Re: Sleeping in crate toniight You did really well! Pongo made a mess his first night too - I think he was just so very, very, very excited / stressed about his change of home. By tonight your lovely girl will be 12 hours more comfortable with her new life, and 12 hours more in love with you. Stick with it and it will all be fine. Enjoy the puppy days, in a few weeks you'll have a teenager on your hands!
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight My experience so far with Albert (11 weeks). We put the crate in our room for the first 4 nights. Whenever he fell asleep during the day I put him in it so he woke up in it. When I put him to bed in it at night I sat by the crate till he fell asleep. No crying at all. I set the alarm to get him up for a wee every 2 hours for the first week. (Hard work, but he's not dirtied his bed yet). 2nd week, with crate in the kitchen. I continued with putting him in when he fell asleep, but left the crate door open during the day and after 2 days he started to go to it by himself. I still sat by him at night till he fell asleep and extended the alarm to 3 hours. Week 3. I no longer sit by him, he goes into it to sleep all by himself 7 times out of 10, and if not I still put him in it to so he wakes up in there, and he is now sleeping from 11.00pm through till 5.00am up for a wee, then back to bed till around 6.45. We have had no accidents either in the house or in his crate since we got him at 8 weeks, but I took him to the garden every half hour at first, and still take him every hour or so. It is still very early days for us, but it is working so far, with no major trauma. We did buy an XL crate, but have divided it up to make it cosy for him, and also covered the top and sides with a big old blanket. Good luck.
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight That sounds almost stress-free. I have also bought a large crate and need to divide it for when my pup arrives. I haven't bought a divider, how did you do it? Good luck to Maisie tonight
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight Its funny as all pups are different. I had have ones in the past that have cried those first nights. Our current turbo pup went in first night not a peep and we have had her 3 weeks now and still not a peep. She will only cry if she needs a wee/poo. I did put a towel in there that had her family smell on it. She always goes in when she needs a nap and we leave the door open. For those with new pups on the way, keep an open mind as they all adjust differently. Best of luck to all p.s she slept through last night and I am soooo cuffed .
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight teapot57 - it sounds like all our hard work is paying off! ;D Maisie is not keen on her crate! I leave it open all day and drop a treat in every so often. She only goes in the crate to see if there is something to eat : If she falls asleep I put her in the crate, she then wakes as soon as I move her, hops out and goes back to the nice cosy place she found before!!
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight Good morning Jane! Well, we put a very sleepy puppy to bed at 10.30pm and she raised the roof for an hour. OH took her out for a wee at 12, then cried again for 1 hour. Heard her at 2am so whisked her outside, wee straight away (hurrah!) and back to bed. Same performance and I'm not sure what time she stopped complaining as I couldn't stay awake any longer! : Nothing til 5am, same routine but eventually slept until 6.45am. No mess in the crate - hurrah!
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight Sounds like hard work but at least she was clean. I have a friend, also called Debbs, who brought home her puppy yesterday and she is having a similar time. She sits with her pup until he goes off to sleep. But your little one doesn't sound so keen on the crate. How about a puppy kong in there when she is wide awake and leave the door open? As Nickie, on her thread, said - you'll be the expert soon and we'll be coming to you with our first nights' stuff :-\ Anyway, well done you
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight Good idea Jane, I'll try one later. I've just done a peanut butter one ready to try out! Not sure how much you should put in though! (God, I feel like I don't know anything!!).
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight You'll be fine It's early days yet. You should start a journal with pics (if you have the time), it'll be fun to look back on!
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight [quote author=Debs link=topic=5603.msg71287#msg71287 date=1398582781] Good idea Jane, I'll try one later. I've just done a peanut butter one ready to try out! Not sure how much you should put in though! (God, I feel like I don't know anything!!). [/quote] Not too much! Puppy will get a runny tummy! I put soaked kibble with a small 'plug' of cream cheese or peanut butter - then freeze
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight Thanks Mags, think I may have put too much in! : Keeping a journal Jane, is a great idea! I often wish I had some that with my kids!!
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight Hi Debs, Well done, Sounds like you a had a slightly better night! Our last lab Bella was an absolute nightmare when we got her as a pup that by 3am on the first night she was in bed with mummy and slept like a baby! Not so bad when they are so little but not when they are 30kg and trying to share your pillow- making a rod for my back springs to mind! I WILL be stronger this time, but I am thinking of sleeping downstairs for the first few nights to try and settle her. I think a well deserved afternoon nap is in store for you today.
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight So exciting for you all Remember, just like babies, if you always let them fell asleep when being cuddled, they won't learn to "self-soothe" so quickly. I must admit I am more an advocate of the *leave them to cry and don't let them out until quiet* camp, rather than the *click and treat for every small step into the crate* camp. I was a bit fan of a Kong in the crate approach - Lilly couldn't wait! Feeding pup in the crate also teaches a good association. You are all doing good though!
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight [quote author=Jane Martin link=topic=5603.msg71210#msg71210 date=1398543119] That sounds almost stress-free. I have also bought a large crate and need to divide it for when my pup arrives. I haven't bought a divider, how did you do it? Good luck to Maisie tonight [/quote] At first I put some big boxes in one half and then a large piece of very stiff cardboard in front of those so he couldn't see them. But that didn't work for long as he was jumping up and knocking it down! So I bought a divider from pet planet for about £6.00. It wasn't specific to my crate as I have an Ellie bo one and they don't do dividers, but it is roughly the size I needed and works brilliantly with a couple of cable ties. I also remove his collar everytime he's in there as I've read horrid reports of collars getting caught in the crate! It has been pretty stress free so far, even changing his food to a completely grain free one had no effect on his tummy, although I have done this over a two week period. I'm loving it especially now we are allowed out into the world. Will post some "first weekend out" pics soon. Good luck with your new arrival. Jan
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight Oh and I forgot to mention that he had a blanket from his litter for the first few nights. When I put the crate in the kitchen on night 5 I removed it and put in a couple of T-shirts of ours that we had been wearing that day instead. They are still there! Jan
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight I was going to do the cardboard box divider, then it occurred to me that she might shred it. A bought divider seems cheap. Thanks teapot57!
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight A little bit of success Although I have been up since 5am , when I put Maisie in her crate last night she only protested for about half an hour and not as loud or upset as before. A quick 2am garden visit and then back to bed, same protesting again, but only for about 10 mins. Made the mistake of going down to her at 5am thinking she would need to go out, she was WIDE AWAKE but quiet, and by 5.30am it was quite clear by the racket she was making that sleeping til 6 or later was not happening! However, today, I have been putting her in her crate when she falls asleep either on me or on the floor and she has been staying there and no crying. She's been in there quite a few times today quite happily (yet to take herself in there though). So maybe, after a tough few days, things are beginning to look better with her wanting to be in the crate! ;D Thank you for all your help, suggestions and advice, it really does help! ;D ;D By the way, anybody else have a lab that doesn't like peanut butter?!
Re: Sleeping in crate toniight So glad she is getting better in her crate. Harley took a few weeks to get used to her crate but would be awake before 7am every day. She now sleeps upstairs with us and sleeps until 10am on a regular basis
