Indie arrived today and she's just fantastic at 8 weeks. It's going to be a long hard couple of weeks of that I am certain. She is fast asleep in her crate (of her own choosing!) and has been enjoying the company of my little kids whilst awake! We are all signed up to start the puppy parenting course tomorrow and thoroughly looking forward to it. If anyone is interested then we will post updates of how Indie is settling in from time to time. Off to play with the pup.....They sleep alot at this age!
Quick update re night 1. We put Indie into her crate at 7pm and she howled, barked and went nuts!! I didn't know they were so loud. We decided it was a bit early (so when she went quiet) we opened the crate door and left her and she settled really well. We woke her for a wee at 1030 and moved the crate to our bedroom where it was pitch black. When she came in from the garden she was put in her crate and we all went to bed and slept (with the door shut) till 0200 when she went for a wee and went straight back to sleep till 0630!! It is all a bit confusing that first night. Putting her in her crate to early was not a good plan. Tonight we will put her in the lounge with us until it is bedtime and then put her to bed with us for a few nights. That seems to make her the most calm. She is growing with confidence every hour. Currently enjoying her toys in her pen with the kids and then collapsing and having some more sleep. She sleeps a lot. Constant trips to the pen in the garden to let her wee! We have already started charging the clicker and will continue to do that all day today and then maybe start some clicker training tomorrow. Not sure if this helps anyone but hopefully it does. If anyone can help me add a picture in the posts that would be ace. cheers
Congratulations. You are on the right track. My advice is to stick to the crate. Make sure she is tired before putting her in and stay close. They all make some noise initially but if you stay close she will settle. Pippa has a few good articles on how to proberly crate train
So we had a good first 3 nights with Indy with us in our bedroom in her crate (locked) and then moved Indie to her crate in her pen in the kitchen last night. She seems to be settling really well during the day with the doors open so we decided to leave her crate doors open and some puppy pads in her pen if she needed a wee. After about ten mins of crying she went to sleep. I got woken this morning with Indie Howling and crying so when she had a pause i went to her and she had done a pooh and a wee which she had stepped in....doh! After cleaning her and the floor, i put her out for a wee in her outdoor pen and back to bed. I then left her. We had about 20 mins of crying and howling and then she settled again till 0630. Not sure if that is a success but it is better than i thought it would be. Will it last??? She is learning that crying is not getting her anywhere and we are rewarding her when quiet which seems to be working using the clicker. So all in all not too bad and today she met a very big dog in the shape of a horse and was very interested indeed...very sweet! We are working on the nose touch hand game and lots of other clicker work. She is a quick learner which is great as it is rewarding to see the progress. Still a few accidents in the kitchen but its getting less.
Hey Sounds like Indy didn't like having an accident in her pen and being dirty, this is a good thing as she wants to go outside. The crying will get less as she gets to understand being in the crate is sleep time and she will learn that crying will earn her nothing. Its lovely watching them met other animals and seeing them try to process it!
