Should puppy be left on their own in the night?

[rhylmarova]

Hi guys,

I have another question regarding my boy-Rottie. When we brought him home, we had a nice blanket ready for him, which is placed in under-the-stairs area. It's like a little storage area and he seems to love it as its closed from sides and gives him feel of security (my understanding - possibly to human-like). He goes there to sleep most of the time during the day, he brings his toys there to play, his chewy bone etc.

However, after the first few nights he would wake up in the middle of the night and cry. I would take him out to do his thing and then gently put him back to sleep. I would than go up the stairs to bedroom to sleep myself. We have made a baby gate there to stop him going up and down all the time, especially when we are not in the house. He sits behind it and cries and cries...for hours! I tried to ignore it thinking that he will learn but he just does not stop. If I take him up to sleep in our bedroom (on the floor!), he falls asleep immediatelly and wakes up only in the morning.

Any suggestions whether sleeping in bedroom is generally a bad thing? We want to buy him a dog house (not a classic crate) this weekend as I do not want him to sleep 'anywhere' in the bedroom but at least inside his house.
He is 12wks now (got him at 9wks)

Advise appreciated!

thanks

Renata

[Patty1231]

For the safety of your puppy, get a crate. You can keep it in your bedroom if you prefer.

[Snooze]

We have a crate in our living area, however at night Jake (8 Mos) sleeps next to our bed on the floor. We've had him for about 7 weeks now and at first he would act out like a little kid at bedtime and we had to make sure the bdroom door was closed. He would go through all his antics for about 10 minutes before settling down. Now at bedtime we just say time for bed, he follows us up and settles down immediately on the floor (blanket/dog bed) as close to the bed as possible. He rarely moves about during the night except maybe to switch to sleeping on my husbands side of the bed. One or two nights recently my husband neglected to close the door but Jake didn't stray out of the room. I don't think at 8 months I would leave him unattended in another room simply because he is a little denise the menace sometimes.

[Snooze]

oh sorry, just noticed that your pup is only 12 wks - I've never had a pup that young, so I don't know!

[Anne]

All my new pups sleep in my bedroom right next to my bed. I have had no problems with them crying during the night.

It sounds like your pup is lonely and if you have no objections to him sleeping in your bedroom then why not have him there. He's crying at the baby gate because he wants to be with you.

[rhylmarova]

Great. I love to have him in bedroom as he is a part of family. We only tried to settle him in his bed at night for first few days and then realized it was not going to work. He is actually an angel at night in the bedroom. As Snooze says, he only moves to change position to go to my partner's side, bless.

I only wanted to check with other Rotties owners. I guess some of the advise on other websites has made me a bit paranoid about territories and alpha of the pack etc.

Thanks guys!

[majicka]

All 3 of mine sleep in my bedroom..and after my spouse gets up one or 2 hop in bed to snooze with me. I don't mind it at all.

We did have crates in the bedroom at night when the dogs were young pups, but that didn't last very long.

[rottgirl]

Sounds to me like your little guy is lonely by himself at night.

We have Paradise (1 1/2) sleep in our bedroom on the floor - she has her own blanket, sometimes she sneeks onto the bed in the middle of the night and sleeps at the end of the bed curled into a ball.

Good Luck, Michele