Heather Rae Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Alright, I'm worried, I'm babysitting a friend's pup and she seems very unhappy to be crated. MY friend says she usually whines and cries for a little while but as long as I fed her, took her potty and played with her I should let her cry if it's settle down time. Last night she did cry a few minutes after potty time but this last time she's spent a while crying after potty time and I'm worried that I've done something wrong. I want to let her out but I don't want to mess up my friend's training either. I'm just waiting for a moment for the crying to relent at least to take her back out, but it's been 20 minutes. She's 11 weeks by the way don't know if that adds any meaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 When you took her out to potty, did she actually go? It's possible she's whining because she didn't do all her business and still needs to go. It's smart to wait till there's a break in the noise before getting her out, but if you're unsure whether she did everything she needed to do last time, you might want to take her out to avoid an accident. If you take her out and she goes potty then she could stay out and play with you a bit. If she doesn't do anything, then it's perfectly acceptable to put her back in the crate and try again in 15-20 minutes. J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Rae Posted February 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 When you took her out to potty, did she actually go? It's possible she's whining because she didn't do all her business and still needs to go. It's smart to wait till there's a break in the noise before getting her out, but if you're unsure whether she did everything she needed to do last time, you might want to take her out to avoid an accident. If you take her out and she goes potty then she could stay out and play with you a bit. If she doesn't do anything, then it's perfectly acceptable to put her back in the crate and try again in 15-20 minutes. J. Thanks, that's what I did, waited for a break (hopefully I didn't jump the gun)and she did go potty a couple minutes after being out there and then we played, and I'm trying to keep her up for a while so she's good and sleepy for bed. I don't like not having a play pen though. It's hard keeping an eye on her and she fights the leash so I can't tie her to me, I don't want to have her crated the whole time either. But it is stressing me out a little worrying every blink she might be going pee. Puppy care is harder than I thought. O_O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretBC Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 So how much time is she spending in the crate? It's possible she needs more exercise/stimulation? Puppies do sleep a lot, but they certainly don't want to sleep ALL the time. Where is the crate in location to you? Can she see you? And yes, 11 week old puppies are a lot of work. Good thing they are so darn cute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Rae Posted February 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 So how much time is she spending in the crate? It's possible she needs more exercise/stimulation? Puppies do sleep a lot, but they certainly don't want to sleep ALL the time. Where is the crate in location to you? Can she see you? And yes, 11 week old puppies are a lot of work. Good thing they are so darn cute. Well basically we've been playing until she gets tired and begins to nod off herself, but when I get her into her crate, whether or not she can see me she begins to cry (but luckily no other worrying behaviors) maybe I should spend a little time with her getting her adjusted to the crate, I don't know if my friend just put her in and let her cry or if the pup got some time to get use to the crate before being locked in there. Also, should I be playing with her until she get's tired? How can I motivate her to entertain herself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildFlower Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Does she have anything in the crate with her? Have you tried freezing some kibble in small ice cubes? What about a frozen kong? A chew toy? (I didn't see anything about what was in the crate in earlier posts?) Helping the pup see the crate as a good place would probably help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretBC Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 How long have you had her? How long has your friend had her? At 11 weeks, I would gather the answer to both of those questions would have to be, "Not very long." That's a lot of moving around in such a short period of time for one so young. It's hard to say what the puppy is crying for without being there. I, personally, crate puppies at night time, when I have to leave them or at trials/training. The rest of the time I watch/interact with them (I know plenty of people use crates to give themselves a break from puppy watch, but I don't subscribe to that). Puppies do need to learn to be good in crates, and to do that we generally like to make the crates a great place to be (vs. jail). Toys and things she can chew on are a great start. If we are specifically talking about night time when you are trying to sleep, I will often bring the crate right up onto the bed with me when they are that young. They are still in the crate, but they feel like they are more "with" me than if they were to be alone on the scary floor all by themselves. I can't count the number of times I've fallen asleep with my fingers through the bars of the crate to quiet a puppy. It's hard to go from being with your mom & all of your littermates to being all alone. Some crying is normal, but you make it sound like more than that? Maybe I'm just exceptionally lucky, but I've never really had any issues after the first night, then they tend to settle in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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