[AlananDave]

Hi guys I'm New here my name is Dave.

I stumbled upon this site whilst looking for ways to help my puppy sleep, Her name is Sasha she is a 9 week old Hungarian Vislar.

I'm pretty sure i am doing as much as i can right as my wife doesn't want to crate train our dog as we have an area which we can confine her too during the day when we go to work, and i tend to agree. Some people advocate it i just don't like the idea of it that much.

It's the first week and i think we are both surprised at how much work Sash is going to be. Right now she is beautiful sitting in a dog be right beside me having a nap during the middle of the day and this is when i will try and catch some sleep.

So sleepless nights it is for a while i suppose, however knowing this helps nothing at the moment as I am feeling rather overwhelmed by all of this so much so that it is making me nauseous and i was sick yesterday. I had Dogs as a child but i never remember it being like this. I just feel horrible because I love our little girl so much and feeling like I am not doing the right things for her or being a responsible owner and having to hear her whine and howl at night is horrible. My wife who i thought would be the one to crumble is the complete opposite she is amazing.

I just wanted some reassurance i guess, I feed her long before bed time, I take her out to eliminate before she sleeps, I wrap her up in a blanket with a hot water bottle, a ticking clock, a section of her mother's and littler mates blanket an old jumper of mine. When she gets up and howls i grab her lead take her out the back yard to eliminate and then bring her straight back in all business wrap her up again, she falls asleep i put her back in her bed which is inside a big cardboard box which i then lower one lid of to make it Den like.

I am just a bit worried because i took the week off to help her settle in. it would see that she is already house broken but i will have to go back to work soon and we will leave her in our open area sun room with plenty of room to play.

I guess i just need to know it gets easier and she will eventually sleep through the night. Because my wife and I have said that if she is too disruptive we might have to give her back.

Neither of us want that, we have waited a long time for her and now that we have her we love her. I am glad to see i am not the only one who feels overwhelmed with a new puppy.

She starts Puppy Preschool next week so I am hoping that will help a lot. I suppose i shouldn't complain we have only had her a few days

So i guess thanks for listening to my story any advice or reassurance anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated.


Note# Just a note i left out she hasn't had all her vaccinations yet so we are unable to walk her. i am sure once we start walking her and puppy preschool things will turn around fast.

 

[Kwenami]

It does get better, but only with work. If you tire her before bed (playing tug, chasing her in the yard, etc.) and work on training she'll have an easier time, but puppies take a lot of work. Puppy preschool sounds like a great option with a positive reinforcement approach.

Also I don't think you'll find most of us on the forum are anti-crates-we love them. There's nothing wrong crating your dog if you run into problems and management is the only safe way to deal with them. Most of our dogs LOVE their crates. It's also not a bad thing to train in case you ever get stuck in an emergency or need to travel via air. Just my opinion, there's nothing wrong with having free roam if there are no problems, but crate training can be useful.

 

[AlananDave]

I'd be willing to give it a go but my wife is against it and I can agree.. Im trying to take naps when Sash does so I can get some sleep. She slept pretty well last night after I tried he new method of take her to the toilet and wrap her up and put her back to sleep. She slept from like 2 till 7 hopefully it only gets better.

Thanks for your reply.

Now if I can just stop feeling nauseous.
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[hkvik]

It will get easier. I was where you are four months ago (and with two puppies). Eventually they will be able to hold it all through the night and then things really gets easier. I didn't use crates, but I was working from home at the time, making things a lot easier.
Hang in there, it's just something you have to go through. I thought I would never say it, but I do kind of miss the early puppy months.

 

[seebrown]

Puppies take a while, and I think everyone who's had one has felt the way you do. I'm not going to lie; it probably took a good 6 months for me to stop having anxiety and for it to be easier. I had my puppy at 3-4 months old, so that made a difference as well. Younger puppies just require a lot more management. kikopup on YouTube has some great videos on puppy training. If you don't use a crate, just be sure to make her puppy-safe area the best, so that she gets used to liking being alone. Unfortunately you won't have all of that trained in one week, so you'll just have to be persistent.

 

[AlananDave]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I just need to get over this anxiousness feeling nauseous. And complete loss of appetite. She is the most beautiful puppy I have ever met. I don't want to make mistakes and not have her be the most beautiful adult dog either. I suppose I should just realise nature has made these animals resilient creatures. And all this worry will pass. Ia just concerned for the neighbours and her.

Thanks again everyone
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[justmary]

Oh, I love Vizslas! I'd love to see some pics of your new baby. Vizslas are high energy dogs, and puppies take so much work in general. Just give it a little more time. Our puppy is only 10 weeks and isn't sleeping through the night yet, either, so I feel your pain!

 

[pappi pup]

Though our new dog was not a puppy (1 year old rescue) I vividly remember the first month and how stressful it was. I had a cold for one month! because of the stress. You are taking on a big responsibility and you are well aware of that. Don't worry--both of you are going to go through a lot of adjustment over the next weeks, and it will be sooo much easier. There is also TONS of great advice on this forum if you look around. Just be sure and post back in a few weeks, when things ease up--we want to know how it is going, and you can give hope to those other new puppy owners!

 

[AlananDave]

I feel horrible it's day 3 and i just feel like I'm breaking down and cannot stop it.

 

[pappi pup]

Dave--what are the things that are most concerning to you now? Is it the whining at night? or are you worried about going back to work? There are solutions to all of these, but she is also going to need time to adjust. It WILL get better. Maybe you could look into puppy daycare, so you can have a break for a while and keep your sanity.

 

[AlananDave]

I suppose its the whining at night. I feel bad for her but know I should ignore her. But I also know she needs to eliminate. Going back to work I think will help because I won't hear her. I know all the things I should do but don't seem to be able to. I think it might be the lack of sleep thats probably doing it and im sure it will start to get better soon. Maybe it is just I am thinking of her in human terms and the whining as soon as you're out of sight causes me to think about how she must miss her mother and brothers and sisters

 

[Blue Topaz]

Dave, it will take some time for her to adjust. You are obviously devoted to her. You and your wife are doing all the right things. Young puppies are a lot like having newborn babies....they wake you up in the middle of the night, they cry, they need to be loved and reassured. It's natural that you would feel overwhelmed. Just like any new parent. It will get better! I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it will!

 

[AlananDave]

Thank you everyone for your kind words, they actually are reassuring and make me feel like there is hope. My wife just got home so I might be able to get a bit of sleep before i go out to the gym. She is going out tonight as well so i guess its time for Sash to whine and have absolutely no chance of anyone coming. That will happen next week too when i go back to work

thanks again everyone

 

[seebrown]

Good luck!

Regarding the whining at night, yes, she definitely needs to be taken out at least once in the middle of the night at that age. There are two methods for this...

Put her Xpen (or box) right next to your bed, so that right when she whines, you can take her out to potty, then put her right back to bed. If she whines for no reason (you just took her out), you can put your hand down to let her smell you so she knows she isn't alone. Obviously this is more management and you get less sleep.

The second method (which I did because I have too much stress already w/o having to hear puppy whining), put her in a room away from yours - hopefully far enough away that you can't hear her. Set your alarm clock for every three hours. Wake up and take her out for a few minutes to potty every three hours. After a week+ of no accidents, wake up every 4 hours. After a week+ of no accidents, start moving that up later in the morning, until she is holding it a full 8 hours.

The last method maybe isn't as nice for the puppy and has more chances for accidents (my puppy did have a few), but the whining all night was making my anxiety really bad. I was already a wreck because having a puppy is sort of like having a new baby.

The Xpen/crate/puppy-safe area is great for this, though, because you can just put the puppy away when you need to relax. Personally, I would get something you don't have to transition the puppy out of since you'll be conditioning her to be comfortable in whatever it is you use. Take some time for yourself and realize that she is OK being left alone.

 

[Kwenami]

You're doing great! If you're feeling nauseous due to the anxiety of having her, try eating more ginger. There's a few other stretches for your abs that would likely help, too, since if they're tight you're more likely to notice the feeling of nausea. We all make mistakes with our furbabies, it's the quality time we spend with them that counts Dogs are resilient despite us, and forgive us for our mistakes. It's one of their qualities that makes them more appealing than human friends

 

[AlananDave]

Thanks everyone last night she was terrific I got up 3 times to take her to the toilet amd she didn't whine at all last night.

Tonight I am only going to try for 2 times here is hoping. She didnt want to get up when I took her but she knew the lead to the grass means go.

Thanks so much everyone I still feel anxious but I don't feel like I want to give her back and that in turn has removed me feeling guilty which was my main overwhelming concern I think.

Now that I know she is resilient and will forgive the mistakes I make I feel a lot better. So ill give it a week and let everyone know how she is doing.

 

[TMsam]

Great news.
Do not stress I have not managed to do any non repairable damage over the yrs so I am sure you will not either.
Enjoy your puppy they grow up way too fast.

 

[AlananDave]

Just wanted to say thanks so much everyone for the kind words of support and encouragement. Not excluding the advice. Well it's been a week since we got Sash and she has now slept 2 nights through. Knocking on wood there are more nighta like this. As im sure people know Vislars love being around people and we are now at the fun stage where we teach her about her staying outside. And the teething stage ao she bites everything and me. I am learning as I go and having a good time. Soon enough she'll be fully grown and all our puppy fun times will be gone. This makes me sad but like all things in life I am trying to appreciate what we have now and bw thankful I have it because change will come soon enough.
Thanks again everyone!
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[lynsey1409]

Beware the puppy blues!!!!

Knowing this is an actual thing really helped me through the early months. I felt ill, was constantly tired, so frustrated and considered giving Harry back to the breeder. It's like post-natal depression but with a furbaby!

Looking back now I know it was worth it but at the time I felt awful. Don't feel like you're the only one who feels like this.

 

[Blue Topaz]

That is such great news about Sash! You definitely need to enjoy puppyhood while you have it because it's so fleeting. But, adult hood is great too. No more 3 am pee breaks, no more teething....Take lots of pictures and videos so you can remember her as a cute little puppy before she turns into the monster teenager! LOL!