Puppy howling and barking all night long

J
Jeremy4716 Icon representing the flag French
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Hi everyone,

My partner and I have adopted a female miniature dachshund called Samoa, who is 2 months old. She has been with us for 4 days now.

We've already started training and play (teaching her to be left alone, the "bed" command, "sit", etc.). She's picking things up quite quickly.

We take her out into the garden regularly to do her business and give her a little treat when she goes outside. On that front, I think things are going pretty well.

But the problem is, nighttime is a nightmare.

Samoa has a bed with a soft mattress, a t-shirt with my scent on it, a blanket and her toys.

After reading lots of articles on various forums and sites to get her house-trained quickly, we put her bed inside a large cardboard box (with the top open) and a puppy pad just in case.

During the day the box is left open and she has no problem going in there.

At night I close the entrance to the box to stop her wandering around the living room (we live in a flat and don't have a separate room where we can shut her away quietly for the night).

She whines, howls and barks all night long!! We’re only getting about 30 minutes to an hour of sleep at a time. It’s starting to get really difficult. We take her out once or twice during the night for toilet breaks (usually at 2am and 4am).

I’ve read plenty of threads saying to leave the box or crate open so she can move around, but that seems to contradict the house-training we're working on. I mean, she might be less stressed if she could wander, but she’d almost certainly have accidents indoors. And as I mentioned, we don't have a closed-off room for the night. Is letting her roam the living room at night really a good idea?

I get the feeling the bed-in-a-box setup doesn't suit her (she's been attacking it for the last two nights, tearing bits off and trying to climb out). What can we do to get some peace and quiet? I know she's only been with us for four nights, but I don't see any improvement (in fact, we're getting less and less sleep).

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Translated from French
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46 answers
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    • M
    Myma Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi there, I’ve always slept in the living room for the first few days with any puppies I’ve had, and I’ve never had an issue moving back to my own bed afterwards. You might get a bit of whimpering at first, but they usually settle down pretty quickly. On the other hand, regarding the cardboard box—if it stops your pup from being able to see their surroundings, that’s almost certainly what’s making them anxious. It’s definitely better to give them the chance to see out. Of course, there are bound to be a few accidents, but that’s just part of it; at 8 weeks old, they simply can't hold it for very long. Keep taking them out once or twice during the night if you can manage it.
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    B
    Billy34 Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi there, Personally, I’d try putting the dog bed in the bedroom and then gradually moving it further away. Your puppy is still very young (too young really, even if it’s legal). It takes time for her to settle. Accidents at night can happen: it’s not exactly pleasant, but it’s all part and parcel of the experience! Hang in there: you’ll get there, just like most of us have 👍
    Translated from French
    J
    Jeremy4716 Icon representing the flag French
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    Thanks everyone for your replies :) My partner and I are really keen to prevent our puppy from developing separation anxiety. That’s why we ignore her every now and then, send her to her bed if she’s following us too much, and we’ve started doing "practice departures" and short bursts of alone time (just for a few minutes at the moment). All of this is to get her used to being on her own, as our work schedules won't allow us to be with her 24/7 (I’ve taken a week off work for now to be with Samoa). With that in mind, we’ve made it a rule not to: - get up when she whines (unless it’s to take her out for a wee) - sleep with her in the living room - let her sleep in our bedroom (in fact, she’s banned from going in there at all) I’m worried that sleeping on the sofa or having her in the room with us might reinforce her clinginess and undermine the independence we’re currently working on. However, reading your comments, I’m wondering if we should give it a go. Do you think leaving her alone in the living room with her box open might be an option? Even if it means having a few accidents, that’s not the end of the world.
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    D
    Del2244 Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi,

    On this forum, we have a few other methods. They aren't necessarily what trainers recommend, but for those of us who have used them, they tend to sort the problem out quite quickly 😃

    Without humanising things too much, you’ve got a little baby who’s just been separated from their littermates and plonked into a brand-new environment; the night-time and the silence, all alone in their box, are bound to be scary.

    This brings me to 'our' methods, which allow you to give them a stroke and a few soothing words without even having to get up:

    1- Camp out on the sofa for a few nights with their bed right next to you. Once they feel reassured, they’ll sleep for longer and longer stretches and you’ll be able to head back to your own bed.

    2- Put their bed in your bedroom and gradually move it away from your bed, then near the door, then just outside the open door... until the bed is finally in its proper place in the living room.

    See you soon 😃

    Translated from French
    ProvetoJuniorConseil
    Provetojuniorconseil Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi there, Rehoming is legally allowed from 8 weeks old, but keep in mind that this is still very young for a puppy. They haven't quite finished learning how to socialise with other dogs yet and are only just starting to get the hang of interacting with humans. A little puppy isn't much different from a baby, and at night… they often cry. To find out if it’s the box itself that’s the issue, try putting her in there for a bit during the day like you do at night to see if it really is the box or if it’s more about being alone. It’s possible that the cardboard is stressful for Samoa because she can’t see what’s going on around her (other than the ceiling in your case). It might be worth trying your setup with a wire crate or something similar that allows her to see her surroundings. Good luck, try to stay patient and it will eventually pass. Just keep in mind that she’s very young and only a short while ago she was still with her mum and her littermates. Victoire
    Translated from French
    Kikaah
    Kikaah Icon representing the flag French
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    What you could do is leave the box open at night and sleep in the living room with him for a few nights to help settle him.

    If you take him out twice during the night, I reckon there’ll be very few accidents (and even if there are, it’s no big deal ^^); the puppy will sleep through most of the night.

    Translated from French

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