Help!!  We are having serious problems with getting our 11 month old choc lab to sleep all through the night.  We really don't know what to do.  She has a run up the park every night about 6pm, then we take her for a walk round the estate where we live about 10.30pm for the toilet before we go to bed.  About 2.30am she will start to wine, then again at 5.00am.  Any suggestions please?  This is our first dog, she never used to be like this, just in the last three months. We are finding this really hard going.

Easier said than done, but the only way is to ignore her.  I've had similar problems with my Leo pup.  He's 9 months now, and we still have the odd sleepless night.  My own fault, being a paranoid Mum following the loss of my last Leo pup, I kept going down to check on him.  I'm slowly learning how manipulative Leos can be!!  As long as you know she's been to the toilet, she's not hungry/cold, and she has water, it's best just to let her get on with it.  We even wore ear plugs for a time!  I still wake up at the slightest sound and lie there sleeplessly having palpatations, and then get even more paranoid when he goes quiet!  But he's definitely getting better, and it's worth perservering.

I try to ignore it, my boyfriend is more worried she will wee on the carpet or get bored and start chewing on the furniture (touch wood, she hasn't chewed on the furniture yet) so he wants to check on every noise.  We put paper down just in case but she shreds it to pieces, we have also put the toilet pads down, but again, she shreds it rather than using it.  We feel we are doing something wrong or not trained her properly.

Can you put her somewhere where there is no carpet?  or if you're worried about chewing maybe you could crate train her?

At first Fozzie would throw himself against the door, jump up on all the worktops swiping everything off, and have a real tantrum!  It was incredibly difficult to ignore, but we got through that stage, and then he calmed down and just whinged/howled/barked, now it's just quiet whinging about 3am every morning but I know I've got to ignore him. He's so good in every other respect that I feel I've got through puppyhood quite lightly!

They learn so quickly that if they winge you'll go to them, and soooo much longer to learn you won't! But it really is the only way.

You have got to ignore her behavior as every time she howls you are going to her and so in her mind howling=attention. At 11 months old she will be able to hold on overnight so there should really be any need for paper or pads.

Apart from walking her are you doing any other sort of training as taxing her mind will also help in tiring her out.

Thank you.  We will try this and not give in, it will be difficult but im sure we will get there. It is such a shame because she is a great dog in other ways (apart from digging up our garden).

No, we just walk her.  What is taxing her mind?  How do you do this?

> What is taxing her mind?

Obedience training - sit, stay, down etc
Clicker training - can be used to train the behaviours and also for freeshaping

That sort of thing. :-) It also builds a bond between you.

You could also start to play hide and seek with her with some of her favourite toys and her natural retrieving abilities will be tapped into.

Also maybe look at doing some agility or start to train her to the whistle.

Agree with munrogirl.  Walks only tire them out physically.  She needs to exercise her mind too. 

> doing some agility

Is it 12 months or 18 months that they can start agility, or does it vary depending on breed? I can never remember - had a feeling it was 18 months. (For benefit of OP - so you don't damage growing bones is the reason you're not meant to do it before a certain age.)Though agility clubs usually have huge waiting lists, so it's worth getting on the list anyway - or you can buy agility equipment online.

> start to train her to the whistle

That's reminded me too - you can get gundog training dummies and grouse\ rabbit scent to put in them online, and train to sniff those out too. But hide and seek with toys or treats is more easily available of course - I get carried away with ideas, and Lucy goes straight for the obvious and easy plan. :-D Typical me...

Yes full blown agility it will be 18 months but simple agility like weaving, stay in the square,go through the tunnel type exercises can be done.

I bought a home use agility set and they have all of these in there so you can set it up in your garden and get them to do these simple tasks.

Jumping or high impact exercises is not recommended until they are at least 18 months old. Yes and Dummies are also a good tool to use as little bit of swimming to retrieve a dummy is also good fun for them to try.

> It is such a shame

If the only problem you're having with an 11mth old choc lab is the odd bit of crying at night & a bit of digging I'd count your lucky stars!!! The fun & games we had when Molly was that age would mean me typing for a long, long time!!

Does sounds like she is waking up maybe wondering where you are & being a bit bored - hence the crying, an attention thing. At that age it can't really be put down to anything else & would fit in with it only starting the older she gets.  What's your daily routine? Does she get plenty of play time?  Lab's love to seek & find, it's in their nature so I agree with other posters about maybe hiding her favourite toy, maybe you could get her a kong & stuff a small treat in their, try to tire her out mentally not just physically.  Have you been to puppy classes? Simple things like sitting for a treat, teaching a high five or giving a paw will ensure your dog is kept mentally as well as physically active.  I know you say she's not chewing yet but if she does continue to get bored I guarantee you this will come at some stage.  Maybe a trip to your local PAH or pet store & have a look at some mentally stimualing toys might help too!

Good luck ;)

Has she had her 1st season yet?  I have had a couple of youngsters who have an upset couple of months prior to 1st season, then settled

Your lab should be able to hold on for the toilet all night by now if you've been doing training with her in the day since you had her.
i would suggest you put her to bed in a smaller space. all three of my dogs sleep in the utility room or maybe you could crate train her but i've never used one so can't advise on that.
Alot of dogs  feel more secure in enclosed spaces rather than having the run of the house and this also stops them chewing thongs you rather they didn't.
I'd also suggest you stop putting paper down at night as this maybe confusing her if she's used to going outside in the day time.
My dogs have all their exercise before 7pm as my daughter goes to bed, then they know it's time to settle down in the lounge for the evening. i find that it's best not to get them excited after that time so their relaxed before we go to bed.  
Have you been to any training classes, this is a great way to tire your dog out and for you and the dog to learn basic commands.
I've just started some follow on classes which take the puppy classes to the next level, we're having great fun and my TT is tired out when we get home.
As for the pup not sleeping through the night i would ignore, it's something i've done with all three of my dogs and i never have any trouble. now if i do hear anything in the night i know it means one of them really needs to go out because they are going to be sick or have  tummy trouble,which is very rare.
Young dogs are like children and if they think they can get away with something they will. make sure you don't give any response ie shouting down to be quiet as this is as good as attention for the pup. Also make sure when the pup goes to bed you don't give eye contact or speak, this will add to the dog getting stressed. make it a quiet time, put the pup to bed after the toilet and turn your back and walkout the room.  When you get up in the morning give no eye contact again and say nothing,let the pup out to the toilet and after a couple of minutes if the pup is calm then call it to you and give attention on your terms. This just re enforces the fact that theirs nothing to the pups not missing out on anything when your not around.
Sounds like you havn't done any training classes before, so that would be a good start.
Oh just a thought but make sure you don't tell the pup off for toileting in the house or chewing things in the night as this will mean nothing to them by the morning and just stress them, could even make the situation worst.

I did take her to puppy classes when she was about 14 weeks old, she does all the basic commands like sit, stay etc.  Maybe I should try with the follow on classes.  Our house is open plan down stairs so the kitchen and lounge is all linked so we can't put her in a small room.  We will try the ignoring thing at night and see how that goes. She hasn't had her first season yet either, which we thought she would have had by now. 

My three tts sleep in their own beds in my bedroom. Puppy was still getting me up twice during the night to go to the loo at twelve months old and I knew she could last much longer than a couple of hours but felt guilty ignoring her until I was ill with a virus and basically didnt want to get out of my bed. I just told her to go back to bed and she did!!!!!! Little devil. Just four little words!! She slept right through from then on. I think it was a habit thing with her as well. She was used to the twice nightly trips into the garden and just needed me to break the habit.

I know our dog can last alot longer before she needs to go to the toilet.  When i have let her out at 2.30am she never goes and at 5.00am she doesn't always go.

Re: Taxing Their brains.

I dont have an issue with our 7month pup sleeping through the night, but he can get quite restless in the day. Never sitting or 'relaxing' just pacing about during his 'quiet time' (we run a pub, so this is usually after his 'brunch walk', during the first hour of food service)
I found that a kong toy (from Pets at Home or online) stuffed with something quite smelly i.e tuna in a little mayonnaise or something of similar constistancy, and frozen until solid works wonders for keeping his mind occupied for an hour or so. They have to work out how to get it out, especially when it gets to the bottom, then it gets quite difficult.
Another thing we tried (which makes LOADS of mess :) ) is to heat up some smelly hot dog sausage and put it in a cardboard box, inside another cardboard box and tape it up. They can smell whats in the box and have to work out how to get it out. It will take awhile at first but they soon get the hang of it...rip the box to shreds :) although you should watch them to make sure they dont consume the box aswell!

If you google something like 'keeping dogs occupied' etc you will find loads of inexpensive ways to keep puppy happy and as has already been said, mental sitimulation AND physical exercise :)

Good Luck
V 

My 10 month old TT can last from 10pm till 7am but i know all pups are different. If you have been getting up in the night to take her out and she isn't going to the toilet i'd suggest this is habbit now and also she gets your attention by you coming down stairs. like i said before try ignoring her for a few nights and hopefully she will soon get the message.
one of the things we are learning at my training classes is for the dog to go and lie on it's bed when told and stay their for a few more seconds each time before you return to the dog and give her a treat. this all helps with the dog knowing that it must stay somewhere when told for how ever long. it's also good if you have people round your house and the dog is being a pain or if someone doesn't like dogs.
Being able to send your dog away has been great for me as i have three dogs and not everyone whats them all trying to get attention.
It's good for the dog to as they learn self control and find their bed a calm place where they will just go to sleep and you can get on with your visitors.   

Last night we put the dog to bed about 10.30pm and we ignored her when she started to wine during the night on and off.  I went down at 6am this morning and let her out for the toilet.  There was no toilet accidents or damage.  Even though its only been 1 night, it has started off well. 

Great lets hope it continues !

> I did take her to puppy classes when she was about 14 weeks old, she does all the basic commands like sit, stay etc.  Maybe I should try with the follow on classes.

It's a good idea and the training will see you through a lot of difficult times.  Do have a look at the KC Website at their Good Citizen Dog Scheme - this is Bronze.  You may find you have already trained some of this already but a regular class is a great way to determine what you and your dog are capable of.   It does get much harder in Silver and Gold but a well behaved dog is worth the effort. 

My boy is now 22 months and he recently passed his Gold.  As an added bonus I found that a 1hr class knocked my boy out for the whole day - concentrating is such hard work!! :)  . After the summer holidays I shall probably look for something else for us to do as I like the 1:1 time with him.

I would get a crate cover it and give her a den like space that belongs to her, puppies and adult dogs love an area where they can go and be quiet if she has the run of the house she is probably lonely and wants company so the crying is to get your attention.
Put her in a crate cover it with a blanket (apart from the front) put in an old top of your that hasnt been washed that she can smell you on , use the crate during the day so that she gets used to being alone in it, if she cries during the night go down stairs potter about but dont talk to her or give her any attention then turn out the light and go back to bed just so that she knows you are around .She will grow out of it dont worry.

Try the CD Canine Lullabies, you can do a search for it in google, it really does work a treat and is worth every penny.

I'd second what STARRYEYES says. A covered crate with nice comfy bedding away from all the noise of the house is great for a dog (in my experience). Giving treats and praise to encourage them in in the first few days is a good idea and they will soon associate the crate with good things. Our 10 month old sleeps right through the night and some mornings gives us such a dirty look for daring to wake him from his comfy room!

Good Luck