Crying at night

Any tips as to a good nights sleep for my new Dogue de Bordeaux puppy. We've had him a week now and have done the usual ticking clock and hot water bottle in his crate (his door is always open).

He tends to cry for a while after we first leave him then periodically through the night. Is it because he needs the toilet and knows he should be going outside or would he not be that clever yet. I don't want to let him outside if he's just after attention.......we're trying to be firm from the start and not give in as a full size untrained DDB will be a nightmare!

First how old is the pup? Puppies generally need at least one potty break mid-night from when they first are crated. Does he use the crate to potty in at night right now or is he holding it all night?

Sounds like you are on the right track to crate training, they will continue to whine for attention for a while until they get 100% used to it. He may be trying to tell you he has to go out though. Answers to the top questions would help.

Take him outside for potty break before you let him in crate.

No playing before sleep, no drinking right before sleep.


If he starts crying right when you put him into crate, ignore it. If he is crying in middle of the night, 3--5 hours after you crated him, it'd be a good idea to take him outside for another potty break.

Other then that, he'll be able to sleep through whole night by around 4-5 months of age depending on breed.

he's 12 weeks but as i say we've only had him a week so he's still relatively young in the whole house training/being alone thing.

He has newspaper outside the crate to go on if he can't last all night, (he can't last all night at the minute - there's usually 1 pee on the newspaper in the morning). Over the last couple of days we've strated to see him heading to the back door when he wants to go to the toilet so we're seeing improvement. Am i thinking he's cleverer than he is by crying at night to let us now he wants the toilet or is he just crying because we've left him.

Any ideas..........

Hmn if he can last all night then he's probably just whining for your attention.

I know my puppy whined alot when we just got him, as he got older he stopped.

Please, please be careful about crating your big puppy! Too much time unable to stretch and move about can inhibit proper growth and result in musculo-skeletal problems later on. A puppy proofed room is a much better choice when you have to leave or at bedtime. If you're just using the crate with the door open - which is what it sounds like by your description of him using the paper outside the crate - GOOD FOR YOU!

As far as the whining goes, bear in mind that the Dogue de Bordeaux, like the Fila, the Neo and other Mastiffs, are velcro dogs. They want to be with you every possible second. You're doing the right thing by teaching him to sleep by himself. When he's older, you probably won't mind him sleeping on a bed on the floor in your room - and he'll be very happy there, unless he takes it on himself to sleep where he can see the doors and guard you.

Tell him good night and tuck him in . . . He may need a potty break sometime in the middle of the night for awhile yet, but he'll be able to hold it and sleep through the night before you know it.

Let him sleep in your bed. Whats all this crating business? All 5 of my dogs sleep in various bed with diffrent family members in my house.

Thanks for all the tips.....

The crate he sleeps in is huge and is within a puppy proofed room. I would love Charlie to sleep in the same bed as us but when he is a full size 14 stone DDB there simply won't be room for all 3 of us (!). Trying to treat him now as he'll be treated in the future. Didn't thnk it would be fair to let him sleep on the bed and get used to it, only to make him sleep downstairs in a few months time.

My puppy slept in his crate until he was 6 months old. Because it was just safer, and letting a dog even in a puppy proof room at night when they are not housetrained is just going to make them learn that they can pee inside - because they will have to. The point of crates is that they don't go inside, and learn that the *only* acceptable place is outside. Even letting them pee on a newspaper at night is going to make housetraining twice longer.

It's no problem to leave them in a crate at night, because they will just sleep, as long as the crate is large enough for them to lie down and turn around a bit. Usually when he woke up was when he started whining, and then we let him out (I know, bad advice, but it worked for us, because he was whining out of boredom and because he needed to pee). Besides, it's a very very good idea to crate train your dogs, because when they will have to be crated (vet, plane), they won't totally panic. So as long as they are not crated all the time, and just at night, I really don't think it's going to alter their developpement one bit. But yeah, if people work, leaving the pups at night AND during the day in a crate is a no no.

For the whine, just ignore it. I got my puppy at 10 weeks and for about 3 weeks I was letting him out everytime I woke up at night. He stopped whining at night after about a week.

For the sleeping in bed, well with 2 cats who sleep with us, there is just no room for a dog (especially one that will be 70+ lbs when adult). Besides, the cats have had a hard time getting time with us since we got the dog, so night is our cat time. The dog sleeps with us in the room though, just not on the bed.

Don't blame you for keeping him off the bed, Hooch. You're absolutely right about it not being fair to let him up on the bed now and change things later. I've got two Filas and a German Shepherd . . . imagine sharing the bed with the three of them

If you're going to be traveling with your dog on an airline or a ship, yes, it is a good idea to get them comfortable with a crate. But straight up - I've never owned a crate. I've never had any significant problem with housetraining - two of my pups, Bimmer and Buffy, didn't even NEED to be housetrained - they just didn't go in the house, even though it was the first time either had lived inside. I have seat belt harnesses for the dogs in the car.

Renee, did the dogs take to using the seatbelts right away?

They really didn't mind them. Bimmer, of course, was the easiest, and when the other two see him doing something they tend to follow his lead. Everyone needs a Bimmer, lol!

If the puppy sleeps in a different room maybe he needs to be in the same room. I dont use a crate but made Gracie a spot in a corner of my bedroom by my bed that kept her from having full run of the bedroom, she was were she could look up and see me, I could reach down and touch her. Never cried. I dont even use the babygate anymore, she knows where her bed is and has had no accidents in that room. I'd love to let her sleep on the bed with me but when she is on my bed she has to be watched because she'll chew on my blankets. I dont want to wake up in the morning to find my blankets full of hugh holes. I have a feeling she will do just like Princess when she's older, sleep on the bed while I watch tv, then when the tv is off, go to their own beds.