affection (which makes me think he is just lonely in the middle of the night). He does not have many accidents indoors during the day. We take him out every couple of hours and he usually goes, no problem.

He has also been whining when in his crate at all. We have been trying to make the crate a safe and nice place for him, even moving his food in there etc. I try to put him in there while i am in the room as well so he can get used to it, but he cries when he cant see me or my husband.

any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am really looking for reassurance that we should continue to ignore him in the middle of the night as our vet suggested... I have read so much that says the contrary. Has anyone else done this with their pup and it worked out successfully?

Thank you


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## Buggles (Jul 14, 2009)

Yes, ignoring him in the night is the best option. Some people will tell you to go down and let him out at, say, 1am and 5am but I think it's pointless unless he is already awake. Why bother waking up quiet sleeping baby!


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## adp25 (Aug 5, 2009)

But what if he not sleeping? What if he is up whining?


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## shazalhasa (Jul 21, 2009)

I had my 2nd lhasa at 8 weeks old but she had company from the other dog who was already full grown.

The crying could be because he's wet or dirtied his bed, if so this is what needs addressing not the crying. 
What time do you give last feed and water ? Even at 8 weeks old, it's not to soon to start raising the food and water at say 8pm. Then keep putting him outside for his toilet needs regularly and praise him when he does it outside. Do same thing as soon as you wake up, put him out, once he's done his business, praise and reward. He'll soon get the message 

When any of mine cry at night as sometimes they will if one of the dogs isn't with them for whatever reason, I just ignore it, they soon quieten down and go to sleep


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

If he is whining at night then I would let him out for a pee because otherwise you are encouraging him to pee in his bed.
It will be far quicker to toilet train if there are no oppurtunities to have accidents 

x


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## Hb-mini (May 20, 2009)

PoisonGirl said:


> If he is whining at night then I would let him out for a pee because otherwise you are encouraging him to pee in his bed.
> It will be far quicker to toilet train if there are no oppurtunities to have accidents
> 
> x


I agree with this, for the first week we had Bella i got up with her when she cried and she always wee'd and then went back to sleep. Now she sleeps straight through and has never had an accident in her crate. He is still a baby, you wouldnt expect a new baby to sleep at night without a nappy and stay dry.


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## Fleur (Jul 19, 2008)

There really is 2 camps - neither of which you could say is right or wrong.
It really boils down to what you are happy doing.
Personally I think it is really distressing for a puppy to mess in their bed - mum would of told them this is a big no no.
I never left my children to cry all night and lie in their own mess so why would I leave a puppy to do the same?
This is what I did and it worked brilliantly.
I put the crate next to my bed, if they woke I took them out into the garden without any talking, eye contact or cuddles. Then as soon as they've been put them straight back into the crate and ignored them.
I had to do this for a couple of weeks, after a while they could go through the night  so I moved the crate to the end of my bed, once they were ok with out I moved it to the landing etc until they were sleeping through the night in the lounge as I wanted. 
They've never woken up in the night since and the whole process took less than a month.
Good Luck


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## charmed-imsure (Apr 29, 2009)

Well, IMHO, when I was a child, my parents never knew I wet the bed until the morning!!! Your pup is so young & will inevitably need the loo through the night at some point & it's a really good sign that your pup comes to tell you "hey I need wee wees". You just need to recognise the help me signs. Normally it's a big "lick - get up & let me out", & if you don't respond it'll be a cry or a wee on the floor. Pups can't always do it without your help at that age


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## nic101 (Jun 8, 2009)

i did the complete 'wrong' text book thing with mil....

your suppsed to ignore them but i got mil at 6 weeks old...(i had good reason so no slaming pls) we had her crate etc... she hated it

i managed the first night leaving her to it.... 2nd night she was really crying so i came in from work about 1am,, picked her up and put her in my bed with me....

she was dry at night from 6 weeks old... she slept in my bed with an airbed and cussions underneath just in case  (she fell off) but she never cried again!

worked for my dog but reccomend leaving them too it unless they guilt trip you as much as mine did


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## fun4fido (Jul 22, 2008)

adp25 said:


> I just got my 8 week old shih tzu on Sunday evening. He is very well behaved. The first night he slept soundly in his crate... not a peep and no accidents. We put him in around 11:30-midnight and took him out around 7am.
> 
> The next night, he went to bed fine, but woke up at 130am and cried for about 15 minutes and then went back to sleep. Then he woke up around 550 and cried until i got up and took him out, but he didn't pee. Then i realized he had peed in his crate over night at some point...
> Then last night, he cried for 10 mins when we put him to bed around 11pm, then woke up at 250 and proceeded to cry until 650am.
> ...


Hi,

I have to say, your vets advice is a little harsh.

I've just replied to another post on here regarding crate training, toilet training, so rather than type it out again, I'll give the link:
http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-training-behaviour/54009-toilet-crate-training-night-2.html#post870421

Hope this helps


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## Colliepoodle (Oct 20, 2008)

dogpositivetraining said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have to say, your vets advice is a little harsh.
> 
> ...


Agree the vet's advice is a bit harsh.

Bear in mind that vets don't necessarily know much about training


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## JennieJet (Jun 19, 2009)

I have a 21 week old lab and my sister who is vet and dog trainer moaned at me that when I put her to bed I must ignore all her cries and never go back to her during the whole night...even if she barked and cried all night...SORRY but I totallt disagreed with her....I wouldnt leave my children crying all night.... We took her out last thing at night and then put her straight into her crate..the second night I think she barked for about 5 mins then off to sleep.....in the first few weeks she would wake any time from 5am onwards...as soon as I heard her barking I would get up and take her outside and then once she has finished I will put her straight back in her crate...now she wakes up about 7am and as she knows I will come and let her out she only does this one yelp and then waits for me to get up and let her out.. ( at the start it would be lots of barking and yelping).... I totally believe that you need to get up and let them out but only when they bark to tell you..dont play with them etc..just straight out and then back...good luck


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## Louby (Jul 27, 2009)

shazalhasa said:


> Even at 8 weeks old, it's not to soon to start raising the food and water at say 8pm.


i thought u had to leave water down at night all the time - am i wrong?

L x


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## JennieJet (Jun 19, 2009)

Louby said:


> i thought u had to leave water down at night all the time - am i wrong?
> 
> L x


my puppy always has water ....morning , noon and night.....


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## Dylan & Daisy (Feb 4, 2009)

*Congratulations on your new puppy *

*I have a shih-tzu puppy and i only ignored his cries at night (though i only had 1 night where he did this) if i had already been down to let him up the garden, i ignore any barking other than the one that tells me he wants out, though he usually stands by the door if he does during the day.*

*He has never messed in his crate and im told by many that dogs dont normally do this as its their bed but i wouldnt encourage that kind of behaviour  i mean you wouldnt leave a baby to lie in it's own mess and just cos it's an animal, doesnt mean it ok so i'd totally disagree with what your vet advised **shocked***

*Good luck and enjoy him/her.. they grow so fast.*


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## betterdogs (Aug 10, 2009)

What I would suggest you is to get your dog trained. The best way to train your dog is to train it at your home. I know of one such trainer who trains your dog right at your home. They are Better Dogs. They specialize in Columbia dog training and many such services.You can visit their website for more details.I am sure they will be of great help. Kudos!


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

betterdogs said:


> What I would suggest you is to get your dog trained. The best way to train your dog is to train it at your home. I know of one such trainer who trains your dog right at your home. They are Better Dogs. They specialize in Columbia dog training and many such services.You can visit their website for more details.I am sure they will be of great help. Kudos!


You know this is a UK based forum dont you?

Your adverts are wasted here.


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## Colliepoodle (Oct 20, 2008)

Louby said:


> i thought u had to leave water down at night all the time - am i wrong?
> 
> L x


No, you're not wrong. Dogs should always have access to fresh water.


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## shazalhasa (Jul 21, 2009)

Dogs should always have access to fresh water but you are trying to train your new poochie, so why make it harder by letting him drink at night when this will make him pee 
All of my dogs are now old enough to have the water left down at night but they don't drink it and they don't pee in the house. When I was training them to pee outside the water and food was picked up at 8-9pm. They were all dry through the night within a fortnight.
Your puppy will drink enough water through the day to sustain it through the night so you are not doing anything wrong by picking it up.


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## Colliepoodle (Oct 20, 2008)

shazalhasa said:


> Dogs should always have access to fresh water but you are trying to train your new poochie, so why make it harder by letting him drink at night when this will make him pee
> All of my dogs are now old enough to have the water left down at night but they don't drink it and they don't pee in the house. When I was training them to pee outside the water and food was picked up at 8-9pm. They were all dry through the night within a fortnight.
> Your puppy will drink enough water through the day to sustain it through the night so you are not doing anything wrong by picking it up.


Taking up the water will not teach him to hold on, which is what housetraining is. Not needing to go is not the same as learning where the toilet is.

Have you never woken up in the night thirsty??

Dogs should ALWAYS have water freely available.


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## nic101 (Jun 8, 2009)

shazalhasa said:


> Dogs should always have access to fresh water but you are trying to train your new poochie, so why make it harder by letting him drink at night when this will make him pee
> All of my dogs are now old enough to have the water left down at night but they don't drink it and they don't pee in the house. When I was training them to pee outside the water and food was picked up at 8-9pm. They were all dry through the night within a fortnight.
> Your puppy will drink enough water through the day to sustain it through the night so you are not doing anything wrong by picking it up.


our water is always down and we have a bowl in EVERY room in the house 24/7.... just in case they get shut in a room for a bit if were out - or they lock themselves in.....

our food goes down and our dogs eat straight away, they always have.... we never leave it down all day - they get 2 meals a day then garden straight after - worked perfectly for us

thats why i ant understand why people leave food down all day -how does tehe dog have a 'garden' routine!!?

as for water again - you should keep water down 24/7 for your dogs =- its not fair on them going without


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## dwizard (Aug 17, 2009)

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## Millie1212 (Apr 9, 2009)

Hi there, Alfie my lhasa apso cross was the same. I put the crate next to my bed for the first 2 weeks, he settled immediately. Its so hard knowing what to do but I woke him for a wee at 12 and then 5. Gradually the 12 oclock became 10 ( when I went to bed ) and the 5 bcame 6.30 when I get up.Its trial and error but there is a balance to them feeling safe and settled and playing you up!!

Alfie is now 7 months and absolutely fab!! I love him so much. When Ive worked out the techno part of the website I will put a picture of him on here.

Good luck and enjoy !!!

Nikki and Alfiexx


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