Our little Fred won't stop pining :-(

[Emma_]

We've had Fred and Ginger for over a month now, and Fred is beside himself with worry when we leave him to sleep at night :-(

We bought brother and sister together and initially had them in one big cage together. Then in the kitchen together with doggy beds and now, we have separated them into small cages so that they become more independent and hold their toilet till the morning. He has always whinged at night but it's getting worse. He ends up kicking the tray out of his cage and chewing up the cover, he goes mental! Yet he's such a peaceful chap when he has company.

I just don't know what to do for the best anymore, I feel he needs reassurance that he's ok, but then we know only too well that you mustn't mother them when they pine, so we never ever do, we just get up once in the night to let them out for a pee.

I admit, we did cage them the first day we brought them home, and went off to our full time jobs so the shock may have been quite severe, being left alone. The girl though Ginger, she has no whining problems. They are chalk and cheese.

Can anybody offer any advice or empathise with me? It's tough having him cry all night - the neighbours may hate us by now and my boyfriend isn't getting any sleep and it's impacting on our relationship.

Many thanks

Emma

[bradl]

Are the crates in the bedroom with you? That might help. Sometimes draping a blanket over the crate (like you might a parakeet cage) will calm a dog, too.

[pkcrossley]

the crying all night thing is no way to live. as brad suggests, you can try variations on the theme, with the thought in mind that not every cairn (or every dog) will do best with a crate. if your preference is to have him in the crate (at least during house training), then you might start as brad suggests by putting something over the crate to make him feel more protected. if that doesn't work, move the crate into the bedroom where you can talk to him and reassure him (yes, if it doesn't work it will be worse than ever, since he will be screaming virtually in your ear; one night will give you the answer). but if that doesn't work, the crate may not be the answer for fred.

my teddy absolutely would not tolerate a crate when he first came to my home (now he is very casual about a crate, but is only in one if there are some kind of special circumstances). the screaming is horrendous, and they do not give up. i tried covering it, tried putting the crate right on the bed where i could talk to him and reassure him. nothing. the only answer for him was to get out of the crate.

for training, a confined space like a bathroom or laundry room, or perhaps even a small standing pen, will work just as well. in your situation i would probably move the crate into the bathroom, put ginger's crate in there, and let fred wander around the room with ginger in it but separated from him. if the room is small enough that he knows he should not mess it, it will accomplish the goal. it is an intermediate step. he would still have a ways to go, but might see how he is going to get there.

first priority is: everybody has to sleep through the night. it is hard to tell the difference when they are carrying on, but some are just trying to see if they can get you to get up and party with them, and will never get anywhere if you give in (as you already noted), but some are genuinely panicked by the crate and/or the isolation. it may be that you have to be more gradual in getting fred to start flying on his own a bit.

[Emma_]

Thanks Bradl. Thanks pkcrossley - I really appreciate your thoughts on this. Your comment about Fred wanting to get me up and party tickled me - oh he'd love that!!

I had been wondering about putting their crates outside our bedroom as I'd seen it on "It's me or the Dog". My boyfriend however was quite against this, and so had not tried it ... until last night - I think he was finally so worn down that he'd try anything if he thought he might get more sleep!

Well I think it helped all of us hugely. Ginger didn't whine at all - that's normal. Fred whined to begin with but we just gave him stern "quiet" commands whenever he whined or barked. Or we ignored him completely. It worked! He quietened down and slept - yay! Ok so he woke at 4.30am and I took them out for pee but they went back in their cages after. It seems clear to me now that Fred was extremely scared and in constant panic in the kitchen in the cage, and that now, with the reassurance that we're there, he can now actually be calm enough to take on our wishes to be quiet follow it through. I know when I feel panicked, I'm unable to do anything but panic also!

My boyfriend is away the next few nights so I'd better practice my deep voice commands as that's what really gets Fred to button it!

I wonder where we go from here - perhaps a gradual centimetre by centimetre slide of the cage into the kitchen over 6 months?! I guess I will see how the next few days go first.

[Emma_]

I am pleased to report that Fred slept through the night with not a peep out of him! i am so happy for him and us

[pkcrossley]

congratulations to all. makes a big difference, huh?

[pindrop]

Love the avatar of your two babies. Your choice of names is soooo cute - Fred & Ginger - do they dance too? So glad you have gotten things sorted out to everyone's satisfaction. Keep us posted of their antics and pictures are always welcome.

[sanford]