new pup...some early tips??

[inthecattails]

Hey fellas,

Last night we got our first pup. Black Lab little over 6 weeks old. Last night was a long one!! I tried all kinds of methods to get her to stop barking and whining in the pet carrier. I think she went an hour, hour and a half a couple times after I brought her outside to do her business. She won't go in her carrier (which is good)and goes nuts till I bring her out. She went as soon as her feet hit the ground. Then I put her back in her carrier and she starts barking. I give her a few no's and she's quiet for another hour.

Any tips on what's best to keep her from barking in her carrier. If she see's you she goes nuts and when she can't see you it's about the same. Want to end it right away best I can. don't like letting her bark for an hour or more straight!! My hears can't take it and I am suprised hers can.

Thanks in advance.

[lilman]

I guess I always let mine bark, she'll get bored eventually after she realizes she not getting any attention. just imho.

Lemon juice followed by no also works, thats what my father does with his dog, but if I cant stomach the stuff, I am not giving it to my dog.

[Bobby Bass]

First night, 6 weeks old, no litter mates. You would be barking to! Young pups we have always used the old tricks of wrapping up a hot water bottle and add a ticking clock. Gives them something to cuddle up with and the ticking clock is suppose to sound like a heart beat. Ole wives tale , perhaps but I have used it for a lot of pups for the first week or so. After that I have put an old shirt of mine in so they have some scent to relate to. Pup is only 6 weeks old, you have a long ways to go. Enjoy the new pup..

[inthecattails]

Bobby Bass

You nailed it. I tried the warm water bottle and sweat shirt I wore to the kennel when I played with all the pups. They worked but only a short time. I remembered the ticking clock during the night and plan to do that tonight. I realize that it's her first night away alone. Just want to make the transition as best as I can for her.

[Bushwacker]

Welcome to pup ownership. There are a bunch of things you can try, things that work for people are putting a radio on near the crate and throwing in one of your old shirts so she has the smell of you in there with her.

I have two labs and the first one never made on single peep in her crate, just walked in and slept through the night. My male cried(freaked out) for the first 3 days. He was just crazy in there. The only thing that worked for him was when I slept in our spare bedroom and put him right next to me on the floor in his crate. Otherwise no one in the house would have slept. The first night I needed to put my hand in his crate, second night I just needed to be sleeping where he could see me, the third night I just needed to be in the room. Forth night he was good to go on his own. At the time I thought it was crazy, but looking back its kind of fun. When she is full grown you will look back and smile about these first days. Things will get better. A little over 6 weeks is still very young, and she is used to being around littermates and mom, so it takes a little time for her to get comfortable and relax.

[inthecattails]

Well we managed some good sleep last night. She was really wound up before bed time and we wore her out. She went into her crate with out a peep for a couple hours. She wanted to go outside at one point so she let her self be heard and after that slept till morning. Much better. This time I only went with the alarm clock in her crate and we switch her music on the radio.

[fishroger]

Hey marty. Little Willy is doing great. He whined a few times the first nite and had a few accidents. Last nite he stayed in his bed pretty much all nite but got some energy about 4 am. so I got up and went outside with him. He has his own poop spot outside and is getting used to it. He sticks to me like a wood tick and he has a big appetite. He sleeps quite a bit too. Everybody thinks hes a pretty cute pup.

[Bushwacker]

Roger,

Thanks for the update. There is something about that whole litter that gets them going at 4 am every morning. I can here them jumping around and playing. Then at 6am when we go in to feed them they are sleeping like little angels.

[ctuma]

Remember the pup is only six weeks old and they have a very small blatter. For the first few weeks I would let it out about every hour and no water about an hour before you put it down for the night. Don't take it out of the crate when its crying or barking. Wait a few minutes for it to settle down. At night I would not leave it in there for more than three hours without letting it outside. I'm going through the same thing right now with a 7 week old pup. Shaking the crate and saying "no" when they are barking will also work. I know it sounds bad but it does work.

[weathermaker]

Brought home our new yellow lab on Sun afternoon, shes 11 weeks old. I too had a very long night on Sun, up every 1.5 - 2 hrs to let her out or console her. I found if when she was barking and moaning if I just went down and opened the kennel door and lay on the floor for a couple minutes she was ok for a while. I also ended up sleeping on the couch with the kennel a foot away so she could see me. I still had to let her know I new she was there when she started whining.I did make the mistake of letting her out of the kennel and before letting her out I ran to the john to relieve myself,well she decided I was taking WAY to long and she let the daily double fly on the living room floor,Im not sure if I smelled it or heard it rumble out 1st, but I got a lesson on who gets to go 1st...

Last night was much better, let her out 2 times and consoled her twice.

I am hopeful tonite will be even better. Im sure I will look back on this and laugh, a big tough construction worker laying on the floor at 2:30 AM consoling a puppy....But soon to be my pardner in the field...

[jigging-matt]

I would never recomend shaking the kennel crate to stop the whining/crying. The last thing you want to do is make the pup scared of it and not want to go in it. The best help I can offer is patience. It only gets better, and they are worth the work to have a good companion.

[JSTARK]

Shake the dog (Contact Us Please)!

I would let my lab bark, whine until my pup realized that this crate was home. She did hate it for about two months. I found that by keeping her crate near our bed helped out a lot. If she let out a whine I would put my hand near her crate. That seemed to be all she needed to comfort her until she realized her crate was her private scantuary. At about six months, I wouldn't even have to lock the crate (during the day). She would crawl in and go to sleep without being told. At night I would lock her up until she was about two years old (when I could fully trust her).

My lab is six now will always retreat to her crate vs. the dog bed. Give it time and yours will realize the same.

Make sure your dog is put in it's crate during various times of the day. This will help get the pup used to being in it's crate.

[jbdragon17]

I WOULD recommend bringing the crate in the room right next to your bed...put a T-shirt you wore in with the pup, and if it makes noise at night reach over and give the top of the crate a good hard WACK!

Make sure to get the pup outside to go to the bathroom often, but that loud WACK will get em quiet.

Don't worry about the pup getting scared of the crate. My last pup (who I had to do this with most) is the one most partial to his crate. It also only took a couple smacks to get them to stay quiet.

I have four dogs sleeping through the night (QUIETLY) every night in crates.