our puppy is just crying constantly...its heart breaking... she also keeps going over and splling her water and them scraping the ground where the water is...she is so unsettled even at night...is there anything we could do....

Aw how old is she?  why dont you join and then you can ask as many questions as you wont.  because i've got more questions then answers to ask you, regarding age and if she is constantly like that all day or is it just when she's on her own?

Warm regards Susan

hi susan.....i am not good with the computer and will try and join tomorrow i promise. she is 8 weeks old... she cries all the time.. she had her first injection today.. we have moved her bed to a cooler place in the house as we have under floor heating (which we now have turned down but it takes a while for it to cool down) and thought maybe it was because she was too warm..everytime we take her outside or to the garage she is a happy as can be just the odd wee whimper. we brought her home on friday and she has cried since.. she wakes howling during the nite and just cries all the time even when she is going over to sleep. the vet said all was ok..we are so worried about her.. she is eating okand weeing and pooing ok. everytime she goes to her water bowl she takes a drink them spills it on the floor and then scrapes the floor where the water is. i really need help.

Hi Cally,

As you have a user name, one would guess that you have managed to join without realising :)

Have you spoken to your pups breeder? they are the best ones to help, it might be typical of the breed to not settle very well, I know my aunt had huge problems with her GSD/rottie, apparantly GSD's tend to be a bit whingey so maybe it is the breed.

Claire :)

we have had lab puppies for a long time but we have never had this problem before. thats why i am so worried

just to let you know i have joined. i am not a breeder i keep my labs purely as pets

I can only think of a few pieces of advice I have been given myself in the past. These include wrapping up a hot water bottle or giving her a doll or teddy bear to snuggle up to. We found a ticking clock was really helpful for our Shih Tzu. Both of these mimic the mother in someway - warmth and heartbeat. Another item that we use is the Dap diffusers. They emit calming pheremones and cerainly have benefitted our dog to the extent we use them all the time now.

Good luck with your new pup and I hope she settles down soon.

Hi Cally
Did your breeder not recommend giving her a blanket/towel so when you took your pup the blanket has the smell of her mother and siblings. My breeder suggested this to me..
You could try leaving the readio on quietly so she has some background noise.
I was also told that if my pup whines when I get her home on the first night when I put her to bed, then to ignore her other wise she will learn that if she cries, you will come.
Good luck
Sarah

hi...she has the blanket that i had left with the mother a week before i brought her home..she also has the ticking clock and a cuddly toy.. she slept for a few hours last night.. but is still spilling her water and has now started to do the same with her food. the vet wormed her yesterday and she had a few in her poo this morning.

She may not be feeling well.

Cally you seem very concerned about her spilling her water, does she seem disoriented when she's doing this, she is only a baby so she might be learning.  Give her loads of simpathy, it's very traumatic for them to leave the nest.  Also have you examined her body to see if she is tender anywhere, if you are still very concerned phone your breeder and tell them whats going on.  She might just take a while to get used to her new surroundings and need loads of reassurance.  I hope she settles soon. Good luck.

Warm regards Susan

Hi
can your puppies breeder offer any advice or put you in touch with owners of the rest of the litter to see how they are settling and if they have experainced any simalar problems and have had any solutions that were effective.:).
edited to say all my puppies like to dig in there water and food bowls!
try and comfort her but not to much when shes crying, praise her loads and loads when shes calm. shes only a baby and will be missing her litter mates

This might seem silly - but is her water bowl a stainless steel one, where she just might be catching sight of her own reflection???????

I've known it upset a kitten before now.

Margot

hi.. many thanks... i changed her bowl from stainless steel one to another one but she is still doing it... i am very concerned she is breaking my heart. i am so worried about her crying i just cant console her at all. she has not eaten much today but i am putting that down to the jab yesterday. i do hope she settles. i phoned the vet about the worms i have to take her back for another dose next monday. they may have been annoying her.

Unfortunately some Lab's and my breed too quite enjoy spilling their water and then putting their paws in it :d

Don't forget she's come to a new house, been wormed and had a vaccination, it could all be just a bit too much for her :d 

My last boy who is 2 and which I bred lived with my parents for a short while and I used to bring him back to my house with his litter brothers and sister for the weekend.  He used to be great but when they last one left my house boy was he a nightmare.  He cried and cried, I actually spent 4 weeks where I had to stay downstairs until he finally fell asleep and then I had to creep out of the room without disturbing him.  Sometimes he wouldn't go to sleep until about 2 in the morning it was awful.  But he eventually stopped.

Hi Cally, and welcome to CD.  Please dont upset yourself too much about the water bowl incidents, your best way of dealing with this is to ignore her for a little while and watch her reactions while doing it.  Most of my labs have done this and I have an 8 month old who still does it and thinks its great fun. Water is fascinating to babies and puppies alike. It makes a wonderful mess ;)  Ellie pounces into the bowl now with both front pawsand screams 'eureka', funny, not :D and then takes great delight in spreading the puddles around the kitchen.

As to the crying, you may be right, on the point of it being too warm for her, and if she seems to prefer the coolness of the garage, have you considered making her bed in there?  Does she sleep in a crate, if so this would be perfectly safe for her and you could slowly move the crate at intervals until she is in the house, or wherever you prefer her to sleep.  The only problem with this would be, that you would not be able to hear her whimpers for nightime toilet training. Do you have a cool porch or something similar where she could sleep.

Another thing, and this may seem silly - when she is crying, does she seem to be particularly upset or could it just be her being vocal and expressing whatever she's feeling, happiness or sadness?  I understand how upsetting it must be, and I really don't know anything about Labs, but I have GSD's, and know how vocal they can be, whether they are happy or sad! 
You seem to be doing all the right things, so it is difficult to say what is going wrong.
Maybe it is just taking her a bit longer to settle in.
I wouldn't worry too much about the water bowl incidents, I've had that kind of thing with most of my shepherds and it's turned out that they've just enjoyed tipping the water over and stamping their paws in it!
From what you've said, it's early days yet, give her time, and I'm sure she'll be ok.  As you know, pups are hard work, but it's worth putting all that work in, and she will settle eventually.

Hope everything goes ok, take care, Lisa

The water behaviour is probably just one of those quirky things that your pup is going to do.  I have a friend who is a breeder and out of her 14 dogs one (a girl over three years) insists on putting both front feet in the water bowl and regularly tips it up when she jumps out she then chases the droplets round until they disappear.  I think she does it for fun, it doesn't seem to do any harm.

I agree with the other posters who have said that you should try to find out as much as you can about the rest of the litter.  They may all have been vocal from the start and your pup may be trying to locate its littermates.  It should settle eventually and accept that you are its new family.  I personally would try not to take too much notice of the crying, you seem to have eliminated the possible physical causes, but offer continual support and stimulation when you are with your puppy so that mind and body are relaxed for sleep - the puppy I mean, shouldn't think for one moment that you are getting much rest.

Keep an eye open for physical problems and talk with your vet nary nurse when you take your pup to puppy socialising groups, as well as to other new puppy owners.  A lot is to be learned by shared experiences.