Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 5:46 pm Post subject: Had puppy 4 days. . . Few questions!
Hi everyone. We collected our puppy last Wednesday and it's been going pretty good so far. She was 12 weeks yesterday. She is no trouble through the day really. We take her out to toilet regularly, we have had a few accidents with wee's in the house which I think are just because we didn't let her out in time. So far we have had no poo's in the house ( I'm already starting to learn when they are due!),
Just one thing I'd like advice on - night times! We are trying to crate train her. The crate is downstairs. Thevfirst night she went in and made a lot of noise which we ignored. It wasn't easy but we stuck with it. She had a toilet accident in there (i didn't think she would need a poo during the night - I know better now!) so we sorted that. The second night I set alarm for 3.30am. She wailed again for a couple of hours thn I let her out and she wailed again once back in the cage so I slept on the sofa (where she can see me from th cage) and all was quiet.
Now this weekend we had a guest staying so I stayed on the sofa in the hope it would keep the dog quiet (it did - she was very good) and It might help her settle. She went in at 11.30pm and it was 5.15am when I took her out so she did quite well.
I'd like advice on what I should do tonight. I'm ok on the sofa but I cant do it forever! Should I stay on the sofa or maybe start on sofa and then go upstairs when she has settled in her bed or ????
You COULD move crate to your bedroom so she can see you in bed and then each night gradually move her further and further away from you... eg from next to the bed to by the door, to the doorway, to the other side of the door way but looking through open door, to along the landing, to the top of the stairs, to the bottom of the stairs etc etc
Luna never really settled in her crate and then accidently at 5 and a half months old she was left out of it when we fell asleep - she went through the night! There was no looking back after that - her crate was left open and she slept on the floor or on another bed!
At 3 years old she is no longer too picky over where she sleeps and has recently had to use a crate again when recuperating from op. She's happy to sleep downstairs without me or on the landing but tends to sleep on the same bed as me!
Thanks for the reply. . Might be worth trying that if she makes a lot of noise tonight. I have put her in the cage 30mins ago while I do s jobs around the house and she has been good and quiet. Not sure if that will transfer over to tonight tho!
One thing I didn't mention is we have 2 indoor cats who are still trying to adjust to her being in the house so I'm trying to keep her in the crate in a night as it allows the cats some roaming freedom that they don't get through the day.
Bringing the crate upstairs is an option I will consider if she makes a lot of noise tonight.
Hi there, we've got an 11 week old pup and she sleeps in her crate next to the bed, upstairs - we only had 3 nights where she woke up and needed a wee, she now goes to bed when we do and we dont hear another peep until our children wake her up, normally about 6.30-7am....I'd definitely think about moving the crate x
Decision made - crate in the bedroom tonight. With the intention of gradually getting it downstairs as it will be used now and again through the day and it's quite a hefty piece to be carrying up and down stairs!
Thanks
Our first 3 night of having our puppy we had our in-laws stay, and my brother in-law had the sofa. We told him not to coo George if he got upset but he did. After they left we tried cold turkey method of leaving our puppy downstairs in the crate overnight, and after 2 weeks of constant howling through the night I cracked, and opened the door. He was perfectly fine after that.
Sadly it took quite a long time to get him accident free overnight (about 2-3 months). I wish we had brought him upstairs but we also had a cat that I was worried about so I didn't want to invade the cats safe area or have to wean him off sleeping near us. I know for next time to bring a puppy upstairs then gradually move them further away.
Hope it all went ok.
____________ Gemma, Lee and our lovely little George
Decision made - crate in the bedroom tonight. With the intention of gradually getting it downstairs as it will be used now and again through the day and it's quite a hefty piece to be carrying up and down stairs!
Thanks
That's exactly what we did. Once he was sleeping through without crying, we moved it into the lounge just getting up to let him out once in the night.
I feel so cruel now, I just let him cry and cry until he got used to the crate. But I was lucky enough to have a tiled floor where his crate was, and left the crate door open with a puppy toilet pad on the floor until the nightime toilet trips stopped.
It felt like a lifetime and my nerves were on edge with lack of sleep from his noise, but in truth it was only a week....two at most that he was crying. Toilet trips became less and less as I gave his last feed earlier in the day and made sure he went outside very very last thing.
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Mooz, Ivan & Milly xxx
Thanks for the replies. The puppy sleeps soundly in the crate in the bedroom. . . . She has been in there about a week now upstairs. Last nite she went out to toilet at 11.30 before I put her in the crate. Slept through until 6 am when I got her up to toilet, put her back in and she slept until 9am. . Quiet as a mouse.
I think she may go a bit longer than the 6 hours but i'm up for work at 6am duing the week so at least now I don't have to get up through the night!
Only thing now is to try her downstairs. . . Might give that a go tonight :-/
In the meantime, heading to the beach for the first time today with her
It's good to hear she has settled, but rather than moving her straight downstairs, it might be better to move her onto the landing (if you have enough space) upstairs and leave your bedroom door slightly open. If that isn't an option, then you may have a couple more disturbed nights before she finally settles. Good Luck
____________ Owned by Bella, Shadow & Cats ....
Never forgetting Harry : 18/01/11 - 14/05/11 RIP
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