Sign of serious health concern or just annoying!

[MamabearX3]

So last night my house trained 17 week old puppy started shrieking in his kennel after only 2 hours of sleep! He has never done this before EVER! We always take him out to potty before we go in for the night, he always goes! So my husband took him outside, and came back in like less than two minutes later. My husband is very lazy. Well, he started back up again two hours after that. So I took him outside and watched him potty and poo! Well, apparently two hours after that he was barking and pawing again, this time I was in a deep enough sleep that I didn't hear it. My husband who values sleep more than our carpet obviously, and is a light sleeper, took Chance outside, said he couldn't see if he went or not because he did not have on his glasses, then took him in and just left him out of his kennel. His stools are normal, I only saw him poo the time I took him out. As for the two times my husband took him out I have no idea! There was no pee or poop on the floors when I woke up. He has been sleeping for the most part of the morning. Around noon I filled the pool up for the kids and he jumped in like normal. Does any one know what could be going on?

 

[Herschel]

Puppies are weird...and they like to do weird things. Seriously, I don't think it is a health problem. You know your puppies bathroom schedule by now--so if he can hold it at night then let him hold it.

Think about it from the puppies point of view:

*Wakes up*
Hmm...I think I want to go for a walk. Maybe even a quick walk. Mom! Hey mom. Mommy! (Starts shrieking)

*You come over and let him out to go to the bathroom*
Success! Time to go outside!!! While I'm out here I might as well go to the bathroom. Good work. Let's go, I'm tired again.

*Goes back to sleep*

It really sounds like he using good old puppy manipulation. Make sure he goes to the bathroom when you take him out (tell your husband to wear his glasses) so you can be sure he really doesn't have to go. Other than that, just ignore the crying. It might help to keep the crate in your bedroom. If it already is in your room, then put a blanket over it.

Herschel went through a phase around 11 months where he decided he would try crying really early in the morning. We know that his "I want to get out of the crate" cry is different than his "I have to go to the bathroom" whine, so we ignored it. Eventually, my girlfriend caved in and let him out. Just taking him out once reinforced the behavior so much that he tried it every day for a week. We put a blanket over the crate and the problem was solved.

 

[StunnedMonkey]

My husband is very lazy.

Well, yes. We all are. It's part of the code.

That said, I tend to agree with Herschel. In the absence of any visible symptoms (abnormal stools or actually peeing in the crate) I'd not be inclined to suspect a health problem. I'd guess that the pup merely found himself awake and alert at a time when he normally wouldn't have been, and as herschel suggested, decided it'd be a grand time to stretch his legs. Or maybe he got spooked by a noise or something in the dark that looked strange. As far as sleeping most of the morning, I'd guess it's because he was awake a lot of the night.

Assuming that all seems normal through the day today and he pee's and poops normally, I'd ignore him if he does it again tonight. Take it from someone who really screwed up with his kids' sleeping habits, as annoying as it might be to listen to crying for a couple of nights, it's much worse to give in JUST FOR TONIGHT and end up listening to it for 10 years.