Hello, I wonder if anyone can help? 4 days ago we re-homed our 5 month old boy puppy. He is generally very relaxed, but has been used to sleeping upstairs with his previous owners. I would like to train him to sleep downstairs, and my husband and I have been taking turns at sleeping near him, us on the sofa, our dog in his bed. We’re just not sure how we can actually leave him successfully as he scratches at the door when he’s left. Any ideas?
Hi Emma, welcome to the forum! Congratulations on your Labrador Its great that you've been letting him stay close to you overnight - this is exactly what he needs to feel settled, safe and confident in his new home! Teaching him to sleep alone downstairs is going to be totally possible, but my suggestion is not to try and rush into it. Four days is very brief in terms of time to settle in, and assuming his previous owners weren't also his breeder, then that's a lot of upheaval in such a short life too. Sleeping alone will come more readily when he feels completely confident and secure in your home, and reaching that point just takes time. You might find that crate training helps - so that he has a 'happy place' he's confident being left alone in overnight. We've got a guide to crate training on our main site, here (disregard the bits which apply to very young puppies, like using a crate as part of potty training). Good luck and let us know how you get on!
