Hi, my husband and I are getting a black lab on 16 June. She will be 9 weeks old when we get her and we are going to call her Lexi. We are really excited! We live in Leeds in the UK and we are getting her from a breeder based near York. I’ve done lots of reading (including the Happy Puppy) and pretty much everyone seems to recommend having your puppy in a box or crate next to your bed for the first few nights to help them settle and so you can hear them crying if they need the toilet. However, long term we intend to crate her overnight in the kitchen. We are therefore worried about transitioning her downstairs afterwards, about carrying her down two flights of stairs twice a night when she needs the toilet and also because it tends to be quite warm in our room because we are two floors up. We have considered sleeping on a mattress in the adjoining living room as a compromise but having asked the breeder for her thoughts she suggested that we start as we mean to go on (i.e. crate her in the kitchen and we sleep upstairs). She did say that she may cry but, as long as we don’t reinforce the crying, she will stop in a few days. I would be grateful for anyone’s advice or experiences of dealing with this issue. Thank you.
They are all different. When I get a new pup I have arrangements to sleep downstairs if needed but, touch wood, it hasn’t happened yet. I sit by the crate until the pup has dosed off then go upstairs leaving all the doors open so that I can hear them. Any night time interaction is very low key, no talking, no lights, just a quick out and back. Then I do the same again, stay by the crate (even if they are shouting) till they settle again. I can stand puppy crying if I am by the crate and can see that they are OK, I simply can’t bear it if I can’t see them. And welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Keir from Manchester UK Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's five years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German. Keir is my sixth Guide Dog puppy, a yellow Golden Retriever/Flatcoat cross and he's twelve months old.
Hello and welcome neighbour, we are in Harrogate . I have had 5 dogs over the years and all have loved their crates. They are all different and all owners are different, so you need to do what suits you and your pup. All mine have started off in the crate downstairs and have settled pretty quickly. I heard them cry for wees etc. I think even years ago we borrowed a baby monitor to hear them. Meg loved her crate, I think she was gutted when I took it down, she still sleeps where it was. Good luck with your pup, please post some pictures when she arrives.
I prefer to sleep by them until they settle. I’ve not had any of my puppies in my room the first few nights, but I have stayed with them until they settled. The only thing I would query is the not reinforcing the crying. I think that’s quite outdated advice. Puppies will be lonely and scared after being taken away from everything they know and suddenly being alone for the first time in their lives. I think it’s part of our responsibility to offer them comfort in those first few nights. They will also cry when they need to toilet; ignoring this will cause unnecessary distress. Make sure that you’re boring in your interactions overnight; I don’t talk to or play with my pups once I’ve told them “time for bed”, but I will sit with them and provide comfort from my proximity if that’s needed.
I'm 50-50 with the startas you mean to go on thing. With my puppy the same as I was with my children.....I mean, I didn't want s 5yo child sharing a bedroom with me but I put my baby in his moses basket next to my bed when we brough him home from hospital, yk? I dont think it's a philosophy that can be applied to every situation. We started by sleeping on the living room floor (me on floor on a mattress, my husband on the sofa). We didn't crate our puppy, he was free to roam. He never went further than a few feet away from us. After about two weeks he slept overnight in the kitchen with a baby gate. We got him used to it in the day for naps and then just popped him in there one night. Sometimes sliw and gentle adjustments can be the way to go - depends on your own style and what suits your dog. Our breeder gave us lots of suggestions that we chose not to follow, just like how I ignored the midwives who told me to let my 6 month old cry it out.... you have to do what feels right for YOU and what suits your puppy best. You might have a pup who is relaxed and flexible or you might have one a bit more shy and nervous. There's not a one size fits all "best." Good luck and enjoy the early days!! I know it's off topic but it always makes me smile when I see that.... I think "just how BIG is this dog?!!!!" Dogs, cats and other small mammals have "Pfoten" in German (singular "Pfote"). Only bears have "Tatzen" - it's more like "giant claw." Big cats, like lions, have "Pranken" although sometimes people use Tatzen for tigers, "die Tigertatze".... but a dog with "die Tatzen" makes me think he must be a beast of a Lab
@Kobe said - I know! She’s named after a German Guide Dog - who belongs to a friend of my son’s. My son lives in Heidelberg and his German is fluent to C2. I’ve just started learning on italki - I’ll get there eventually
Thank you for all your comments! @snowbunny I never thought about staying with her until she settled but that sounds like a good idea. I will just have to see how she is when we get her. Pictures will follow! Thank you.
As has been said, it's not one size fits all. My pup was in the kitchen behind a baby gate in a crate from the start, but I left the crate unlocked, put newspaper on the kitchen floor just outside the crate and by the back door. I didn't go down at night or sleep near her but she was able to leave the crate when she needed to wee/poo. She only cried twice, briefly, on the second night. There is a view that not taking them out at night to wee/poo delays toilet training but that wasn't my experience. Do what you think suits you and your pup.
Hi @Merissa89 , welcome to the Forum. How exciting for you to be getting a puppy, I love the name Lexi. Like @Plum's mum, my puppy, Cassie, who is now 2, was downstairs in a puppy proofed kitchen with the crate door opened, this was once she was able to settle at night. I just cleaned up in the morning, starting by getting up at 6 and gradually getting later. By 12 weeks she was clean and dry overnight.
Our Honey is 10 weeks old and we've started straight as we mean to go on (crate in kitchen), she has been crate trained though. Had a quiet night last night. Same with out children, first one we let him sleep in out bed when he cried and he was still coming in at 4 years old (11 now), with my daughter we took a slightly harder approach and she was sleeping through in her own bed from 2 years old or less.
Hi and welcome from me and 4 year old girl, Harley. As people have said above, all pups are different. Harley hated her crate and no matter what I did (sleep next to the crate, feed all her meals in there, throw treats in randomly) she hated it and constantly whined and barked. After nearly 2 weeks of trying, I gave up and brought her upstairs and put her bed on the floor next to me. Amazingly, she slept from 11pm-9am without waking up. A week or so later she ended up on our bed and has stayed there ever since. If she too hot she will go and lie on the landing where her cool mat is. I’m not saying my way is the right way, but it’s worth keeping your mind open to alternatives. Look forward to hearing about Lexi.
