Last night was kind of bad. the first night Brian slept on the couch with the TV going all night and we kept her out in the living room. She did better. Last night Brian slept in the bedroom and we kept her in the living room. We turned off the lights and she wasn't calming down so I turned on a light and that quieted her down. Then around 2 I woke Brian up to take her outside and then she wouldn't calm down again so Brian banged the crate and shut up. I'm thinking, she was lonely like you say and maybe we will take her in the bedroom with us tonight and see how it goes. Our your dogs facing you in their crates or do you have them facing away from you?
NO WAY - please don't give Brian any ideas!! I don't think he has the energy to keep up with 2!
Kathy...seems things are going very well.
I do have the two crates positioned so that the pups can look out the door and see our bed, and probably see at least part of me...they must, 'cause they will start whimpering a bit if I start moving around much in the morning when I'm waking up. I have the plastic crates with the vents on the side and wire door...more like a "cave" for them. If you have the wire type crate, you might try putting the rear up against the wall, then cover the top and sides with an old beach towel or blanket, leaving only the front open for viewing in/out. I have a smaller wire crate in the den set up like this, and Rider (the male pup) will go into it on his own when he gets tired of Tango pestering him and wants to nap. Typical guy, huh?
7 or 8 hours is all they can wait...even a grown dog. Mine are now 6 1/2 months, and go about 7 hours in the crate at night. Puppies do not get any real control over their bladder/bowel movements until they are about 4 months, then you can expect some real changes in their patterns...until then, it's just every time they eat, wake up, finish playing, etc. I've found with all my dogs during my lifetime, the key is to keep them on a pretty tight feeding/watering schedule, even into adulthood, then their pooping is more predictable. I do not believe in the never empty food dish for a dog, nor the once a day meal. Their blood sugar gets low, just like ours, so two meals per day is better, IMO. I feed 1/2 the daily amount when I get up (or they get me up), and then the other 1/2 around 5-6 in the evening. If they do not eat the food within 5 minutes, it gets removed. This encourages them not to become picky eaters. Ideally, if you can eat just a bite of something, or even drink a little something before giving them their food, it helps establish you as "pack leader", as the leader always gets to eat first in the dog world. Same with going through doorways, etc. It also helps to take them for a walk prior to feeding, if that's possible...make them "work" for their food...but that's not always practical or do-able.
Never, ever, ever, give them any of your personal belonging for a chew toy, no matter how old the article is...a puppy cannot possibly tell the difference between an old raggedy slipper you don't care about and your favorite pair of boots or tennis shoes...it all smells the same to him, and with a lab, or any dog for that matter, it's smell first and all other senses second. If they get something they're not supposed to have, give them their chew toy and take the other away. Repeat 1,000 times....
They also read your body language and "vibes" like a book, paying MUCH more attention to that than any words you speak, even after they learn what the word means. Studies have shown that a dog can detect body position changes as small as 1/2" in humans...so leaning slightly forward, or backward, is significant to a dog. Eye contact is particularly significant...even in humans.
I don't mean to go off on tangents like this, but the stuff is interesting to me, so I read a lot, and behaviorism was my field in college, working with emotionally disturbed children for 4 years paying for school. I still work with some emotionally disturbed children, they just happen to be 30 - 65 years old, and get paid to be here....
I'm in HRM....