Puppy Problem & Hello =)

Hello, Im new to the thread. I have a westie, his name is Radar. He's the cutest....well he was til last night....


Im hoping someone can help me. I have a 1yr old westie, hes fully crate trained but lately he hasnt been liking it and has been staying up all night running around.

I think alot play into this for one my BF and I just started full time M-F jobs. So the puppy stays in his crate all day and sleeps so he is wired all night.

Next we have a hamster who is nocternal and drives the puppy crazy.

Problem: Last night the puppy did nothing but cry staring out the window in our bedroom (room is really tiny so the bed is up against the window) when we let him out he cries and barks at the hamster or runs around....

Finally we hid the hamster in the bathroom...yet Radar (puppy) kept scratchnig at the door....eventually we brought him back in to the bed room...but he continued to cry and wimper and scratch to get out....

So as well as extremely tired we are clueless as to what to do to handle this situation...does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!!!

First of all, welcome to dogsey, hope you have lots of fun here!

Full time meaning 8 hours a day? Do you let the pup out during the day at all or does someone pop in to let your dog out? It sounds like he gets himself stressed during the day....there are a lot more knowledgeable people on here, but I would have said that leaving the pup in the crate all day isn't a good idea....is he destructive if allowed to roam the house?

We actually let him roam around the house...its him that puts himself in the crate....we just figured that since were not there to play with him he sleeps all day...

Do you know anyone, or have a dog walker nearby who could take him out during the day? It might mean that he's less wired when you come home?

Hi and welcome to Dogsey!

How often do you walk your dog? Could a late night walk/training session help to get rid of some energy?

What do you do with the dog when you are home? Maybe some indoor training - hide and seek, or trick training would help his not to be so wired?

Hrmm Im not sure but I may look into it. We were actually talking about starting our night time walks again. We used to take him for a walk before bed. Only problem is I leave in the morning at 6:45 and i dont get home til 8pm. So we dont have alot of time before I have to go to bed again =( But its definitely something Im going to look into, a few laps around the block doesnt take long and it does usually tire the little one out.

I would definately start the walks again, when I re-start full time work in January (I'm only working part time at the moment) my boy Icon is going to puppy creche during the day, do you know if you have that near you, it would mean that your pup isn't alone and would also be very tired in the evenings, just a thought!

Im not sure what that is...Im guessing its the same as Doggy Day Care? In that case yes when I posted earlier I researched for some in my area. Im going to look into the services and price some different ones.

In the mean time we are going to put the hamster back where he belongs (on the porch) so Radar doesnt bother him (out of sight out of mind ) and were going to take walks before bedtime so he can get tuckered out and get all his pent up energy out.

Thanks again for all your opinions and advice =)

Let`s hope the hamster emoval and more exercise helps to calm him down. When you go out during the day yoiu could leave him a filled kong or some puzzle treatt balls. that way he has something to occupy his mind rather than just sleep.

It worked! I took Hamtaro (hamster) to the porch...Radar found him but I fixed that buy putting up a wall of stuff which seemed to work so far. The true test is today when hes by himself all day.

Anyway last night we went for a walk, we jogged a bit just so Radar would run. And it seemed to work. He slept just about the whole night. He fussed once but I was able to get him back to bed to lay down.

But I am going to try the kong and treat idea, along with some other toys...thanks again for all your help =)

And Happy Holidays!!!