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Eva2304 · Feb 17, 2010, 03:09 PM

Hi,

I have a 6 months old toy poodle. I play with him during the day, and take him out at least 4 times a day. He is not 100% housebroken, so he sleeps in a place that I've accommodated for him, is not a crate. He wakes up during the middle of the night, and cries, we take him out so he can do his business, but as soon as we put him in again he starts crying again.

What would you recommend?

Thanks.

Aurora_Bell · Feb 18, 2010, 06:05 AM

Where is it that you are keeping him? Do you have a crate? Is there any reason you don't want to crate? A lot of times puppy's miss the noises they became used to when they were with their litters. A ticking clock under the pillow will provide comfort as will the radio left on low. As long as he is getting lots of excersise during the day he should be pooped by night time. Puppies are like babies in the way that they are up through the night, and sometimes are just craving a little extra love. If you are feeding him later in the evening, you can try feeding a little bit earlier. I like the crates because you can move them to any room you want. So if he started crying you could move the crate into your room and he would still be near you guys.
Does he have any toys with him in his area? You could get some challenging toys for him, maybe a nyla bone or a small kong stuffed with treats.

shazamataz · Feb 18, 2010, 02:27 PM

You have sort of cut your own throat so to speak by getting up and letting him out in the middle of the night.
Now that you have done it once it has become somewhat of a habit and now, when your poodle wakes up, he expects to be taken out and knows crying will get your attention.

I personally have my dogs in crates in my bedroom.
I prefer this to them being housed in another room because if they do misbehave I can give them a grumpy "no" and tell them to be quiet, rather than having to drag myself out of bed to fix the problem then not being able to get back to sleep!

You may have a couple of sleepless nights the first few days of crating but after that you should be finally able to sleep all night!

EDIT - Them being used to noises from where they were living like Aurora said is spot on... not just with a clock or radio but other noises as well... I just got a new puppy and the breeder I got him from lived on a farm, he gets very excited every time he hears loud birds because (I am guessing) he heard the same noises a lot when he was back with the breeder.