Puppy Rearing

[Smurf]

I need a little input on puppy rearing, we are bringing in a cocker pup on Friday & I'm a little bit confused as to what to do regarding sleeping arrangements 

Several years ago my Border collie slept the first few weeks in our bedroom before being moved into the living room, as time went by he suffered separation issues etc & I was told it was down to allowing him to sleep in the bedroom   

So the last two dogs that we have had (not at the same time) we kept them in a crate overnight in the living room & ignored the whining that went on for the first few nights, we now have two very well adjusted dogs 

So confusion now lies in the fact that I am now reading that puppies should not be ignored & should sleep with their owners  :err:  :err:  :err:

So what are your thoughts on this?

I don't allow my dogs in the bedroom as a general rule as the cats litter tray is in there & I don't need to tell you what happens with that! although they do come in for a cuddle fairly often   

I want to do the best I can for pup but sometimes the more you read the more confusing it gets 

[Cob-Web]

Only one sleep to go - you must be so excited 

So confusion now lies in the fact that I am now reading that puppies should not be ignored & should sleep with their owners  :err:  :err:  :err:

There are as many different opinions about puppy rearing as there are about raining children......and there is no one *right* answer 

The feeling of some people, such as myself, is that moving homes and leaving the safetly of their mum and litter is very, very scary, and a puppy will be scared enough in a new place, so leaving him/her on their own overnight from the first day is a very harsh way of introducing the pup to your home 
The alternative view is that if a puppy gets used to sleeping with company, in a particular place, then this will become "the norm" and it will be difficult to successfully re-teach the pup to sleep alone, somewhere else 

At the end of the day, only you will know what is right for your family, and your puppy  Remember that every dog is unique - your collie may have developed separation anxiety even if he hadn't slept in your room at first  My personal compromise was to settle Molo in the kitchen to sleep from his first night - but I slept there too; and then moved into the adjacent living room for a few nights before moving back upstairs (and even then, I used a baby monitor to make sure I heard his whining to be let out for the toilet  )

[Smurf]

Only one sleep to go - you must be so excited 

Yes & no    yes because I can't wait for ickle poopie snuggles & no because I've raised two pups in the last 2 1/2 years  & the memory of late nights/broken sleep/early mornings is still too vivid  thats why I only had one child  dogs are far better 

I think I will let him sleep in a crate in our room friday night & perhaps give him the weekend to attached himself to our other dogs then hopefully we may be able to move the crate into the living room with the other dogs so its not too much of a upheaval 

[PennyB]

I have a friend who let hers sleep on her bed and now 4-5 years on she has 3 dogs and can't get them out the bedroom ---- she still wishes she never let them in in the 1st place

Myself I can't have the dogs upstairs as the stairs are too dangerous for them (open and steep) and upstairs is the haven for the cats.

I have never had any problems though with pups who sleep downstairs from day 1. Sometimes it can be as much about how you prepare them for bed at night as well --- I settle mine down in the crate an hour or so before I go to bed and don't fuss them when I do --- they're let out to the loo just before I go to bed with a minimum amount of fuss.

With Ruby I just slept on the sofa for a few nights and that was enough, after that Wilf and the handful of foster pups had the others for company. I go down in the night if necessary to let them out but don't fuss them when I do (am too bleary eyed to hardly open my eyes anyway).

[PennyB]

I think I will let him sleep in a crate in our room friday night & perhaps give him the weekend to attached himself to our other dogs then hopefully we may be able to move the crate into the living room with the other dogs so its not too much of a upheaval 

If you have other dogs then why not let them sleep in the crate down with them from day 1 as I can't see why it would be an upheaval as he will be used to sleeping in an area with other dogs anyway. Is it really that you want to sleep with him by your side

[Smurf]

Yes that would make sense 

No I don't need him to sleep in our bedroom, the cats take up enough of the bed already 

We live in a bungalow so the living room is right next door to our bedroom so I can hear the dogs quite clearly 

[LurcherGirl]

When we are getting our puppy in three week's time, he will be sleeping in a crate in our bedroom next to our other dogs. This way he will feel secure, but can't go wander around (and get into trouble with Troy, our pyrenees). Personally I could never leave a puppy crying all night... I would have to introduce him gently to his new way of life.

Vera

[Smurf]

We were lucky with our other two, one whinned for about 15 mins the first night then gradually disapated over 4/5 days & the second didn't whine at all 

[AnnieM]

We have just brought Archie into our home,  he is 13 weeks oldand had been with mum and sister until Saturday.  Jade and Amber were turfed out of their cage as it has a metal tray and put in their fabric car crate and Archie was made a home in the cage, they all sleep in the porch which is actually part of the house.  Night one he whined for about 15 minutes and so did Jade, he then woke at 4.30am, I got up let him out no fuss and back in his crate, he whined for about 5 minutes and then slept until 7.00am, night two he whined for about 5 minutes, but slept until 6.45am, since then he has gone to bed without a wimper and stayed quiet until I get up at 7.15am.    I think he would love to get in with Jade and Amber, but I am thinking of the future, when they have seasons etc. (until I can get them spayed), at least he will be used to sleeping in his own cage.
Good Luck with your new puppy, not long to wait now. 

[ali]

we were also lucky with barkley. the first night here he was so pooped out after such a big day that he feel fast asleep in his crate in the kitchen at about 11pm and i had to wake him up when i went down to him at 7am the next morning. he had a great night's sleep whilst mine was awful because i was worried due to there being no sound coming from the pup who i'd expected to cry all night long!

on the second night he was less worn out but he only cried for about 15 minutes and has been fine ever since.

it is a tough call, and i agree that you can only do what feels right for you and your pup. we were just lucky that barkers never seemed to mind but then he was the last in his litter to go to its new home- the other five pups had gone during the previous two days and their mum hadn't been sleeping near them for a week or two before that- so maybe he was already used to the idea of things changing...

[RainbowClaire]

Hi,

I know what you mean about rearing a puppy - they are hard work, (But well worth it )

We have a 12 week old who has slept in her crate from day one - she loves her crate now. I slept in the lounger for a week or so as she was frantic to start, but after that she has slept in the kitchen in her crate, with my other dog ever since. I used to get up once or twice a night to let her go to the loo and now she sleeps all night    Getting up with her has been the bast thing ever as far as house training goes as she has been 90% housetrained from 9 weeks!!

Good luck with your baby!

[claireandmartin]

hiya we have had bailey a week today and from gay one she has been sleeping in her crate in the kitchen, we put her in there about ten mins before we go to bed and just leave a small light on , the first night she wines a bit but after that she is great and only starts wineing when she heres us get up

 i wont allow her upstairs , there is no need for her to be up there.

[sharon1]

We have just brought Archie into our home,  he is 13 weeks oldand had been with mum and sister until Saturday.  Jade and Amber were turfed out of their cage as it has a metal tray and put in their fabric car crate and Archie was made a home in the cage, they all sleep in the porch which is actually part of the house.  Night one he whined for about 15 minutes and so did Jade, he then woke at 4.30am, I got up let him out no fuss and back in his crate, he whined for about 5 minutes and then slept until 7.00am, night two he whined for about 5 minutes, but slept until 6.45am, since then he has gone to bed without a wimper and stayed quiet until I get up at 7.15am.    I think he would love to get in with Jade and Amber, but I am thinking of the future, when they have seasons etc. (until I can get them spayed), at least he will be used to sleeping in his own cage.
Good Luck with your new puppy, not long to wait now. 

This probably sounds daft but I get my little one in 2 weeks and the idea of a crate sounds brilliant, I never had one with my last puppy which was 10yrs ago when you say you put them in the crate for the night are you closing the crate door and not letting them out till puppy says I need to pee pee I read leave it open so if needs be use lots of newspaper etc for little miss haps

[claireandmartin]

hiya we close the crate door we have a massive crate so we put her blanket and toys in on half and also plent of news paper in the other half, but to be honist she dosnt really do anything maybe the odd wee but we let her out side as soon as we get up.

i felt tight at first but its great , also bailey go's in her crate with the door open when she has had enough with the kids so she must like it in there

[sharon1]

hiya we close the crate door we have a massive crate so we put her blanket and toys in on half and also plent of news paper in the other half, but to be honist she dosnt really do anything maybe the odd wee but we let her out side as soon as we get up.

i felt tight at first but its great , also bailey go's in her crate with the door open when she has had enough with the kids so she must like it in there

I have been looking at crates on line and tried to find them in stores but found the stores to be expensive around £50 for a small one and the internet to be the cheapest but with a million sites to choose from I was wondering if you could tell me if you now of any trusted sites or a decent store I don't mind paying top dollar for a good crate