Help with my 7 week old!

[NYLA]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and had a couple of questions. Nyla my 7 week old baby was just brought home yesterday. I was wondering at that age if they sleep alot. I noticed that she eats goes to the bathroom then has a burst of energy for 20-30 min then she sleeps for 1-2 hrs. Is this normal? Second question is that we have an adjustable crate and sectioned it off so she has enough room to turn around. All she did was HOWL all night long. I let it go and she eventually stops but starts up again. I tried to put a sheet over the crate which did not do much. I get up and take to the bathroom every few hours. Does she miss her mom and litter? And lastly is it bad for her hips to stand up on her back feet in the crate? Can anyone recommend what to do? I started her on canidae and she loves it. Thank you.

[rottielover2004]

First of all I reccomend the book rottweilers for dummies book. Great reading material. Your breeder should have explained things to you how puppies work before the pup was brought home.
7 weeks is still alittle too young to leave the littermates, but what you can do for the first week, is bring the crate into your room, until she is alittle more comfortable. Invest in puppy chew toys, alot of them.

[ElsasFamily]

Welcome to the Forum. Please take some time and read the stickies in each forum, they are loaded with answers to questions you didnt even know you had.

I'm sure you are excited to have your girl home with you, but she is a bit young to leave her mom and litter mates. But what's done is done. And now you must post pictures, we have puppy love here.

She is tired because she is a new puppy. That is what they do, for now anyway. Elsa still is more feline like, she takes many naps through out the day. And then gets up and wants to do wind sprints. I wouldn’t worry about it. Enjoy her while she is up and playing.

As for howling and not sleeping at night. She is uncertain of her surroundings and just taken away from the warmth and comfort of her siblings and mom. She is lonely of course. Maybe a stuffed animal or blanket would help her relax. Where is her crate at?

~Kim

[autumn]

Originally Posted by NYLA

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and had a couple of questions. Nyla my 7 week old baby was just brought home yesterday. I was wondering at that age if they sleep alot. I noticed that she eats goes to the bathroom then has a burst of energy for 20-30 min then she sleeps for 1-2 hrs. Is this normal? Second question is that we have an adjustable crate and sectioned it off so she has enough room to turn around. All she did was HOWL all night long. I let it go and she eventually stops but starts up again. I tried to put a sheet over the crate which did not do much. I get up and take to the bathroom every few hours. Does she miss her mom and litter? And lastly is it bad for her hips to stand up on her back feet in the crate? Can anyone recommend what to do? I started her on canidae and she loves it. Thank you.

Yes, puppies that age will have short bursts of energy and then sleep. Enjoy the peace while you can because when they are awale they take all you energy and attention!
Completly ignore her when she is howling in the crate. It will be hard but she will get the idea that her howling will not get her attention. I am sure she does miss her littermates and mom so crating her in your room at night might help.
Her hips should be fine. Most likely once she has been crate trained she will stop standing on her back feet.
Have fun with her!

[abhims]

It's just not possible to ignore a howling pup ... I've tried it often and failed miserably .. I've tried leaving the TV on ..that helps if they hear voices. I think music might help too.

Once I left my pup alone and went out for a while ...came back to find that he had thrown up his lunch after I assume a lot of barking :-(.

[NYLA]

Thanks for everyone's input. Im going on the third straight night with nothing but howling. LOL. I have tried leaving the tv on and a night light on during the night with no luck. I also have read the book Rottweiler's for dummies. Its a great book. I think she is lonely. Hopefully ignoring her will finally kick in? Wish me luck.

[Dakota_Gurrl]

First of all, 7 weeks is not too young to bring a pup home, 6-8 wks is ideal, depending on the individual pup and person. Secondly, through the night crate training isn't the best idea, especially if you just brought her into a new environment. Try crating her for 15 minutes every several hours, tell her it's "bedtime" (or whatever you want to call it) when you put her in. She's gonna bark, let her, and when she can stop barking for 5 minutes, take her out, give her lots of praise and play with her. She'll associate the crate with "good things" like treats & play, and when she comes out she's gonna have fun. Eventually she'll mellow out and love it, that's weeks away though. Trust me, I have 3 Rotti's, and not one of them would do a "through the night" crating till about 10-11 wks. You'll get alot more sleep if you just let her either lay with you, or lay on the floor beside you. Look at it this way, she just lost her mom and her siblings, and has been taken to some strange place...realistically, how would you respond? You'd cry and fight to get away. Rotti's are alot more sensitive than people think, and at her age, she needs a new mom to latch on to. Once you have her full trust though, she'll let you do anything to/with her. Hope this helps, it's just my opinion, but it worked on my 3.

[cimaron]

We have recently "lived" through the howling puppy problem. I am not sure if we solved the problem or if she simply grew up a bit. First we developed a routine. She goes to her crate the same time each night. We have game time before bed so that she is tired, and she gets to go to bed with a toy. Make sure she is not thirsty, hungry, or has to potty. The crate is in a quiet room with low light and no distractions. We also have found that playing canine lulllabies (you can order from their website) calms her so that she can sleep.

[moondog]

Originally Posted by Dakota_Gurrl

First of all, 7 weeks is not too young to bring a pup home, 6-8 wks is ideal, depending on the individual pup and person. Secondly, through the night crate training isn't the best idea, especially if you just brought her into a new environment. Try crating her for 15 minutes every several hours, tell her it's "bedtime" (or whatever you want to call it) when you put her in. She's gonna bark, let her, and when she can stop barking for 5 minutes, take her out, give her lots of praise and play with her. She'll associate the crate with "good things" like treats & play, and when she comes out she's gonna have fun. Eventually she'll mellow out and love it, that's weeks away though. Trust me, I have 3 Rotti's, and not one of them would do a "through the night" crating till about 10-11 wks. You'll get alot more sleep if you just let her either lay with you, or lay on the floor beside you. Look at it this way, she just lost her mom and her siblings, and has been taken to some strange place...realistically, how would you respond? You'd cry and fight to get away. Rotti's are alot more sensitive than people think, and at her age, she needs a new mom to latch on to. Once you have her full trust though, she'll let you do anything to/with her. Hope this helps, it's just my opinion, but it worked on my 3.

Anything earlier than 7 weeks is too early for a puppy to leave the litter, but 7 weeks is fine. Here's more info (it's a sticky at the top of this forum): http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/pup...velopment.html

The rest of your post I agree with. It's a huge transformation for a puppy to be taken from the only environment they've ever known and find themselves in a strange place without the security of their littermates. I allowed my dog to sleep with me from the time I brought her home, and she slept through the night (until about 4am) from day one. As long as leadership is established, ongoing, and consistent....allowing a puppy to sleep with me has never been a problem.