Leaving puppy home alone at night?

[Jasmine747]

I will be leaving for a trip to FL that was booked in May, way before puppy came along. I feel horrible about leaving but I am visiting family and it was set that I am coming down tomorrow.
DH will be here but is a police officer and his shifts are 10 hours at night. 7PM through 7am. I am going to have my dad come about 9pm to check in walk her and play but what should we do??? I would put her in a doggie sitter but seriously who is going to take her out and play with her those times of the night? We will be keeping her in the kitchen so she does have plenty of room in there and all her toys. Wouldn't she be more comfortable at home all night??
P.S. DH only works 4 days with this shift so it will only be for 4 nights then he is off and I will be home in less than a week.
I feel horrible leaving her but I don't have anyone who would take her..is this really wrong??? Any other suggestions??
THANKS!

[Shelby427]

as long as someone is there to take her out to relieve herself and stretch her legs she should be fine. But one thing is sticking out to me, you're saying you can't get a sitter because who wants to take her out and PLAY at those times of the night??!?!??! Why is she getting let out of her crate to PLAY at night? She should be SLEEPING! You need to read through the puppy development forum and learn a few things. Puppies need schedules and consistency. Get DH on this board to learn a few things also. This is the place to ask any questions.

[brunie's mom]

I agree...all of this letting out and playing during the night is not good. She is setting the schedule.

If your hubby is only going to be leaving her for the 4 nights she will be fine. Your dad will come by at 9:00 p.m., let her out..and then he should pop her back into the crate. Do not leave her in the kitchen! The crate is the safe place. She will be fine from 9:30 p.m till 7:00 a.m.. Then hubby takes her out right away...feeds her plays with her...and she she can go for a little walk and puppy can go back into the crate so he can get his sleep.

This pup is 11-12 weeks old now? She should make it fine during the night, there is no need to be letting her out in the middle of the night and playing with her.

It's not ideal...but puppy will manage fine. We've got members here that constantly leave puppies for 8-10 hours alone...and wonder why we get upset.

Make sure she has something safe to chew on while crated..such as a filled up Kong or Nylabone.

Gina

[Ayoka]

Assuming that she will get fed, played with and exercised during the day with your hubby she should be fine. If he needs his beauty sleep than maybe you can hire someone to come during the day.

[Jasmine747]

Thanks!! Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Our schedule is..
in and out all day for play and bathroom.
5pm dinner
7-8 water pulled
sleeping usually out by 9 but trying for later last night made it to 11 :)
1-2 bathroom
4 bathroom
5-6 wake up eat bathroom break
7 falls back to sleep
She is not allowed to play but will get DH talking to her and he is quick to let her out Grrr...MEN!
I came down at 4 and he was telling her quite and shh..I came down told him to leave, she went right back to sleep until 6am AHhhh, that was nice :)
Thanks again but I don't want anyone thinking I let her out to play in the middle of the night

[Shelby427]

it still sounds like you are letting her out of the crate way too much during the night. I didn't realize she's 11 weeks old already! She should be able to hold it longer! If you put her in there at 11pm for bed, she should be able to last until 3-4am, then again at 6-7am, so that's only 1 night time potty break. And when you guys put her back into the crate, put her in there and walk away. You're nurturing her to cry and whine. It was from your original post that people thought you're letting her out to play "but seriously who is going to take her out and play with her those times of the night?"

[Jasmine747]

Thank you! I do feel we spoil her at night. I orginally felt since I was off the summer it would be great to have a pup. After having her a week she got very sick and I was with her all night when she was sick. I guess that was bad that I slept on the couch but it kept her sleeping and being off I didn't mind. Now two sleepless parents are trying to cope. She wails and cries but when we take her out she does do both. When I come home next week she is due back at the vets for her next round of shots. I will speak with her about this little problem. I really appreciate the feedback and support. Again, this is my first puppy and a Rottie so I am on these forums all the time trying to become a better mommy and help daddy too. He was on here 2 hours last night too. Thanks again! :)

[Calin]

OK think of it this way...

If every time you stomped your feet, someone walked up to you and gave you a 20 dollar bill, what would you do? I bet you would stomp your feet a LOT!

It is the same thing with your pup.

Every time she cries (stomps her feet), you are giving her attention (20 bucks), so she is going to cry a whole heck of a lot of the time. It works!

Quit rewarding her bad behavior. Only reward the good. This is the quickest way to get her on a good schedule!