For his last toilet break of the night, are you making sure he toilets properly?

Then, when you take him out to toilet in the night, don't throw a big party over his outside toilet (like you will be doing in daytime). Don't have much interaction - just out, toilet, reward and back in.

In daytime you can start training a ”settle down” that you can use at night.

If he isn't there already, it's a good idea to have him in your room, at least for a while. A lot of puppies settle better when they know you are close by.

 

For his last toilet break of the night, are you making sure he toilets properly?

Then, when you take him out to toilet in the night, don't throw a big party over his outside toilet (like you will be doing in daytime). Don't have much interaction - just out, toilet, reward and back in.

In daytime you can start training a ”settle down” that you can use at night.

If he isn't there already, it's a good idea to have him in your room, at least for a while. A lot of puppies settle better when they know you are close by.

Yeah, hes has 2 rather large pees and one big poop.
He's been good sleeping through the night before, just suddenly started to wake up at 2/3am and not settle after being let outside for toilet.

 

It would be a good idea to have him check by a vet for a urinary tract infection, just so you can rule that out. It's not likely to be the issue from what you say but might still be good to check.
Is he sleeping in your room? what does he do when he does not settle, and how do you respond to it?

 

He's just had a check up a few days ago, he's all good.
He doesn't sleep in my room, he sleeps downstairs in his pen.
When he doesnt settle he sits at the front of his pen and cries until someone comes into the room and then he settles.

 

It might be a good idea to have him in your room for a bit. It will be a lot easier to settle him - and it doesn't have to be forever, once he is settled overnight you can move his bed in stages to where you want him to sleep.

Please don't leave him to cry though. The dogs that stop crying don't do so because they suddenly realise everything is ok, they do it because they have given up hope. It is an extreme example but in trauma victims, it's the silent ones who are most damaged.

This article explains the science behind it.

Self Soothing & Cry It Out Are Neurologically Damaging Here Is Why - Simply Behaviour - Applied Behaviour Analysis

The mechanisms that occur when ANY animal feels stress or anxiety is conserved across the way the nervous system responds. We are looking at the limbic system and basically under the hat we are all the same (according to Panksepp et al) This is why we use Rat models to draw conclusions about...

www.simplybehaviour.com

 

The strange thing is, he has been settled downstairs on his own before. He was doing so well up until very recently and it just seems like we've taken 10 steps backwards.

If we were to have him in a bedroom, what would be the best way, have him sleep in the bed with me? Or bring his entire pen up?

 

It's entirely up to you, just do what works best for you.