Lucy 8 weeks orange roan

[RegalRustyCharm]

Lucy has been with us 5 days already and shes settling in really well 

The hour car journey home from the breeders went ok. She obviously isn't keen on car rides as she cried for the first half of the trip but eventually just lay down to go to sleep.

The first day she was obviously scared about being away from her mum, brothers and sisters and I'm sure she was actually looking for them around the house but we kept her distracted with her box full of new toys which she throughly enjoyed 

We have a crate in the kitchen for her to sleep in and she howled all night during her first night in there. It was too heartbreaking to hear her cry so I gave in quite quickly to go downstairs to comfort her. I tried just letting her out for a wee and putting her straight back in her crate but as soon as I walked away she was off again wailing and howling. I gave up after a few attempts and I actually ended up sleeping on the sofa with her! whoops. 

The second night neither me or Lucy were any better. Lucy cried all night, and I was too soft and went to her when she cried.

My OH told me off and told me that I need to be 'cruel to be kind' which I know but in the early hours of the morning with a crying puppy in the house making a racket its hard to carry through with what you have planned to do! We did plan on just ignoring her so she learnt to be alone during the night and not to cry for attention!

Each night since has got slighty better. She doesn't cry as much now. Just ignoring her seems to be working. Either that or me and OH are just so tired we are just sleeping through her racket easier!

Toilet training is going really well, she seems to be learning quickly. It may be my imagination but I'm sure she wanders towards the back door when she needs a wee. It just seems amazing that she has picked it up so quickly at 8 weeks old. We've had a few accidents but they are getting less every day especially if we let her into the garden regularly and at the right times (after a nap, after a meal etc).

She had totally gone off her food the first two days which is totally understandable so we weren't worried. Her appetite is slowly coming back as she settles in more and gets used to her new environment.
 
So far so good.  She is a typical puppy, playful, constantly biting you but she loves company and attention. It just surpises me how much she sleeps during the day! She will play for an hour, sleep for an hour, play for an hour, sleep some more. She is full of energy though when she is awake!

Shes been out in the car for a few rides which haven't seemed to bother her which is good.
She is going to the vets tomorrow for her first set of vacinnations.

There are some new photos on the puppy photo board of her since she came home with us.

[HeatherandBenjy]

Congratulations on your new arrival!

I spend most of the first week of any new arrival sleeping downstairs with them and our new arrivals are all adult rescue dogs, never mind a young pup who has never been away from his / her mum and siblings before  Its not about being soft, or being cruel to be kind .... its about recognising Lucy's needs and meeting them 

A few nights after Archie arrived, I could get up once he had gone to sleep and have a few hours in my bed, before he woke up again. It feels like forever when you're doing it, but the most it lasts is a couple of weeks and that's nothing to give up in terms of making your pup feel safe and secure is it?

Hope you have lots of fun with Lucy! 

[ebony girl]

awww congratulations....you are a cocker puppy owner...you must be as mad as the rest of us on COL 

when i bought my two cockers home at eight weeks (not at the same time), when they cried in the night i went down to their crate, didnt speak to them just sat down by the side of the crate and they would lay down as close as they could get to me and settle down to sleep. I think puppies just need reassurance that they havent been left, and that someone is still there. When they were asleep i would creep out and go back to bed. The trips downstairs got less and less after a few nights and in a week the pups were sleeping through from about 11pm till 6-7am.

Lucy sounds like a lovely normal little cocker pup..they love company, but be careful they dont get you wrapped around their little paws too much 

[sky8c]

Hi, congratulations on the new pup
We were in the same boat ten days ago when Oscar arrived home, he was good throughout the day but wouldn't settle at night After two sleepless nights with Oscar in his crate in the kitchen we bought an Adaptil plug in(£30) in from the vets which gives off some sort of smell that calms them down we also put a worn T shirt into his crate with him on the same night, not sure which worked but something did the trick, he now goes to his crate around 10pm and gets let put once through the night for a quick pee then back to his crate till 7am and never utters a squeek

Good luck!

[RegalRustyCharm]

sky8c- I have one of those Adaptil plug diffuser things in the kitchen near her crate. Something is working as her crying is getting less and last night she slept through 11.30pm until 7.30am without a sound 

ebony girl - I like your approach. When I have gone down to her I've tried letting her out for a wee without any fuss but she never needs one and just starts trying to play with me. So maybe your idea would work better if I ever need to go downstairs to her in the night to reassure her because it seems to be reassurance that she actually needs.

[LinziS]

Congratulations on your new arrival. It is hard to hear them cry throughout the night Tilly was the same when we brought her home 7 weeks ago...every hour on the hour I was up letting her out for a wee and a little cuddle before putting her back into crate. After a few days she lasted a little longer and then about 4 weeks ago she slept through the night from 12-6 which is when one of us is up for work. Have had a couple of nights since when she has woken during the night but thats because she wants a piddle and she returns straight back to her bed till morning so it does get better and better.
Enjoy your little baby girl..she will soon be part of the family like you have always had her.

[jaybee]

Congratulations on your little one. It seems a lifetime ago we got Bingley but its only been 5 weeks! The first few nights he whined and cried, OH would just come downstairs and sit near the crate and try and get him to settle. He progressed quickly with it. We really tried during the day to make him love his crate. There's lots of things you can do to help with that, we hand fed him while he was just sat in his crate and would leave his favourite toys in there with the door closed so he really wanted to go in. Now he is happy in his crate, and more often than not will take himself off to his crate when he's ready for bed. It is very much his space now. You'll get there! I think you are near me aren't you, let me know when you're ready for walks

[RegalRustyCharm]

jaybee -
Lucy never goes in her crate to sleep in the daytime. Her food is in there so she'll go there to eat but not to sleep, she much prefers the sofa! I think its because we are always in the lounge and she wants to be in the same room as us.
The hand feeding tactic wouldn't work at the moment because she has totally gone off her food and doesn't eat much at the moment. Once she has her appetite back we could try giving her treats in her crate so she associates it with positive experiences.

Yes I'm near you! another 3 weeks until walkies which I'm sure will feel like forever!
Did i hear you went to a puppy party recently? Where was it at?

[jaybee]

Bingley would always fall asleep on the sofa or by the fire, we would gently place him in his crate and sit and stroke him for a while if he'd stirred, we didn't close the door just let him associate sleep with crate first. Obviously sometimes if he was just resting he would jump right back out but gradually he would settle easier and it really seemed to help.

Yes, we had puppy party last week. We are in grantham, avenue vets. I'll PM you, I have a link to the pictures from the party it was really good.