Night time troubles

[amylou1107]

Hi all

Just looking for some advice really so I will start by explain the situation and what we are doing to try and combat it.

we have a 8 week old rottweiler, we got her at 6 & 1/2 weeks. I know this is frowned upon a lot but after speaking to our vet and explaining the situation he said that this was probably for the best. The mum had a litter of 9 she started being violent with the puppys so the breeder let the 5 stronger ones go in the hope that this would help mum bring the other weaker ones on.

She is a really good dog doesn't chew apart from her toys, eats at set times of the day ( 6 am, 10 am, 2 am & 6pm) this seems to work really well and fit in with school runs and work etc. .

Now my problem with her is of a night time when she goes in her crate, we have and still do crate traiming. We chuck yummy treats and toys in for her leave her a few minutes and the reward her for being good in there. Started to feed her outside of her crate & then gradually moving it inside more so she has to go in to eat it.

Before bed we let her out she normally does wee & poop at this time, the bring her in and completely knacker her out the take her back out where she will do another wee. She then goes into her crate. The the fun begins she whines and whines to the point where it sounds like somebody is hurting her. The first couple of nights I have given her a hour then got up to see if she needs to go toilet (which she never does) I do t talk to her or make a fuss of her apart from cue words. I the get up at around 3 am to let her out and again she still doesn't do anything apart from a wee. Then when I get up at 6 and go down she has pooped in her crate, laid in it, stood in it, you name it its everywhere.

Now I no I'm going to get asked about The size of her crate and yes it's a huge one but it has a divider to make it bigger or smaller. We have made it just big enough for her to stand up, turn around and lie down in.

This is happening every night and the thought of getting up to her and the mess every morning is getting less appealing. My washing machine is on none stop. She's such a loving dog though and there is no way I'm ready to give up on her yet.

Any tips, advice on where we are going wrong would be greatly appreciated, I'm sorry if I've rambled on just wanted to give all the information. Thanks in advance xx

 

[goldenbear2013]

Hi there!

First of all, you are doing everything right when it comes to the crate training thing. I reccommend it to everyone I reply to on here if they dont do it already when it comes to night time training and learning to be left on their own.

The night time pooping is anxiety and fear. She wakes up, is dark, she doesnt know where you are and instantly she will go to the toilet.

Now the question i need to ask is where do you keep her crate of a night time?

Is it with you in your bedroom, or downstairs where she cant see you?

If she is downstairs then i reccomend the following:

* bring the crate into your bedroom. keep doing everything you're doing in respect of your night time routine. if she whines ignore her, if it persists just pop your hand next to the crate so she can smell you, and just talk to her softly, saying anything really it doesnt matter. Keep your bedroom door open and the landing light on. Do this for 2 weeks.

* The next step is turning the landing light off and keeping her in your room. Do this for 1-2 weeks depending on how she gets on.

* Next step, is to move the crate onto the landing and keep you bedroom door open. Have a lamp on the landing on for her, or one of your bedrooms if you have a spare. again, stick to your night time throughout. Do this for 2 weeks.

* Then turn the light off and do this again for 1-2 weeks.

* Next move her downstairs to a room of your choosing. Again, have a lamp on or turn the landing light on, and keep your bedroom door open so you can hear her. Again 1-2 weeks.

* Finally, turn all the lights off and let her sleep.

This process is long and can get very tiring but you should have a dog that will learn that being in the crate of a night time is ok and that you havent left her it is just only night time. The steps are gradual as it will take time for her to understand that crate time means sleep time.

Over the course of time she should settle and stop pooping in her crate.

The bigger she gets the less room she will have anyway so will be less inclined to mess in her crate and hold it until you let her out in the morning.

I hope this helps and i must state that this is a method that i have done on my dog and it worked brilliantly and has done for others i have messaged and/or spoken to about crate training of a night time.

Another thing i would recommend is that if she doesnt chew as you have said, then to pop an old jumper of yours in the crate with her or a t shirt so she has your smell there.

Another thing I have heard helps puppies, especially with yours being taken away from her mother so soon is an adaptil plug in next to her crate. This sooths them and should (so i have been told) help them to settle and be less anxious. There are other adaptil products you can try and they are all available from pets at home.

I hope my advice helps you if you decide to try it and i wish you the best of luck.

Sophie x

 

[gypsysmum]

Good advice above. You will be able to hear her if she stirs when needing to poop. It is natural for dogs to wake in the early hours and leave the nest to poop. It is vital that you organise it so that she can leave the nest to poop in the correct place. If this means getting up again to let her out then that is how it will have to be until she is old enough to hold on all night.

Remember to reward all toilets outside. She needs to think "I will hold on until I get outside so that I can get a treat". This means that your timing has to be good when you give the treat. It has to be given immediately she pees or poops. Do not let her walk towards you as she may get confused about the reason for the reward. Be boring the rest of the time.

The main reason for puppies to stay with their litter mates is for socialisation purposes. Have you enrolled her in Puppy Classes? She really must be socialised in order to be relaxed and happy around other dogs. Good classes will also give you help and support with house training, play biting, jumping up etc. Look at the APDT website for a trainer near you.