Crying all night..

Hi,

We recently started fostering a 5 month old puppy and have so for about a week now.

At night we put him in a section of the kitchen that is blocked with a baby gate. We walk him for an hour in the morning and again in the evening. The problem is bed time when we lock him in the baby gate and go to bed. We leave a light on in the hall but all he does is crying for hours on end, the cry is a extremely loud screech and in the morning there will be urine all over the floor. How can we sort it out? We ignore him and don't fuss before he goes to bed but he is showing no signs of improvement, I'd say it's worse each night (or maybe that's cause I am so tired now!)

Any advise would be appreciated!

Is he left on his own at other times? During the day is he ever in different rooms from people just to be on his own for a bit?

Yes we try to give him some time alone during the day, the same happens. If he is allowed around the house for a bit he will follow me round and if I leave the room he will get stressed litterally instantly. I can deal with the noise but worried I am causing him trauma as different websites suggest different things.

Why are you walking him for 2 hours a day ?? He's way too young to be having such an amount of walking.

Poor puppy he's only been with you a week & you are expecting him to be fully settled into a routine.

A puppy of this age(depending on his size)might not be able to last all night without a toilet break. Hence to peeing over night.

You need to set a routine for him & stick to it. He needs mental not physical exercise IMHO

Are you doing any training with him during the day ? Walking is not training BTW.

Are you toilet training him during the day ? What times do you feed him & how many meals is he on ?

Lots more information needed.

Have you thought about crate training him, so he feels safe when left ?

Where are your other dogs when he's in his allocated night time area ?

How big is the area and what lighting or sounds differ from the day ?

Would he feel secure starting with some crate time during the day which would become a safe familiar night time place ?

can youlet him sleep in your room at night as you sort this out then build up during the day till he gets a bit more used to being on his own?
poor soul sounds stressed - his world has been flipped on its head

We have a set routine that he is ok with.
He eats 3 times a day.
He isn't allowed upstairs my other dog sleeps upstairs.
Of course I'm not expecting him to be settled yet but I was expecting a slight improvement by now.

The area he sleeps in is about 10ft by 12ft.
He goes to bed between 10-11pm and I have been getting up at 6am with him.

You are expecting too much from this Pup. He is a baby, and needs love more than strict training.

Every Puppy I have had has been allowed to sleep in my bedroom in his own bed alongside my bed. I then hang my arm down alongside him so that he knows Im there until he goes to sleep. If he wakes up and starts to cry, I put my arm down so that he can sniff my hand and he goes to sleep again. Eventually, after a few days they know your there, and they just sleep in peace.

Works every time. And if they wet you take them outside, even if they dont do anything, they then learn to ask you to go. You may have to get up during the night to do this, but thats part of having a Puppy.

I also think that if you want some sleep then you are going to have to have him in your room with you and your other dog, try making him and area in the room thats his. You may have to get up a couple of times to let him out but thats better than not sleeping all night.

I agree - I think this is a seressed and frightened youngster who needs company. JMO. It isn`t usual for young ammals to be alone - it`s a danger. So they are pre-programmed to seek their own.
With confident pups who have known no real upheavals it is usually easy to get them to accept being alone at night after a while.
But this pup obviously needs more help. I don`t think leaving him to cry will do any more than reinforce his fears and leave you with an anxious youngster.
Can he not join your other dog - perhaps in a crate beside him?