We are exhausted. Any suggestions will be gratefully received.

We decided that we weren't going to make the same mistakes that we made with Meggy & Rosie. "Tilly won't go on the furniture" we said (oops, failed already),:rolleyes: "she won't rule the roost" we agreed (yeah yeah, one look from those gorgeous eyes and we all melt) :love: and "she definitely won't sleep in our room".

Well we have failed miserably on the first 2 points but up to now, have persevered on the last. She has a lovely fleecy puppy nest, complete with an old worn nighty of mine, and a puppy cuddly toy. She has water and lots of newspaper to wee on. What she doesn't have is us. A point that she likes to voice loud and long at 1am, 3am and 5am. She doesn't exactly bark - scream is probably a better description!!! We have tried going to her to reassure her then return to bed, but that makes her more distraught.

We have tried ignoring her which eventually works at 1am and 3am but then we lie in bed worrying that she is upset. At 5am she is then up and gets louder by the minute (its a good job we are detatched and have thick walls or the neighbours would think we were killing her).

We are gradually building up the time we leave her in the day. We can now leave her half an hour without her worrying. When we are all around, she will take herself off to the kitchen to her nest for a nap.

I expected her to do this for a few days but we have had her 2 weeks today and she's not improving. It's like having a new baby in the house! Please help because if things don't improve soon, I'm afraid she will have to sleep with us!

awww so sweet! I remember mine doing that so I half gave in. She had a small bed in the bedroom purely for night time but she was not allowed on the bed! if you are determined, perserver, you will win i the end just don't go down stairs coz it will just making the howling worse!

good luck!

my friend had the same problem and she rang a behavourlist and there advice was to get a puppy cage and make it a nice place to be, comfy bed etc, and to feed the puppy in the cage with the door open and the puppy will realise the cage is a nice to place to be and feel safe, some people don't like cages, but the advice given has worked a treat, when u think about it what is your hole house it is a cage. Try this am sure it will work. When your puppy falls asleep put her in the cage. Another thing she said, you could put a sheet are blanket on top of the cage to make it cosey, and she tried this and it worked. Give it a go. What sort of dog have you got? Good luck and let us no if this works, if you try it.

awww so sweet! I remember mine doing that so I half gave in. She had a small bed in the bedroom purely for night time but she was not allowed on the bed! if you are determined, perserver, you will win i the end just don't go down stairs coz it will just making the howling worse!

good luck!

Ditto. Back in 1982 we collected an Amaerican Cocker Spaniel Bitch from a reputable breeder down south. The first night we kept her downstairs. She pined big time.

We thought she would get used to it and was good training.

The second night she made it plain she wanted human company. We brought her upstairs to our bedroom and she spent the night sleeping on the very top of my wife's head on the pillow.

She did that for the 11 years she lived, and was my wife's darling. We still miss her dearly.

Let the pup sleep where she/he feels safe and with the person he/she feels safe with. You will all gain your reward.

Good luck with the puppy :thumbsup:

Try this am sure it will work. When your puppy falls asleep put her in the cage. Another thing she said, you could put a sheet are blanket on top of the cage to make it cosey, and she tried this and it worked. Give it a go. What sort of dog have you got? Good luck and let us no if this works, if you try it.

She has a lovely cat basket that she will go into during the day (we are using it for her to travel in the car in), which is also in the kitchen with all her other stuff. I will try covering it to see if that makes any difference.

I'm reluctant for her to come into the bedroom as I'm asthmatic and it is caused by pet hair so I really would prefer to keep this area Tilly free.

We were told by the kennels that her mum is a boxer cross and father unknown, but I strongly suspect he was a staffie as that's what Tilly looks like:

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l160/alirosdan/TillyTrouble.jpg

I read somewhere that staffies often suffer from separation anxiety so maybe this is her problem.

I'm usually a cage advocator, but this time my advice is more complicated....

Stop and think about the whole world from puppy perspective... You've left your litter, and you've found a new one - they're a bit funny looking and smell a bit odd, and they don't have fur, but they're warm and snuggly enough, and we all sleep on this ded comfy thing they call a 'sofa'. You've managed to establish (as a puppy) that what you want goes.

But there's one thing that's puzzling :confused:
Every time it goes dark, you're abandoned and left on your own :cry:


Honestly - the best thing to do with a dog, is to teach him/her he/she's 'the dog' ;)

Being 'kind' (or spoiling him/her) is really an emotional boost for yourself, which isn't necessary (your dog will love you without these 'privileges' ;) ) . A dog is far happier with a secure set of rules that aren't broken, as flexibility in the rules makes it seem like the world is falling apart.

Revoke sofa privileges for the time being, and move her bed next to the sofa, where you can reach her to stroke and reassure her, then she will derive the same comfort from her bed at night as she does when she's in your company.


If you try the cage training route (and I can strongly recommend it - especially if you intend to take her with you if you travel), the same advice applies. Don't treat the cage as a nighttime prison. She's to settle down in it when you are watching TV, and when she's learned the rules - once in a blue moon you can break them - but only for a good reason, which she must understand at the time ;)


Now don't get me wrong. Brude (our Beagle) is spoilt :hihi: but sometimes he gets too big for his boots, and we have a week of 'dog rules' 'til he remembers who he is and his position in the pack, which means all of the below are revoked ;)

He's allowed on the sofa for a snuggle - if we've worn him out on a mountain first.
He's allowed on our bed - on saturday morning for a lie in, or if somebody's in bed during daylight (or if my teenage brother deserves a companion when he's visiting ;) )
He gets titbits - after we've finished eating, and if he earns them first
He gets cake - birthday cake only
(He never gets chocolate though - I've had one dog who had his rotten teeth out)


Just imagine the world from your dog's perspective, and it'll be far easier to make your decisions :)

Update: I've just read all the posts made since I began typing....

Lay laminate floor in the bedroom, get a steam cleaner for your mattress, and put Tilly's bed in your room.

You're never going to get that cute face to sleep downstairs :hihi: :D

What about recording your voice talking and play it for her at night time or play the radio. That way she might not feel so alone. It's only a suggestion works for some but not for others. Good luck x

Aww she is just too adorable to resist! :love:

But I agree that you should persevere and she'll eventually accept it. I think that separation anxiety is made worse by how we react to it... if she learns to be more independent then it will be better for her in the long run.

I think she looks like a staffie cross... looks just like how I imagine Gadget would have looked like as a puppy (but diff colouring). I think he's crossed with a lab or something...http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c12/KATIEB_23/xmas_party.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c12/KATIEB_23/SOFA.jpg

Good luck and er.. sleep tight! :hihi: