Hi,

Ive just bought an 8 week male Dorset Old Tyme Bulldogge. Weve only had him 5 days so i know things will be difficult at first, but he wakes up about 3 times during the night and whines. We are trying to crate train him, but were not confining him just to that, as he has the run of the kitchen aswell. His bed is in his crate with a blanket thrown on top for privacy and he has a newspapered area to poo and wee on in the kitchen which he is slowly getting used to (im very proud!). Sometimes he crys because hes dirtied his bed and once weve cleaned him he goes back to sleep, but sometimes when i check him hes clean. Maybe hes just lonely as he hasnt got used to being apart from his litter mates yet? During the day if i go out i leave the radio on for him but i dont know if he still whines as im not there(!) Does anybody have any tips on how to cure the whining at night and when he is left alone? Sometimes he whines when were in a different room to him aswell. I know hes very young but i havnt had a dog before and any advice on how to settle him in quicker and stop the whining will be very appreciated,
Thanks,
Sharon

Sharon,
We have a topic further down the board entitled "We need sleep - please help" it would be worth a read.

It may be that your dog A, Needs the toilet ( looks like I need to get up at 4:00am to let our pup out).
Or B,Has seperation anxiety or C, a mixture of both!

If he needs the toilet just let him out and don't make a fuss untill he performs, then settle him down ( assured this will not go on for ever)

If its seperation anxiety I'm sure there are other threads which cover this, but the rules seem to be, leave him for a short period, if pup stays quiet go back in and praise him, if he whines ignore him when you go back in the room. Gradually build up the time you leave him.
Leaving radio on seems to help our pup, also give him his favourite toy ( helps if you take this away from pup some time earlier then re introduce just as you leave the room)

Good Luck

Hi,

Do you give him a big cuddly soft toy to snuggle up with? has he got something that smells of you? Is his bed warm enough or does he need extra padding now it's getting colder?

Might be worth looking into the above and see if that helps.

Manda
x