1st Time Fostering Puppies - UPDATE w/pix

[girlalex]

Hi. I'm a frequent lurker on GBCN and a regular poster on the DC board. This is my first time posting on GBCN, so it seems fitting that my questions are about my first time fostering puppies.

I'm fostering two 6-week old lab/spaniels--both males. They're, of course, super cute and sweet. They are typical puppies. I have an X pen set up in a tiled area on the main floor of my house, and they spend most of their time (when not outside or sitting in my lap) in there. At night and when no one is home (which hasn't happened yet), they are in a crate downstairs. Since I've had them, two nights now, I've gotten up to let them out in the middle of the night. After I've put them back in their crate, though, they whine and cry for quite some time--far more than they did when I put them in to go to bed the first time. I know this is normal, but is there a trick to help cut down the crying time?

Thanks!

[kellbell191]

That's the catch 22 of puppies; they need to go in the middle of the night, but then once they're up they want to be busy! I think it will help a lot when you keep reinforcing a VERY regular schedule. At night let them out, put them back in and ignore. No interaction, no petting, no playing. Eventually they will figure out its time to sleep. Also, when you're home and can interact with them, try to keep them awake and busy. We had one who woke up at 5 am and was ready to play; I had to make sure not to let him sleep when I got home from work post walk.

[girlalex]

Sept 24, 2012 9:44:44 GMT -5 @veggielove1022 said:

Maybe they would sleep better if they were all snuggled up with you in bed Oh my I can't even imagine how sweet they are to cuddle. Other than that, I know leaving a radio and nightlight in their room has worked for some people.

Yeah, I totally thought about the whole cuddling thing. One of them looks like a smaller version of your black and white dog ;D

[girlalex]

Sept 24, 2012 11:44:06 GMT -5 kellbell191 said:

No interaction, no petting, no playing.

I'm really trying to follow the above advice! At 3:30am, I'm not too interested in any interaction myself!!

Thanks so much!

[InBetweenDays]

Could you move the crate into your room at night? We got one of our dogs as a puppy and at first tried to keep him downstairs at night. I was feeling bad for our cat who was having a difficult time with the adjustment so I wanted to give our cat his space upstairs. That didn't last long because he would whine and whine at night.

We brought his crate up and put it next to our bed. If he'd whine at night I'd just reach my hand over and place it near the door of the crate and he'd settle right down. He just wanted to know we were there

[mrsjrd23]

This post is lacking pictures of said puppies.

[girlalex]

We're really trying to help them be the best dogs possible so that they'll have the best chance of finding forever homes. I'd love to bring the crate into our bedroom, but I'm worried that the potential new owners won't be too thrilled with that--especially if they're planning placing the crate in a neutral area.

Last night was HORRIBLE!! They cried in their X pen (while my husband and I were within a few feet of them) for almost two hours. This was after playing, cuddling, eating, and going to the bathroom. We didn't want to reward the crying, so we just suffered. When we put them in the crate for the night, they again cried for HOURS. This morning--again after food, playing, doing business--they started crying in the X pen. :-( This was me! They've quieted now, so I'm hoping they're learning they won't get attention when they cry.

Any more advice?? It's been years since I've had puppies--and they were going to live me forever, so my methods were slightly different.

If I can figure out how to post a pix, I will. Technology isn't my strong suit!

[girlalex]

Thanks for all the advice! I'm going to try to move their crate into our bedroom tonight to see if that makes a difference. Fingers crossed!!

I'll see if I can get my DH to help me post pix.

[girlalex]

I wanted to give you all an update--a little late, I know. Apologies!

We moved the puppies' pen to our room at night, and that made all the difference. They no longer cried for hours! When I let them out in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, they quickly settle back down again. I also started to ignore them completely when they went into their pen or their crate. As a result, they learned to self-soothe. Now, we have very little crying at all. Things have definitely settled down here!

They are going to their first adoption event tonight. I feel pretty confident that they'll both be adopted this weekend ;D

And for those of you who requested pix, I'm including the links to the rescue website.

lostdogrescue.org/dogs-adoptable/48097/downton-abbey-pups-bates

lostdogrescue.org/dogs-adoptable/48094/downton-abbey-pups-branson

[patches31709]

Oh my, they are super precious! You're right, I bet they'll both be adopted right away!

[niemand88f]

They're so cute, and I like the name theme