Hi everyone, We brought our black lab pup home last week and he's now 9 weeks old. Overall things have been going well. He settled at night after a few nights of crying, generally comes whenever we call him, and especially enjoys eating sticks and snails I the garden. However we were having some problems with him getting way over excited and then jumpy and painfully bitey. I know lab pups are like this sometimes, but it was like he didn't have a way to calm down. We realised he hadn't been sleeping as much as we had read puppies of this age generally slept. Today, after he's been playing, we've been popping him in his crate. He then usually drops off to sleep for an hour or so and then we get him out and take him to the toilet. I am now (typical first time puppy owner here) worried we're putting him in the crate too much! He's only in there for 90 minutes of sleep at the most during the day, and his crate is directly in our sight all the time. Should I worry about this? It does seem to have made him a bit more chilled today. Thanks!
I've never used a crate, nor have I had a puppy(!) but I think popping him in his crate for a sleep after play would be just fine. Puppies do get bitey and hyper when they're tired.
I don't think you need to worry, when Cassie now 2, was a puppy it was the first time I'd used a crate, I had it in the kitchen, which meant that she could go in there when necessary to rest/sleep/ give us some space and yet was not separated from us, I liked it that way. She's perfectly fine as an adult!
You are absolutely right in popping your puppy in his crate after short play/training sessions. I would just make sure puppy has a quick wee first. I remember it feeling like the puppy was in the crate for a long time, but that's perfectly normal, as long as you have paired the crate with the BEST place to be first. They do need to sleep at lot, and the crate also helps them get used to you not being around all the time, ie: under your feet! Here is a good link re: puppy and crates https://www.thelabradorsite.com/crate-training-your-labrador-puppy/
Hi Ruth, that article Kate linked to has a chart with suggested maximum crate times in. It doesn't sound as though you are leaving him too long over the day as a whole, especially as he is near you. Breaking crate times up into shorter stretches might be a good idea. Here is a post on over-excited pups. And dont forget he also need to learn to be alone for short periods of time too.
