My cry for help!

[Aspen and Misty]

I am posting this as a call for help!

My puppy Chewy Sleeps all day. Then at night he is all hyper. I try to get him to play during the day but it doesn't work. So I end up being up till 5 or 6 in the morning (like right now it is 5:05) I can't take it any more. I need to get to sleep so I can get to work in the morning. I like drag myself out of bed and Chewy sleeps while I am at work and he is up while I want to sleep. I mean it is good in a way, I can clean the house, and keep the house quite, but I need to sleep. My dad is a light sleepier and LOVES to yell at me when I'm not in bed. So when Chewy barks he wakes up, when Chewy whines he wakes up. So its not like I can put him in his crate at night, he just whines. I don't know what to do, I am at the end of my rope. I have only been getting about 3 hours of sleep at night. Or there are night like Saturday when I accidentally fell asleep for 15 mins. But Chewy's bark woke me up and I was up again, so I only got 15 mins of sleep that night. I am tempted to tazke him to work with me so that I can keep him up but it is kinda of hard, the other dogs might get a little mad.I am going crazy here, please please please please help me.

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

How about taking Chewy on a long run after you get off work. That will tire him out and make him sleep at night. Or an hour of swimming in the lake or pool.

Perhaps you can have someone come and walk Chewy and play with him during the day. Just a few ideas....

[Logan]

I think Souraya is right. Plus, if you continue to let him have his way, he is going to think it is a game. As long as he is getting your attention, he's going to keep it up. Wear him out (not spanking )by playing with him relentlessly for a while in the evening, but not right before bedtime. He'll catch on eventually and get his clock set with yours.

Mine were puppies together, and they were able to stay outside most of the day (I know some of you will cringe when you read that....), and when Helen and I would get home, we would play a lot with them. Then at bedtime, they were ready to sleep.

A tired puppy is a good puppy, so work with some positive reinforcement and maybe Chewy will get the right idea and you will get some much needed sleep! Good luck to you.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Excellent advice has been given. Just want to add... GO TO BED! You can put Chewy in the room with you and shut the door. Eventually he will get the idea that lights out means sleep. If you keep staying awake with him he will continue to desire being awake at night so he can get your attention.

[pupper-lover]

I went through the same thing with my pooches. When I first got Jake, he would bark the entire night. I live in an apartment, so this was a big problem. With consistensy, and a little bit of time, jake learned that light's out meant he had to be quiet.

Whatever you do, do not play with Chewy at night (after he has been put to bed). Put him in his crate and leave him there until it is time to get up. Yes, he will bark and cry and everyone in the house will be annoyed. For the first night or two, when he barks, try lying next to his crate and speaking calmly to him. Don't let him out or pet him. Since you can't sleep on the floor forever, you may also want to keep a spray bottle filled with water at your bedside. When he barks, tell him no and give a little squirt. This physical jesture should give him a clear signal that something is not quite right. He will connect his barking with the spray, hopefully, he will think of this as a bad thing .

He will learn that he has to stay in his crate and be quiet, no matter what. I guarantee, you will be frustrated at first, but the longer he goes on thinking nightime is playtime, the harder it will be to break bad haits.

When you are home, and not trying to sleep, wear that dog out! Play fetch, run around, and have lots of fun. A tired dog is usually a weel-behaved dog.

Good Luck!

[Aspen and Misty]

Well, I can't run with Chewy, he can barrely walk a block, LOL. His little legs just don't do it. (he is only 8 weeks) He doesn't know how to play fetch either. So (now this is kinda embarressing) I have these huge huge pants that we call my Ghetto pants. When I run the bottom flows behind me so he grabs on and will chase me. So we might try playing that from 9-10. I also I think I am going to half walk half carry him on a hour walk (thats waht we did this morning from 5-6) Maybe that will get him tierd. Thank you so much evryone. We have been crate traing for about 2 weeks now, I am hopeing to have him crate trained soon, he is getting better.

Thank you everyone,

Ashley and Chewy

[Dixieland Dancer]

I am sorry, but I missed the part about Chewy being a puppy! What breed? Give him time. Before you know it he will be running twice as fast as you.

Make sure you have the crate in the bedroom so Chewy can see you and hear you breathing. You may need to let him out about half way through the night. If he whimpers then you can give him a sip of water in his crate and then tell him softly to go lay down. Praise him with a Yes! Good Boy when he does.

If you still have problems let us know.

[Goochina & Goochissimo]

My puppy Scout was like that when we first got him. He was 4 months at the time.

We put him in bed with us and put a choker collar on him (sorry if that offends anyone, it was small and no spikes of course). I held on to the collar myself so he couldn't get away and laid him down beside me on the bed in complete darkness. He'd start to move, and feel it tighten, and he wouldn't go any further. He never actually "choked" himself on it. At first, it would take maybe an hour to get him to sleep. Within a week, he went right to sleep on his own, and we had no need for using the choker chain since. Now that he's a big boy (lol -- 6 months), he knows lights out means sleep, and he sleeps on a bean bag chair beside the bed.

Since your puppy is so small, maybe you could just hold him beside you and not let him move.

I'd say spend a few days at home with him all day long. Don't let him sleep during the day -- keep him up playing, whatever. Then by night time, he should sleep soundly. After forcing him to readjust his schedule for a few days, he should naturally readjust it. And always exercise him before bedtime. Maybe even have a wind-down ritual? We sit in the living room with the lights out and watch tv for at least 30 minutes before bed time, and the dogs wind down then. We usually have to wake them up to relocate them to the bedroom (where we can hear them if they need to go out).

[Aspen and Misty]

I get up with Chewy at 3 and 6 at night. But I have been up at those times lately so I don't get up. . Chewy is a 8-week-old Australian Shepherd mixed with a westland high terrier. When I hold him beside me he bites my nose and chin. And I whimper and move away and then he barks and carries on. The crate is on a nightstand right above my bed so he can watch me sleep and I sometimes sleep with my fingers in his crate. I don't think it would be Healthy for Chewy to be up all day because he is still a little puppy. But I let him go out ever 45 mins to an hour so he is up then and we play in the back yard. I am going to try some suggestions tonight that you guys gave. Thank you so much, and any more suggestions are welcome. PS: Here is a picture of Chewy,

[Aspen and Misty]

O yea I forgot to say, the ligths out thing wont work for me ebcaue my cat Misty is afreid of the drak. If you are in the room and make it dark, Misty, the cat who hates to be held, will jump up onto you and cry and cry and refuse to be put down. I feel bad. So there always is a light on for her. She is spoiled.

[Dixieland Dancer]

What a sweet picture! Be patient, it will get better! Chewey should be able to hold it for about 2 hours without needing to go out. By the time he is 12 weeks you can expect him to be able to hold it longer and by 16 weeks he will definitely be able to hold it through the entire night.

He is a cutie!!!