My puppy wont sleep!!

[pblossom]

Hi I am new here and just had a question... why wont my 5 month old german shepherd sleep?!? she has not slept a single night all the way through since i brought her home at 7 weeks, she wakes up every hour and a half to 2 hours max. She gets 2 1 hour long walks a day once in the morning once at night as well as two flirt pole sessions a day for about 45 mins at lunch and an hour before bed. she is on Orijin reginal red at about 2.5 cups a day. I dont know what else to do she is driving us crazy

[jocoyn]

Is she crated at night and do you ignore her when she wakes up? When I was housebreaking, the night trips outside were on lead and just "business oriented" only but by 5 months there were no nightime trips outside.

When I say ignore, I mean ignore.......not even a quiet command or anything.

[qbchottu]

Why is she barking and fussing? Potty? Insecurity? Fear? Anxiety? Or because you always come running and reinforce the behavior?

[Whiteshepherds]

Originally Posted by pblossom

she is on Orijin reginal red at about 2.5 cups a day. I dont know what else to do she is driving us crazy

How often are you feeding her and are you sure 2.5 cups a day is enough?

[qbchottu]

Orijen is a good food - you do not need very much. Don't go by quantity - go by the dog. The dog's physique will tell you if it is a proper amount. Don't overfeed.

[lily's master]

What happens when she wakes up crying? Do you ignore her and let her go back to sleep? Do you take her out to see what she needs? If you do take her out, What does she do when you take her out? Does she just want to play or does she have to go potty? If shes just wanting to play I would say ignore her, she will get the hint that night time is for sleeping not playing. If she is crying and actually has to go urinate every hour or so, I might think about running her to the vet and see if maybe she has UTI. JMHO

[pblossom]

When she wakes up crying I try to ignore her but she wont stop so I get up and take her outside and she usually goes pee or poop or both even thought I take her out before bedtime... She doesnt go to the bathroom this much during the day she goes probably every 5 hours or so sometimes longer sometimes shorter... And I think she is getting enough food, even though she tries to get into her bag of food at night and will scarf it down if I let her... the vet told me that she is a little on the "chunky" side? She has her first basic obedience class tonight with someone who specializes in german shepherds so hopefully she might be able to help me figure this out

[Shaolin]

Does she sleep a lot during the day? I noticed that we had a bit of a time with sleeping through the night when our GSD would power nap through the day; 30 minutes of play ment at least an hour or more of sleeping, ontop of the normal puppy naps. We started keeping him up and not letting him sleep after 9 pm (we were night owls and hit the sack at about eleven or midnight. Earliest someone got up was about six thirty.) We would also have a huge play session around ten-thirty or eleven...flirt pole, ball, whatever kept his butt moving until he lost all interest and looked ready to sleep.

I was also wondering about if 2.5 cups of food was enough, but if your vet is saying she's a bit on the heavy side, I dunno. How much does she weigh? Is she crate trained as in doesn't have a panic attack every time she's put in?