Your puppy’s first night at home. It’s definitely exciting…It’s definitely fun…Here are some things to think about before your puppy arrives at your home.
It’s been just about a year since I brought Stetson home from Guide Dogs of America. It made me think of our wonderful first meeting in Sylmar, CA and also the countless nights without sleep for the following four weeks. Guide Dogs of America does not leave you empty handed. They give you a guide on what to expect and what you should do during those first few days and nights. These steps aren’t only for guide dogs and can be followed by anyone bringing home a puppy for the first time.
Everything’s New…Everything’s a First
Much of this is taken from my GDA handbook some of it paraphrased with some of my comments mashed in between.
First things first…We are informed that up to this point your puppy has been with his mother and his littermates in a sterile environment. It’s advised that your puppy’s first week at home should be a quiet one. The puppy should be allowed to explore and meet his new family. You should now start teaching the puppy his name (amazing because, now Stetson knows his name like the back of his paw). When you first arrive home give your puppy a chance to relieve itself in an area you have designated for that purpose (Stetson’s designated spot was in the dirt area on my patio).
Take your puppy out on leash (without his bib on) — GDA puppy’s in training are never allowed to “Get Busy” with their bib/jacket on — and repeat “Get Busy” (Remember this may be the first time your puppy has heard these words). Allow your puppy 10-15 minutes, if he hasn’t relieved, take him inside. Try again in 10 minutes. If the puppy does relieve itself in the proper area, give him lots of praise. Then let him explore the house (remember to supervise – don’t let him out of your sight). Afterwards your may take it inside, but remember to supervise the puppy; do not let it out of your sight. Talk to the puppy when it explores to make it feel more at home.
Puppy’s First Night At Home
If you’ve raised a puppy before then you probably know this is where the real fun begins.
From the GDA handbook:
The first few nights at home may be difficult for both you and your pup. At night the puppy will feel lonely and will probably demonstrate this by whining (Oh, you betcha!). These are a few things that you can do that might make the puppy feel at home.
- Your puppy’s sleeping quarters should be in a small crate. – I had a large crate with a partion and put a blanket over it to make it seem more cozy.
- Keep the crate in a draft free area next to your bed. For approximately the first three weeks, if your puppy cries, take him out, on leash to relieving area. After relieving put him back into his crate. Do not give him any treats or any play time. Put him right back into his crate and he should go back to sleep.
- Give the puppy a stuffed dog toy to snuggle with. – I was told to bring a toy with me to GDA when we met the litter and get each of Stetson’s littermates scent on the toy. Then when it was time to crate Stetson for the first night he could snuggle with the toy and smell his littermate’s scent.
- Under no circumstances take the puppy to bed with you. This will form a very undesirable habit. - trust me…it’s difficult to avoid doing when your puppy is whining all night, but it’s very important to leave him in his crate.
Puppy’s First Feeding
This will be your puppy’s first meal by himself. Once your puppy’s food is prepared, you will start having your puppy sit and wait for his food. Hold your puppy by his collar by slipping your thumb in his collar and set his food about two feet away. As soon as he stops wiggling, say the words “O.K.” and release your puppy. This should be done at every meal throughout training.
My Experiences With My Puppy
At Stetson’s puppy kindergarten I was always reminded that every puppy is different. Even within a breed. There are several people in our group who have raised 10 or more Labrador Retrievers in the Guide Dogs of America program and each one is different.
My experience with Stetson was very difficult in the early days and weeks. I had no problem with Stetson when I first got him home. I already knew about the trials and tribulations with house training and crate training. Puppy’s tend to piddle about every 10 to 20 minutes. You have to watch them like a hawk or they will end up using your house as their personal restroom. Stetson had some accidents here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The agony came in the evening. Stetson did NOT take to the crate! He whined, and howled, and cried, and barked…probably made every noise he could possibly produce, but would not relax and go to sleep. He did sleep once in a while. During those first 4 weeks the most sleep I got was approximately 6 hours, broken up 3 or 4 times a night by whining, howling, barking…you get the picture. I was a wreck and I thought Stetson would never get used to his crate. The only way I was able to get him to sleep was to talk to him for 5-10 minutes, telling him what a “good boy” he was when he wasn’t crying (if he did cry I would just keep silent tell he stopped). To try and quiet him down I’d either say “quiet” or “Shhh”.
I have two words for you – consistent and patient. After about 4 weeks of consistently sticking to my guns, not letting him out of his crate, and praising him when he was quiet Stetson suddenly stopped making noise in his crate. He’d let me sleep through the night and I thought I’d reached bliss.
I’m constantly reminded that I need to be consistent with Stetson’s training and patient. In the long run it pays off. Stetson has not barked, howled, or whined in months. In a matter a fact I can only recall him barking one time in the past 1/2 year (he barked because he was trying to get my attention to go outside). I actually think it’s kind of unusual that he doesn’t bark at all anymore, but it gives me more peace and quiet.
What experiences do you have with your puppy’s first night at home? Was it miserable? Did you get any sleep?
Related posts:
I haven’t got my puppy get, but I do tomorrow. I am thankful for this website. My friends told me “I let my dog on the bed, and now she growls if my boyfriend tries to get in too.” So thank you so much
@Laura, thanks for the comment. I’m glad some of the information on our little website is helping you out. Please let me know if there’ anything in particular you’d like to read about.
What kind of puppy are you picking up? Are you a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs of America?
I am picking up a beagle/doberman mix, and no I am not, but, I am hoping to be within a few years. Thank you for all of your help though, it really is helping.
@Laura, good luck with your beagle/doberman mix. Be prepared for very little sleep your first few nights with your puppy. Stetson used to wake up several times a night when I first brought him home.
Did you get a chance to read this article?
The Scent of the Litter
Basically, I was told to bring a toy with me and rub it against Stetson’s litter mates. When it was bedtime I would put Stetson in his crate with the toy. The scent of the litter on the toy helped Stetson feel more at home when it was time to go to sleep.
Yes, I did read it thanks. We actually were able to take a toy home with us, and she did very well throughout the night. She woke up at 5:30 and started howling. When I pick her up, sometimes she has a tendency to growl, and I am really worried about that. But overall she is a great puppy.
@Laura, sleeping till 5:30 is not too bad. I’m sure she’ll start sleeping in later as she gets used to your home. How did she do this past week?
Guide dogs of America teaches us to try and handle our puppies as much as possible. That includes cradling them and handling their feet, nails, ears, and mouth. I would do this at least three times a day with Stetson when he was very young. At first your puppy will struggle to get out of the cradle position (we put them on their back and between our legs), but over time they become comfortable and will just lie in place. It helps when you have to cut your dogs nails, brush her coat, or brush her teeth. Over time handling your puppy this way may solve the growling problem.
Another possibility is she may have a tender spot on her body that may need to be checked by your veterinarian.
I hope everything is going well with your new puppy.
Hello:) I just rescued a 2 year old chihuahua I’ve had her for 4 days ,she seems to be a really nice dog but when people start playing with her she starts biting them, not so hard but I still don’t like that. She is also not eating the food I got her, and I’m worried now, I am walking her everyday for 30 minutes any tips would be greatly appreciated
@adriana, some dogs are picky eaters you might try some different foods with her. Also, if you think there’s a problem you might want to bring her in for a vet checkup. When my pups bight I’ve used Bitter Apple Spray to try and deter their biting. Most dogs do not like the taste of the spray and eventually stop biting or chewing on people’s hands. Thanks for adopting from a rescue and good luck with your new dog.
I don’t raise guide dogs but we just got a puppy, already having an adult dog, but we’re so new at this. just wanted to thank you for the article. I found it very helpful. We were planning to leave her outside with our older dog, but instead we assigned a kid to keep her by their bed in the crate. She did really well, whining for a little while but then sleeping 6 hours through. Thanks for the tips.
@Josi, I’m glad you found the article helpful. Puppies can be a lot of work I hope everything is going well with your new addition to the family. I saw the picture of your puppy on your blog. He’s adorable! What breed is he?
Crate training is a great way to house train your puppy. It sounds like your puppy is taking to the crate very nicely. Let me know if you have any other questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Just an update to let you know Jasmine is doing great, besides still waking up early still. Her growling has stopped and I am handling her everyday around her ears, mouth, etc etc.
Thanks so much
@Laura, I’m glad Jasmine is doing great.
I’ll be raising a new puppy soon too. Just the other day I was asked to raise another Guide Dog puppy. I’m going to write a short post on my blog later today.
Thanks for this thorough description of puppy’s first night / weeks home. We are pondering raising a puppy in training, and at the moment I am looking around for more information and first person experiences before making a decision.
Very helpful!
Karen
@Karen, If you have any questions regarding puppy raising please send me an email at ckmorita at gmail dot com.
It’s a great experience raising a guide dog puppy in training. You get to do all kinds of fun things with your puppy including go to restaurants and movies…I even took Stetson to Disneyland! It’s also very time consuming, but I’d say not much more than raising your own puppy. I’m now raising my second puppy and often write about the things we do together here on my blog.
I listed some of my fellow puppy in training bloggers in this post:
Fellow GDA Bloggers
Again if you have any questions send me an email.
Hi I just got a German Shepard puppy 2 months old, his first day is going well, just a little bit of whinning but that’s to be expected, i appreciate the advice on the first few weeks. I am planning on leaving him outside tonight, hope that he won’t keep the neighbours up too much.
@Tyler, he sounds a little young to stay outside alone. How did he do on his first night?
I keep my puppy’s in the crate next to my bed on their first night at home. It’s usually a fairly traumatic experience for puppies on their first night away from their litter mates.
I hope all is going well with your new German Shepherd puppy. Let me know if you have any questions.
His first night was good he didnt make too much noise and went to sleep after not long at all. The second night however he went to sleep as normal and around 3:30 he started howling and whimpering, so i went outside to find he had started chewing our clothes off the line, i spent the rest of the night outside with him at that point i was too tired to care. I’ve removed all things for him to chew or knock over so hopefully he will try and relax tonight. He seemed alot more calm and relax this afternoon
@Tyler, my last three puppies have been raised indoors and two out of three would whimper, bark, howl for at least the first month even though they were sleeping in the crate right next to my bed. It would take me anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes to calm them down.
The good thing is today all three dogs are content to just sleep in their crate until I let them out in the morning. I’m actually only strict about the crate with the current puppy (5 months old) I’m raising to be a guide dog. The other two usually just sleep on the floor beside my bed.
Yeah i expected as much, he’s getting better every night, which is a good thing. He only started at about 6:00 this morning so yeah im proud of him getting used to his new home so quickly. He’s just goes a little crazy for the first 5-10 mins when we see him, but soon after calms down
@Tyler, I’m glad to hear that your little German Shepherd is doing so well on his first few nights alone.
Let me know if you have any questions and best of luck with his training!
Thank you for your comments and information. I came upon your website at 2:00 in the morning, after trying to get my puppy to calm down and sleep the second night we had him home. The first night he was great, slept in two 4 hour increments and whined when he needed to relieve himself. The second day he had vaccinations and had thrown-up his dinner at about 7:00. From 7:00 till 2:00 am he was a very anxious. He howled and whined, when in his crate, but after using your verbal suggestions to soothe and correct him he fell asleep. Hooray!!! I think tonight will be easier.
@Lisa, how’s your puppy doing? I’m glad my suggestions helped you the other night. All three of my puppies reacted differently during crate training. If you have any other questions please let me know.
Thank you so much for this information! We have a 8 month old puppy we got at 14 weeks old who did not have any problems with crate training. He made absolutely no noise and we always let him out once during the night the first few weeks to avoid accidents. This past weekend we added another puppy to our house except this one is only 8 weeks and did not take to the crate as nicely as the other. This information will definitely help. Thanks!
@Jacquie, good luck with your new puppy. I hope some of the information from the article helps. Let me know if you have any questions. By the way, I’ve been thinking about writing a follow up article with more tips on “Puppy’s First Few Nights At Home”. I’ll probably get something up in the next week. I’ll probably add a link somewhere in the comments on this post, but just in case you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed.
Once again good luck and I hope you’re getting some sleep.
Thank you for posting this!! I brought home a 4 month old Siberian Husky from a previous owner that didn’t have time to care for her anymore. The thing is… my husky used to sleep by the bed of the previous owner and I don’t want her upstairs or in my room so I’ve been trying to crate train her. We were making progress for the first few days, but now she absolutely refuses to go in. I think cuz she knows she’ll be holed up all night long. Any advice on how I can get her to like the crate again? Help! I’m scared to leave her out in the open at night even though she is a generally well behaved dog (no barking, minimal chewing…)
@Angela, sorry for the late response…from what I’ve read and experienced you want to make everything involving the crate and your puppy a positive experience. My dogs love food so I used to always feed them in their crate. I give them treats when they go in their crate during the day.
I have some other things that might be helpful that I’m putting into a full article. I should have that up on the website in the next day or two.
Because I want our dog to be a companion for my husband, who works late at night at home, I will be crating her away from the rest of us, with him in his office. She will be alone in her crate for about four hours each night after my husband goes to bed(2pm until 6:30 am when i get up) –except for the first few nights/weeks. I will sleep on the sofa in the office until her bladder can handle the longer stretch. Do you think this is suitable?
@Dana, how is your puppy doing? That sounds like a suitable arrangement to me. However, every puppy is different and she may become lonely on her own. As I mentioned in the article Stetson wasn’t all that happy in his crate even sleeping near my bed.
I’d try the arrangement you mentioned and hopefully all goes well. If you’re having any issues getting your puppy to sleep then check out this article I just posted on tips for crate training puppies. Of course you can always leave a comment here and either Ihttp://puppyintraining.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php#comments-form or one of the other readers will do what we can to resolve any problems.
Best of luck with your new puppy!
ps- she is 9 weeks old.
Thanks!
Hi. Thanks for this site. We are getting a new puppy in a few weeks (flatcoat retriever). Although I taught three babies to sleep through the night, I’ve never trained a puppy. She’ll be 13 weeks. I’ve read that we should leash her to our bed next to a comfy dog bed at first while we get her used to the crate during the day. (The breeder does NOT crate train). But you suggest putting her in the crate from the beginning. I’d be interested in your thoughts as to the benefits of sleeping in the crate from the get-go vs. other methods…. Thanks again.
@Tammy, how exciting! I’d love to see a picture when your puppy arrives. We usually get our puppies at 7-8 weeks. At 13 weeks your puppy will have much better bladder control and hopefully let you sleep through the night. As you mention we always crate train from the beginning. We’ve never tried leashing our puppies to our bed next to a comfy dog bed. My only concern would be that your puppy might choose to sleep on one spot and pee on another. I know this can be a problem if a crate is too large for a puppy – they will sleep on one side and use the other side as the bathroom. If this is not a problem then I don’t think there would be any advantage to crate training from day 1 versus a slower approach as you mention.
If you decide to leash your dog to the bed I’d love to hear the results and how everything goes. By the way, some dogs will take to the crate immediately. My most recent puppy, Derby had almost no problem adjusting to the crate.
Good luck with your new puppy and let me know how everything goes.
allright i am 11 years old and i get my first dog tommorow she is a cockapoo and will be 4 weeks old? maby 7 um my sister is bringing her home from collage she just brought her today her name is nala and i wanna give her a good home cuz she waz 500 bucks and she is adorable and only three pounds she ll only grow to be 10 pounds maximam and my mom does not want her she says if she pees-poops on the floor 1 time shes in the pound so i know u have to train them but i need to no how to fast cuz shes comin tomorrow please just rite some quick tips i dnt know if i should crate train her or what im clueless
please respond fast cuz i really wanna keep this dog pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee thanx you rock
@Molly,
I’ve always crate trained my puppies. There are several articles about crate training on this site. You (and your mother) have to understand that if your puppy is 4 or even 7 weeks old she will most likely have an accident in the house at one time or another. When a puppy is that young she does not have complete control over her bladder yet.
A few hints:
Eventually your puppy will learn that she’s supposed to go potty outside. Some puppies learn quickly while others can take a while.
I guess the key is to try and take your puppy outside to the same spot and try and get her to potty as much as possible.
Best of luck with your new puppy. Let me know how everything goes for you and send some pictures…we love seeing cute little puppy pics.
thanx so much how do you send a pic?
wat about wen i go to school how long can i leave her alone in the crate my mom works till 3 and i get back from school at 4
p.s have a really great easter he has risen
@Molly,
If your puppy is very young you really don’t want to leave her in the crate long at all. The formula I’ve heard is 1 hour plus an hour for however many months old she is. So if your puppy is 2 months old you really don’t want to leave her alone in her crate more than three hours in a row. This is a rough estimate and you may need to shorten up the length of time you leave her alone in the crate. Of course at night your puppy can often times stay in the crate much longer…unless you have a puppy like Stetson who woke up about every two hours and cried, howled, and barked (hopefully yours isn’t like him).
If you want to successfully house train your puppy you don’t want her to have any accidents in her crate.
Since you have school and your mother has work is there anyone who can watch your puppy during the day? or maybe a puppy sitter who could come over a couple times a day and exercise and relieve your puppy. If not one alternative would be to get an X-Pen and put the crate inside of it with some puppy pads. This is not the ideal situation if your trying to teach your puppy to go outside, but it should keep the puppy’s crate clean and give her a place to potty away from her crate.
I have an X-Pen that like this one:
Exercise Pen
I use that X-Pen when I foster puppies.
I think tonight is your first night with your new puppy so hopefully she sleeps well through the night. Good luck!
By the way, you can send pics straight to my email at ckmorita@puppyintraining.com
I’ve had Nelson ( a 9 week old Lab) for a week now. He slept the first couple of nights in a dog bed in the kitchen then I moved him into a doggie beanbag bed in the laundry which has outdoor access so he can come and go as he pleases. Having read some of the comments, I’m concerned I’ve put him outside too soon? He does sleep through the night though. The worst night I’ve had is when he woke around 3am (having gone to bed about 9.30pm) and barked and whined for a few minutes then slept til 8am. Is he lulling me into a false sense of security or is he just a well adjusted, happy puppy?? (I’m hoping the latter!!)
hey its me again i just wanted you to know the puppys still not housebrocken!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i mean shes adorable and stuff but i dnt feel like cleaning up her crap al the time
@Susan, it sounds like you have a well adjusted puppy. I was lucky with Derby he rarely cried in his crate at night. I was not so lucky with Linus and Stetson who both didn’t allow me to sleep for over a month.
@Molly, when I’m raising a puppy I don’t take my eye off of him/her. Some dogs take longer to figure out house training. Linus didn’t have accidents in the house after he was three months old. Derby had accidents in the house all the way until he was about nine months old. Can you tell me a little more? Do you usually catch her in the act? What do you usually do when you catch her? How often is she having accidents? Are you using a pet cleaning product like Natures Miracle to cleanup accidents? Regular cleaner doesn’t get the smell out completely and puppies will often keep going to the same spot.
i mean we usully watch her but she does it when im doing my homework or somthing member im only11 when i catch her i yell at her but i would never hit her and i grab her and put her outside and scream no lets just say she rarly goes outside no somtimes when its poop i just get it up and when its pee i use like lysol so thats wat im doing and i just dnt know wat else to do she kinda knows how to come and she can sit and shake but she cant go potty
@Molly, usually if you catch her in the act I’d try to startle her by clapping my hands and hopefully get her to stop in the middle. Pick her up and take her to her outside pee/poop spot. As soon as she starts peeing/pooping give her lots of praise to let her know she’s doing the right thing.
Try not to use her name negatively (yelling, telling her no..etc). You definitely want to get a something like nature’s miracle to cleanup the mess when she goes in the house. If you are only using Lysol your dog can probably still smell the urine and will often times think that it’s an appropriate place to pee
If you don’t already have one you should get a kennel. Anytime you’re not watching her she should be in the kennel. If she’s only a few months old you shouldn’t leave her in the kennel more than a couple hours.
Hi – my husband and I have found your blog to be very helpful as we’ve just adopted a 10 week old beagle….so…..freakin’…..cute.
I just want to make sure we’re on the right track…
We are both really good about preventing accidents from happening, taking the pup out frequently…but he has no interest in ever going outside by himself. Is he learning? Does it just “click” one day?
Thanks!
@Alexis, it sounds like you’re doing a great job with your puppy and at 10 weeks puppies sure are adorable. Regarding your question my last three puppies each responded differently to house training. I kept a close eye on all my puppies and did my best to prevent them from having accidents in the house.
Linus my Aussie mix figured it out in about 2 weeks. He was by far the quickest learner and I started letting him wonder the house on his own after his first month at home when he was about 12-14 weeks old (we’re not sure of his exact age because he was rescued from the shelter).
Stetson had accidents in the house until he was about six months old. I also have to control the amount of water Stetson drinks.
Derby had accidents in the house all the way until he was about 10 months old. He’s now 14 months old and I’m pretty sure he’s done having accidents in the house.
Also, they all have a different way of showing me they need to go outside. Linus will sit and wait at the door until I let him out. Stetson will pace back in forth from the door back to me and back to the door. Derby will sniff around the door until I let him out.
Hopefully that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Hi,
We just got a new 10 week labrador male. We are crate training. So far so good. The 3rd night he slept all night with the girls sleeping next to him. When we open the door we take him out immediately. He goes and the moment we bring him in the house, he pees and we watch him carefully. No luck. My 10 year old is doing great but exhausted. What do you think about PU House Training Wrappers? Any tips?
Also, the other night, he started to hump the girls. I was surprised since he is so young. He would not stop, so I put him in the crate carefully so he does not think the crate is punishment. We took him out after he calmed down. Any tips or advice?
Also, last night, the little guy got a little agressive with the biting and snapping at me and my 5 year old. I tried to give him a toy hoping it was just teething. He did not respond. So I put him into the crate until he calmed down. He came out calmed down but I do not want to get into the habit of using the crate when ever a problem comes up. I understand the crate is to be used to create a den for the dog. Any tips or advice.
Thank you.
hey its molly we didnt get to keep the dog my mom made us sell her
so thanks for this website though
@Molly, I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope you found her a good home. Raising a puppy is a very difficult task and requires a lot of time and patience. Please let us know if you have any questions in the future.
@Sofia, congratulations on your new dog. The best thing to do is to consult a professional trainer. That being said here are some suggestions from my past experiences:
First, I think you’re saying you take him outside and he pee’s. As soon as you bring him back into the house he pee’s again. My suggestion here is to give him more time outside. Young puppies often don’t have full control of their bladders yet and may not actually know whether or not they’re done peeing. Believe me…I’ve experienced the same problems with some of my puppies in the past.
A puppy as young as 10 weeks old will often need to be brought outside every 10 minutes or so when awake and playing. Even still you have to keep a close eye on him while he’s awake. Always remember to immediately take him outside right after he eats or wakes up. And as our old trainer used to say “Play makes pee”.
I’ve never used the PU Training Wrappers before. I visited their website and it doesn’t seem like the best way to train your puppy. My thoughts are if you allow your dog to just pee anywhere in the house are they actually learning anything whether or not they make a mess? Also, they seem like a messy product and your puppy will get dirty and smelly everytime he pees. The product seems better suited for an elderly dog that’s having trouble controlling his bladder. A puppy on the hand should and will learn over time as long as you remain consistent and persistent with his training.
Regarding the humping. It’s probably a dominance thing and something that puppies will often do. My suggestion is to pull him off by the collar and tell him “No” or “Off”.
You do want to try and avoid putting him in the crate when he’s done something wrong. He will start to think it’s punishment and the crate is a bad place to be. One thing we do when we first get our guide dog puppies is learn to “Belly Up” Basically we put them between our legs belly up and pet their stomach, legs, ears, check teeth, paws, and claws. This something we often use to calm our puppies. Usually you have to work on your belly up because your puppy will not initially be comfortable in this position. If you plan on using this do it in short intervals and don’t release your puppy unless he’s calm. If he’s jerking around wait until he stops before you let him go with an “Ok”
Puppies can get over excited when playing. If he’s playing to rough then stop playing with him…it sounds like that’s what you did. He’ll eventually start to understand that rough play is not allowed. By the way, diverting his teething in nipping with a toy as you mentioned is also a good way to divert his attention.
I hope these suggestions help a little bit. Good luck with your new puppy. The puppy years are definitely a difficult time. Always try to remember the keys to puppy raising: Persistent, Consistent, Insistent, and Patience.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thank you Colby. Very helpful advice regarding rubbing his belly. He does love it!
Willy is getting his second set of shots on Wednesday. Do you think he can go on a 1 day camping trip by Saturday? We’re concerned about fleas and ticks and we’re told that a kennel is not an option when he’s so young.
As soon as he has his shots we’re going to take him out. He’s going to be with us constantly. What kind of collar do you recommend when a pup is training?
@Sofia, once again I’d consult your veterinarian and dog trainer before taking your puppy on a camping trip
From what I’ve heard your puppy is okay to go out after his rabies vaccination (I think that’s around 16 weeks). You can check with your vet and see if your puppy is old enough for flea and tick medication (I think the minimum age is around 12 weeks).
As a guide dog puppy raiser we take our puppies everywhere starting from 7 weeks of age. However, we are very careful with where we allow our puppies to walk around and what dogs they can interact with. If your puppy is still very young then his immune system is not fully developed and he is much more susceptible to disease. If you take him camping with you then be very careful with him especially if there are other dogs around.
By the way, if you want to read a very good article on the differing points of view on early socialization then take a look a this article from the APDT: Selling Early Socialization
I’m happy to hear that you plan on taking him everywhere. it’s very important to socialize him at an early age. I’d stick with just a nylon flat collar until he’s at least 5 months old. Be careful if he’s pulling a lot because it does put a strain on his trachea. After 5 months if you’re interested in a different collar for training I’d consult a dog trainer.
I hope that helps and have fun on your camping trip.
Oh my thank you so much for your awesome info here at this site!
I just bought a toy poodle ( 7 weeks old ), and boy does it cry like mad when I leave him. Even with the toy, little couch, etc it just didn’t stop. I closed the door (kept him in laundry room downstairs), turned off the lights (around 9:30pm) and it stopped crying. Then in the middle of the night, it started crying again! Luckily its just stopped 10 minutes ago. I sure hope this will only be 1 night – I heard if you place a clock (with the tick tick sound) apparently it makes the puppy think its her mother’s heartbeat or something, is this true?
The problem I find is how do I make her go do her stuff on the designated newspaper areas? I tried the toilet-attractant liquid, but it still seems to wee everywhere. (I’ll def take him potty training soon!)
@Connor, congratulations on your new puppy. A puppy can definitely be a handful. Take a look at this article Crate Training Puppies. There are several tips that you might find helpful with your puppy’s training even if you’re not using a crate.
If you read through my articles then you’ll know that from my experience I’ve had two puppy’s who cried for 4+ weeks and didn’t allow me to sleep for more than 2 consecutive hour. Derby, my most recent puppy had very few problems sleeping through the night. So, I guess it just depends. Hopefully your toy poodle gets used to his surroundings and eventually stops crying. The clock with the ticking sounds like a good idea (though I have never tried it) and is something I would try to help soothe your puppy.
Regarding potty training: At 7 weeks of age your puppy probably doesn’t have full bladder control so even he may not know exactly when he has to pee. I crate train all my puppies rather than newspaper train, but I imagine the idea is similar. When my puppy is awake I take him outside to pee approximately every 10-20 minute. I take him outside right after he wakes up and after every meal. I also control the amount of water they drink before it’s time to go to bed. If you’re newspaper training then take your puppy to the newspaper to pee instead of outside.
Be patient with your puppy. Every time he pee’s on the newspaper give him lots of praise and eventually he’ll understand that he supposed to go there rather than on the carpet..etc. If you catch your puppy in the act of peeing in the wrong spot I usually clap my hands and say “No” then take him to his pee spot and give him lots of praise if he begins peeing at his designated spot.
Puppies vary a lot. My Australian Shepherd mix had very few accidents and was fully potty trained by the time he was about 12 weeks old. My two Labs continued to have minor accidents in the house all the way up until they were 10 months old.
Anytime your puppy has an accident in the house remember my favorite Puppy Training Tip.
I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions.
i realy like the tips
i just my puppy yesterday hes a shih tzu and . hes only 4 weeks old..
i have him sleeping next to me at night .. but then he starts crying and then i dont get enough sleep. Sometimes i feel so bad since he dont live with his mother no more .. but what should i do when he start crying?
Also What kind of food should he eat or what should he drink ?/
I give him milk awith a little bit of water in a bottle .. is that a good for him ??
Pleaseee Help meee!
@Jenny, Congratulations on your new puppy. The first thing I would do is have him checked by a veterinarian to make sure he doesn’t have any medical issues. I’d also get advice from your vet on what you should feed him. Also, if your puppy is fine medically and you continue to have problems I’d try consulting a local professional dog trainer.
I don’t have a lot of experience with puppies under 7 weeks. From what I understand it’s not a good idea to take a puppy away from it’s mother and litter mates before the 7 weeks.
However, we did foster German Shepherd puppies that were only 4 weeks old. We were instructed to feed them regular puppy kibble with a little bit of warm water to moisten the food. At about 8 weeks the puppies were fine eating regular puppy kibble. These puppies normally cried when they needed to go out or when they were hungry.
It can be a while before your puppy stops crying. My puppy Stetson cried every time he went to bed from the time I brought him home at about 7 weeks until he was about 12 weeks old. The thing that worked best for me was to praise him by saying “good boy” in a very happy tone whenever he was being quiet. Over time he got used to the fact that he was going to have to spend time alone.
As I’ve mentioned it can take a while for your puppy to get adjusted. I’ve heard of puppies crying every night for 2+ months. However, you can also end up with a puppy like my last one, Derby. He never had an issue going to sleep on his own at night.
Regarding what you should do with your puppy if he’s crying: If you know he’s not crying because it’s meal time, he has to go potty, or any medical issue then you should try waiting until he stops crying and give him praise anytime he’s behaving by not crying.
Best of luck with your new puppy.
our 1 year old shih-tzu ran away last night. We’ve only had him for 1 week. My sister was trying to let him out to potty and he bolted before she could hook him to the leash. We have distributed flyers, checked with neighbors, checked with animal control. Any advice? We really love him and want him back!
@Anita, I’m sorry to hear about your shih-tzu hopefully he finds his way home. I’d keep looking and checking with animal control. Also, one other thing I thought about was perhaps create a listing on Craigslist.com. I read somewhere that they get over 20 billion page views a month and I’m pretty sure a lost and found advertisement is free.
Me and my Wife just picked up our new puppy ealier than we thought, because the mom was starting to attack the pups, Our Pitbull puppy “Beefy” is only 5 weeks and a few days old. He crys whenever we put him down, and night time, as I know, is the funnest part. But he wont give in. He actually cried for 45 minutes earlier. Hes in a 30″ Cage, with a blanket over it and a pillow and one of my articles of clothing in it as well. I was wondering if you would have any advice as to how to get him to calm down, so he will actually go to sleep. Thank you
@Beefy, I had similar trouble with both Stetson and Linus. The 30″ crate might be too large for your puppy. The crate should be just big enough for Beefy to stand up and turn around. If it’s too large he may go to the bathroom on one side and sleep on the other. A smaller, more cozy environment also might help him sleep better.
I have a few suggestions that might help, but unfortunately none of these suggestions helped me when I was working with Stetson and Linus (except for the very last one). It took time, consistency, and patience. It was about 4-5 weeks before my dogs were comfortable in their crate. I’ve had other friends whose dogs have taken 8+ weeks before they were comfortable in their crate. On the flip side my last puppy, Derby only took a couple nights before he was sleeping through the night. Anyhow, here are a few suggestions:
1. Try playing with him to tire him out right before bedtime.
2. If the crates not near your bed, try putting it near your bed where he can see you.
3. Try sleeping on the floor next to the crate.
4. Feed him all his meals in his crate.
5. During the day when he falls asleep outside his crate try moving him into his crate. You can try this with the door open or closed.
6. If he’s in his crate and not crying give him lots of praise.
7. I’ve heard of heated toys and heart beat toys that simulate littermates. You might try purchasing one of those toys for your puppy:
Pet Stages Warming Soother
Petstages Heartbeat Pillow
8. The one that worked for me and Stetson – I was a wreck and I thought Stetson would never get used to his crate. The only way I was able to get him to sleep was to talk to him for 5-10 minutes, telling him what a “good boy” he was when he wasn’t crying (if he did cry I would just keep silent tell he stopped). To try and quiet him down I’d either say “quiet” or “Shhh”.
I tried all of those suggestions except for the two dog toys I mentioned in item 7. However, next time I have a crying puppy I will definitely try the heartbeat and heated dog toys.
I hope this helps and best of luck with your puppy.
I just picked up my new puppy yesturday and his first night was a bit rough i was up four times throughout the night as he doesnt like to be left by himself so i sit there till he falls asleep, is there any other things i can do to help him sleep a little better through the night? We also have another dog that is about 10months old and wont leave the puppy alone, he tends to try sit on him and claw at him alot, and of course the pup gets really scared is there anything i can do to make it easier for them to get along?
@Ellie, congratulations on your new puppy!
The first few nights can be rough or as in our case with Stetson the first month. Did you get a chance to see the suggestions in the comment directly above yours? If not take a look…also, I wrote another post on getting puppies used to their crate: Crate Training Puppies. Hopefully those suggestions help.
If your other puppy is scared of your older dog, I’d try to keep your older dog on leash when the two interact together that way you can control his behavior. Also, I would never leave the two together to play unsupervised until your puppy is a little older. After all your other dog is only 10 months and still a puppy himself and may not realize his own size yet. You don’t want to end up with any accidental injuries.
Good luck with your new puppy and hopefully he starts sleeping better at night.
.-= Colby´s last blog ..Search And Rescue Dog Training Demonstration =-.
I may be adopting a 6wk old lab mix tomorrow. I have a bloodhound i’ve raised since 12 wks who will be 2 in april so I definitely understand the whining at night. (plus the fact that she doesn’t know how to bark. she bays as loud as she can when she’s upset) But for the most part if I kept her kennel covered she did great. I’m a paramedic so sleeping through the night is optional haha. But i’m excited about the possible new addition and this article has helped. Thanks
@Elizabeth, did you end up getting the six week old lab mix? The whining at night is not too fun. We tried covering the kennel with both Linus, Stetson, and Derby. Two out of three of my puppies were able to grab the blanket and use it as a chew toy. So if anyone plans on covering their kennel be careful that your pup doesn’t grab the blanket.
I hope you’re having fun with your new puppy. When you have a moment let us know how you and your puppy are doing.
Hi Colby! Thank you so much for your website! It’s so helpful to be able to go to one website that has positive tips for fully enjoying our puppies! I am picking up my 6 wk old black lab puppy on Wednesday. I have been blessed in that I have been able to bond and play with her over the last week so I will be familiar to her when she gets to come home! I actually have two questions I hope that you can help me with…
My first question is how to introduce Ellie to our current dog. Our other dog, Betsy, is an 11 yr. old Border Collie mix that we rescued when she was young. She is a super sweet girl but wasn’t properly socialized before we rescued her and so it has been a struggle for us to try and reverse her tendency toward dog-aggression. Do you have any ideas for how to make the introduction of Ellie as smooth as possible?
And my other question is that I plan on crate training Ellie from the start, but am new to the whole process. Do you have a quick crash course on what I need to do/not do to make her transition to a crate as smooth as possible! I’ve read through your previous posts and they have been so helpful, but as I said, I am pretty much starting from ground zero in terms of my knowledge of how to crate train.
Again, thank you so much for this website and for reading through my ramblings! Any ideas or tips would be hugely appreciated! I am so excited to bring that little bundle of sunshine into our home!
@Chelsea, Sorry for the late response. I’ve been trying to get my taxes done this week. Congratulations on your new puppy. I hope your first day and night with him went well. Labrador Retrievers are our favorite. Stetson is a black lab and we picked him up when he was 7 weeks old.
I’m guessing you already made introductions with Betsy and your new puppy. Unfortunately, I’m by far not an expert with aggressive dogs. If you’re having difficulty with Betsy being aggressive with your puppy I’d
immediately bring a professional trainer into your house. A professional trainer can observe the interaction between your new puppy and Betsy and find the best way to handle the situation.
If you haven’t already made introductions a few things I’ve heard from others are:
1. Don’t make first introductions at home. Introduce your dogs at a neutral area.
2. Try first leaving your puppy in his kennel and allow Betsy to approach the kennel at her own pace. You can monitor her reaction to see if she’s receptive to the puppy.
3. When you let your puppy out of the kennel make sure Betsy has plenty of room to get away from the puppy if she wants to.
4. You might want to make introductions with both dogs on leash that way you can control their behavior.
As I mentioned I’m really the wrong person to talk to about aggressive dog behavior. I’d highly recommend bringing in an trainer who specializes in aggressive dogs if your having problems.
However, I do know a decent bit about crate training. Here are a couple articles I wrote on crate training:
http://puppyintraining.com/cra.....asy-steps/
http://puppyintraining.com/cra.....eful-tips/
If you have specific questions about crate training then please let us know.
I am so thankful for your article. Its 10:30 pm here and I was laying down listening to my new soft coated wheaten terrier cry and whine in her crate. So I grabed my phone and searched for a solution and this article popped up. I read it and got up and brought her crate into my room and next to my bed and after about 2 minutes she’s sound asleep. I guess she just didn’t want to be alone in the room. Thank you so much. Tonight is her first night in the crate. I’m worried about her soiling it. Its about twice her size but I bought the size I thought would be appropriate for her adult size but it doesn’t have a divider to make the space smaller. I don’t know what I should do?
@Selina, I hope you and your wheaten terrier are doing well.
If you can’t get access to a smaller crate I would try putting something inside the crate to make it smaller. A large pillow might work. However, one problem you may have with a pillow is your puppy might start chewing on it.
If you’re handy you might try building a little blockade out of wood.
You might try phoning all your friends with both cats and dogs. One of them may have a crate that you can borrow until your puppy is large enough for your big crate.
Hopefully all is going well with your crate training.
.-= Colby´s last blog ..Is My Dog Trying To Manipulate Me? =-.
Sorry it’s taken me so long to write back! Having a puppy this young is quite a bit like having a newborn baby! Lol!
Thankfully the introduction went really well with Ellie and Betsy. Betsy still isn’t thrilled by the whole idea of another dog, but she is tolerating it and Ellie has learned that she’s not much fun to play with so tends to leave Betsy alone. And those links you sent me were so helpful! Thanks so much!! Ellie is starting to really like being in her crate. She’s not to the point that she’ll walk into it on her own, but once we give her the “kennel up” command and put her in there, she will whine for 1-2 min. tops now before she quiets down!
If you don’t mind me asking you another question, how can we go about working with her to stop play biting and nipping. I have a chronic pain disorder, so her play bites are incredibly painful. I know that at this time she doesn’t completely understand that she is doing anything wrong, but while she’s still young I want to teach her that that is not an acceptable behavior. I’ve done some research and have tried holding her muzzle (fairly gently, not to hurt her) when she bites and using the words, “no bite” (she then thinks it’s a game to try and bite me as soon as I take my hand off); have tried the get up and leave the room technique (she just preoccupies herself with something else); and have tried to do the push her over like her mom would do to show her I’m the alpha (she just tries to bite me from her back or side). Do you know of any suggestions to try? Again, I know she’s not doing it out of viciousness or meanness, but don’t want to confuse her by the inconsistent, differing disciplines.
Thanks so much Colby!
.-= Chelsea´s last blog ..I’m Letting Go….. =-.
Thanks so much for this article. My girlfriend recently brought home a 5 week old puppy and a large box. The first night was horrible. The dog was screaming and crying nonstop. The second day we went out to her dad’s and got a small crate from him. That night I prepared the crate with a warm blanket and a stuffed toy for him. He slept almost the entire night without making as much as a peep. When he did I took him out, and the rest of the night we were able to sleep. A complete night and day difference. If I leave the crate open and he’s on the floor, he sometimes just gets in it and sleeps himself. Thanks for the advice.
.-= Dre´s last blog ..- Tusken Aspirations 2 - =-.
@Chelsea, I saw pictures of Ellie on your blog. She’s adorable and reminds me of my black lab Stetson when he was a puppy.
I’m glad Ellie and Betsy are getting along. I’d have to agree that taking care of a puppy is a lot of work. I’m also happy to hear that Ellie is getting used to her crate. It makes life a lot easier when your puppy enjoys being in his or her crate.
As usual with any training issues I’d recommend you consult a local trainer to observe your puppies behavior first hand. That being said…
Labrador Retrievers are very mouthy dogs. I know the feeling because when they are very young their teeth are like little daggers. I can’t remember how old Ellie is, but her baby teeth should start falling out around 4 months. Here’s what I’ve done with my puppies and their play biting/nipping.
First of all you have to realize that they are going to put their mouth (a puppies mouth is similar to our hands that’s what they use to explore the environment) on you when you’re playing so I always try to carry around something for my puppies to chew on like a nylabone. If they start biting my hand I slowly replace my hand with the nylabone for them to chew on. Usually when I pull my hand away quickly they think it’s a game and also it seems like they’re teeth end up scratching my hand. The idea is to get them to understand what is appropriate to chew on (the nylabone) and what is inappropriate (your hand).
By the way, it sounds like getting up and leaving the room is working okay for you. It’s okay if Ellie preoccupies herself with other activities when you leave as long as it’s something appropriate.
Anyhow, the biting and nipping usually goes away when your puppy loses her baby teeth and gets her adult teeth. If you’re still having problems after she has her adult teeth then I’d be concerned.
Good luck with your puppy! I hope you’re having fun with her!
I can’t really say I agree with everything written here. I trained a puppy for “The Seeing Eye” organization and it seems like the rules are a little different…
“For approximately the first three weeks, if your puppy cries, take him out, on leash to relieving area. After relieving put him back into his crate. Do not give him any treats or any play time. Put him right back into his crate and he should go back to sleep.”
I see at least three things wrong with this. First, although it is understandable that a puppy whines when it needs to potty, to only bring him out when he whines would be teaching him to be a noisy whiner. Second, if you only bring him out when he whines and put him right back in his crate without playtime, you are going to have at least a dozen ‘false alarms’ where the puppy just wants attention from you. Just like with children, if they can’t get adequate attention everyday, they’re going to start acting out to at least get attention that way. And finally, to do this for three weeks is just too much.
I can see why you had significant whining during the night for weeks on end. The only attention the puppy got was when you were trying to get it to go to sleep.
When I had my puppy, I slept next to her the first two nights and she only let out the slightest sound. After that I slept in my room with the puppy in the kitchen. The first time there was a lot of whining, the second, half as much, and the third day she was completely silent until she heard us moving around the house. A week later, the most you’d hear in the morning was the noisy clicking of her nails on the plastic bottom of her crate as she tried to hold it in.
@Fuzzy, thanks for visiting our site and leaving such a detailed comment.
I agree with what you’ve said in your comment and the quote you took from the article is actually taken directly from the GDA manual I received before starting Stetson’s puppy training.
Now that I’ve re-read the quote and your explanation the quote from my article is a little confusing and probably needs a rewrite. Lets go through your three points:
1. “to only bring him out when he whines would be teaching him to be a noisy whiner” – I actually never let my puppy out of the kennel when he whines. If he wakes up in the middle of the night and starts whining I wait till he stops for 5-10 seconds and then let him out of his kennel to go potty.
2. “…if you only bring him out when he whines and put him right back in his crate without playtime, you are going to have at least a dozen ‘false alarms’ where the puppy just wants attention from you” – As I mentioned earlier I never take my puppy out of his kennel until he’s quiet. Actually I will have to disagree with you on this one. If I let my puppy out in the middle of the night while I’m sleeping I take him directly back to his kennel after he’s done his business. However, I work on crate training during the day too. During the day I will let my puppy out of his kennel when he’s being quiet, take him out to piddle, and sometimes play with him afterwards.
3. “And finally, to do this for three weeks is just too much” – I could be wrong on this, but I think the suggestion to allow your puppy to be taken out in the middle of the night during the first 3 weeks is because during that time period (from 7-10 weeks of age) most puppies do not have full bladder control and sometimes cannot always hold it through the night. (I’ll check with our trainers on this to confirm)
I’m actually going to check in with our GDA group leader to see if this section of the manual needs to be re-written. The manual probably made more sense to me because I had already crate trained 4 puppies before Stetson (my GDA puppy in training). Out of those 4 only 1 other puppy took more than a couple days to get used to his crate.
My last GDA puppy in training whimpered a couple times his first night and had no issues after that.
I hope that makes more sense and if not please let me know.
Hi, I just got a new puppy, he is a 3 month old maltese/yorkie mix. Last night was his first night home and he got to a rough start. He was fine walking into his crate and playing with his toys in there, but once I closed the door, he started to whine and cry. I’ve read conflicting advice on what to do. Some forums say to ignore him until he stops, while others say to talk to him in a nice tone so that he will calm down. I’m afraid he has separation anxiety already because I have the crate in my room, about 2ft. away from the foot of my bed. He can definitely see me from it. He was ok when I sat next to the crate but as soon as I got up to my bed, he whined and cried. I’m not sure what to do. He doesn’t hate his crate; it seems like he just wants me to constantly be by his side. I’m not sure what to do to make tonight a better night. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
@LoAn, Congratulations on your new puppy. I hope you’re second night with your puppy went better than the first. In the past
When my puppy, Stetson was crying, barking, howling non stop I’d either say “quiet” or “Shhh” to try and get him to stop. When he stopped crying I’d give him tons of praise. In the case with Stetson I’d continue to praise him while he was quiet.
I’ve crate trained several puppies over the past few years and each one is different. Some were fine with the crate on their first night, others took several days, and a couple took weeks. It sounds like you’re on the right track. Hopefully you’re puppy gets used to his crate in the next couple days.
Good luck with your new puppy.
Thanks for getting back to me! He’s been getting better sleeping at night. He’ll usually whine for a little bit when I get in bed but after I shush him for a bit, he’ll quiet down and go to sleep. I think he’s getting the idea that his crate is where he sleeps because I put him in there when he naps too and he seems ok with it. But I’m trying both to ignore him and shushing him when he whines in the crate. Is that confusing to him? I don’t know if it’s best to ignore or shush. When I ignore him, I’ll wait until he settles down a bit, then I’ll let him out. But I shush him when he has to stay in his crate and I can’t let him out. Thanks!
@LoAn, I’m glad to hear that things are going better with your puppy. It sounds like your puppy is understanding both ignoring him and the “shush” The key is you do not want to give him positive reinforcement for bad behavior such as petting him when he is barking or letting him out of his crate when he’s whining.
Hi Colby. This is my first night with my 8 week old Morkie. He has not eaten since 9am and it is now 10pm. He has had a few sips of water and has peed 3 times (inside!). He just won’t eat. Not even out of my hand. I’m concerned b/c I’ve read about hypoglocemia in small breed puppies. Should I be concerned? He doesn’t go to the vet till Monday afteroon.
The crate is going well. He slept alot during the day and is sleeping peacefully in it now. I locked him in while I showered and before I was done, he awakend and cried, barked, howled, etc… I finished my shower and let him out when he was calm a few seconds. I didn’t pet him or anything…just stayed quiet while he walked out. I’ll keep using the advice you’ve given and hopefully he’ll be fine in a week or so. I don’t work so we can get alot of practice. Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.
@Trina, sorry for the late response. Hopefully by now you’ve had a chance to see the veterinarian.
I had a similar situation when we rescued Linus from the Animal Shelter. He was infested with fleas, very lethargic, and wasn’t eating much either. We got Linus in to the vets office the day after we picked him up and found out he had worms, a stomach infection, and was anemic from all the flea bites. The vet gave Linus some meds and he started feeling better over the next few days.
Unfortunately I’m not a vet so I really wouldn’t know too much about medical conditions, but I think if you feel something is wrong then it’s a good idea to get your puppy to the veterinarians office as soon as possible.
Good luck raising your puppy and hopefully he’s feeling better now.
When I rescued my dog, I remember her first night home — so much so that the next day I couldn’t find her! I thought she ran away since she was an abandoned stray, but it turns out she was burrowed underneath the clothes in my laundry bin! lol
Hey I just found this site after having trouble with my new lab/rot puppy. When I put him in the crate to go to sleep she whines and yelps and ect. I put her on my bed BEFORE I read this and she is perfect. Why is this wrong? What do I do now that she is peacefully sleeping?
@Anthony, if you’re crate training your puppy then you have to let her get used to her crate when it’s time for bed. If you let her out of her crate when she’s whining and let her into bed then she’s learning that if I whine and yelp in my crate then I get to sleep in bed.
The goal is to give your puppy positive reinforcement when she’s being good. Therefore you only want to let your puppy out of her crate when she’s being quiet.
By the way, another issue you may have letting your puppy sleep in bed is she may have a potty accident in your bed.
I just got my 9 week old German Sheperd puppy. She is so beautiful and very active. However i work way to much, i leave around 6 am and return at 7-730pm. I have to leave her outside with some food, water and shade but i feel like i am neglecting her. When i return from home i play with her and taker her out for walks. I’m afraid that if shes lonely it may cause stress and get her sick. I may have to leaver her inside a secured area so that she is cool during the day rather than having her out for so long. I may be able to bring her in to work a few times but it wont be easy. Any recommendations? Thanks
@Cris congratulations on your new puppy! A few things you might think about trying are:
1. Get a family member to take care of (play with) your puppy during the day (or parts of the day)
2. Get a puppy sitter to watch your dog during the day.
3. Take your dog to a doggy daycare.
German Shepherds are smart dogs and need to be stimulated and exercised. I would definitely try to get her more attention possibly with one of the suggestions I mention above.
THANK YOU for your blog! We’re having trouble crate training our 8 week old goldendoodle pup that my husband got for my birthday yesterday. Last night I ended up sleeping with him on the couch, he slept in his dog bed and woke me up when he needed to go outside. Very good boy.
We’re working on acquainting him with the crate more today and tiring him out. Will let you know how tonight goes but we’re anticipating lots of barking, crying, whine… the full monty. I think we’ll likely use a noise machine that has a heart beat for him. Anything extra.
More to report tomorrow, but thanks SO MUCH for your post. It was extremely needed.
Hi. This will be the second time I seek your advise. My soft coated wheaten is now about 6 months old. 2 days ago we got a 9 week old mini Schnauzer. What are your feelings about sharing crates? The crate I have is plenty big enough for both of them or should I get my Schnauzer his own crate?
@Liz, I hope all is going well with your new puppy. Did he notice fireworks on the Fourth of July? We’ll be in the same boat in a few days as we will be raising a 7 week old yellow Labrador Retriever starting this Friday. I hope your puppy and my puppy both sleep through the night
@Selina, I hope all is going well with your soft coat wheaten and your new mini schnauzer. I would recommend getting a separate crate for your new puppy and make sure you get the correct size. If the crate is too large then your puppy might use one side for sleep and the other side as his bathroom. I usually like the wire crates with the metal divider. This is the one I use: Folding Metal Dog Crate
. My parents use a smaller version of this same kennel for their Cairn Terrier. As I mentioned I like this crate because it will adjust depending on the size of your dog.
Happy to say little pup did NOT really notice the fireworks/ wasn’t too bothered by them at least.
The first night actually went fantastically! He whimpered a lot but talking to him calmed him down. We used the heart beat from a homemedics sound machine, which seemed to work well also. Second night went just as well with even less whimpering.
Do you have any advice on crate training during the day? I start work tomorrow (we just moved) and have had him for 3 days now… and did a trial run in the crate saying “kennel up!” then putting him in there and just leaving. He whimpered my entire walk out to the car and when I had come back he had escaped. Good work, Oscar! Luckily he was just sleeping soundly on the floor outside and didn’t have any accidents in the house. I’m just nervous for the day when we have to leave him for 3-4 hours… just don’t want the neighbors to hate us!
Last question: have you found any luck for picky eaters/ disinterested eaters. He ate an AWESOME lunch yesterday but isn’t eating close to the 2c he’s supposed to be eating. We’re lucky if we get him to eat 1/2 a cup all day. He’s a little over 8 weeks and only 6.1 lbs. A long ways away to 70 lbs!
Good luck with your new lab!
they’re so great!
@Liz, I’m glad to hear that things are going well with your new puppy.
3-4 hours is a long time for a young puppy to stay in his crate. Here are a few things I’ve tried:
1. Getting a friend or puppy sitter to watch my puppy during the day for a little while.
2. Try leaving your puppy in his kennel while you’re at home. Praise him when he’s being quiet.
3. Try leaving your puppy in his kennel while you’re at home, but in a separate room so he thinks you’re not home. Once he calms down and is quiet praise him.
We add a little bit of warm water to our puppy’s kibble and let it sit for a couple minutes. This moistens the food and they seem to like it a little better.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your pup!
Hi!
I just found this website today. We picked up our 8 week old Cavalier King Charles puppy Sydney yesterday. All in all, it was a good day we let her explore and got her used to a small crate. At bedtime, we played, took her outside and she went into her crate happily and fell asleep. Unfortunately, she was in our son’s room and he didn’t hear her wimper and she wet the pad in her crate. We changed it and took her outside anyway and moved the crate to our room. She was up and down all night. I hate to say it, but I did bring her into bed with me…I promise I won’t do it again! My concern is this – how do I determine when her wimper is to go outside, or just loneliness? I’ll keep the crate i our room and listen for her, but how do I figure this out? Or is it better to leave her in a gated off area in the kitchen with puppy pads away from her crate, so she can relieve herself whenever she needs to?
Thanks for any help, I appreciate it! She is so adorable and I realize it will take some time to train her, but I want to do what’s best for her!
Susan
@Susan, this is very good timing as I just started raising my third guide dog puppy.
Telling the difference whether a puppy is whimpering out of loneliness or to go outside can be difficult so here’s what I usually do. If my puppy starts whimpering in his kennel I take him outside and allow him to relieve in his area. I don’t play with him at all and immediately bring him back into his kennel. If he begins whimpering again then he’s probably doing it out of loneliness.
I crate train all my puppies so I really don’t have too much insight into puppy pad training, but it’s definitely an option. I know they usually add a scent to the pads that makes puppies prefer peeing on the pads over the regular floor.
Hopefully this helps a little. Best of luck with your new puppy!
Thank you for your reply! We’ve had our puppy for 4 nights now and things are definitely better! Shes been waking up only once or twice and I do as you suggested, take her out to relieve herself and then put her back in her kennel. I can now tell if she’s lonely or not, so thank you. We did not get puppy pads, and will keep crate training her. May I ask how long it may take for a young puppy of 8 weeks to get the idea that she has to do all her elimination in one place only? I realize it may take some weeks, but I’m curious if it will take longer since she’s so young.
Thank you and good luck with your puppu too!
Susan
@Susan, I brought Dublin home 3 weeks ago and he’s now 10 weeks old. He has understood where his elimination place is probably since his second week (when he was about 8 1/2 weeks old). However, that doesn’t always mean he makes out to his spot. Puppies have small bladders and sometimes just can’t hold it. I believe as long as you’re consistent, persistent, and patient with your puppy it won’t take long for him to understand.
Remember every puppy is different so it could take yours longer or shorter to figure out his elimination place.
By the way, I raised one puppy that had accidents at 6 months of age. Another puppy I raised didn’t have an accident after his first 2 weeks home (he was only about 10 weeks old).
Good luck with your puppy! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Hello Colby!
I was googling some sites for helping puppy’s first night go smoother!
I crate trained my 2 and 1/2 yr old Basset puppy when we got her, and she did so well. She did have to be near our bed, but she responded very well.
Tomorrow we are adding a Saint Bernard puppy (8 weeks old) to our family, and for some reason, tonight I am feeling a bit anxious about the whole crate training at night experience all over again!
Your site is a great blog to read, and scan other people’s concerns and questions.
I am hoping that not only does my puppy Thor let me get a few hours sleep, but so does my VERY nosey Basset!!!!!
Thank you for the read, I may have to come back and get some advice as the nights go on!!!!
@Tara, congratulations on your new puppy. I hope your crate training experience is going well. We’ve definitely had our share of tough crate training assignments. If you have any questions please let us know.
I’m getting my new puppy soon , in about a week or so And i am completely new at this so i was wondering if you had any tips on first nite for crate training . please and Thank You
@Snuggie, congratulations on your new puppy. Here are some articles I wrote on Crate Training:
I listed a bunch of helpful hints if your puppy is having difficulty sleeping in his crate: Crate Training Puppies
Crate Training In 5 Easy Steps
Good luck with your puppy’s first night at home.
Hi
I will pick up my Lab Puppy in a few weeks time and re. the Crate Training one question. Should i put some paper down in the Crate and close the door, i.e. in theory if they need to toilet they will go on the paper? or do you deliberatley not put paper in the Crate?
Thanks
Kate x
@Kate I would not recommend putting paper down in your crate. You don’t want your puppy to toilet in the crate. Your puppy’s natural instinct is not to soil in the same place he sleeps this is why crate training is a great way to also house break your puppy. If you need more information on crate training and puppies the first book I used when I first picked up Linus (my Australian Shepherd rescue puppy): Puppies For Dummies (affiliate link) is a great book and I still use it today as a reference guide.
Hi,
I am getting a puppy in two weeks and he will be 7 weeks by that time. I have a question, I have been reading a lot about when puppies should be released and there are sites that say 7 weeks is too early and can damage the puppy’s behavior and such. On the contrary, there are sites that say 7-9 weeks is ok, so I want to know which is the right approach to this subject. Also, I wanted to know whether a blanket instead of a toy can also be rubbed on the littermates, and can that also be done if the pup’s mother is present? Finally I have a very important question, I have been wondering about taking the dog out. I live in an apartment, and I thought it should be ok to take him to the park; however, I have read that it is dangerous for the puppy because the pup would lack the distemper shot at that time. Could you tell me what are your views on the subject? I really finf the information you posted very useful.
Thanks
@Sue sorry for the late response. Congratulations on your new puppy!
We receive our puppies from Guide Dogs of America (GDA) at 7-8 weeks of age. Its my understanding that GDA releases puppies at this age because it is a very good time for the puppy to create a strong bond with the human (you).
A blanket will work fine for rubbing on the littermates. In fact, we actually did both when we brought home Dublin. Here’s a video of us when we brought home Dublin: Puppy Training Video.
When we pickup our guide dog puppies the mothers are never present. However, I don’t see it being a problem to rub your blanket on the littermates with the mother present.
Be very careful where you take your puppy when you first get him home. When you take your puppy home his immune system is not fully developed. I would definitely stay away from the park and anywhere where there might be stray dogs or dogs you don’t know. We are very careful with our puppies until they receive their rabies shots at about 16 weeks of age (I usually carry my puppy most places unless we’re inside our own backyard). In fact, I believe our program is becoming even stricter with this policy as we recently had a puppy catch and pass away from Parvo.
Good luck with your new puppy!
Hello! I am so glad that I found your website, there is alot of useful information here. I just brought home a 15 week old King Charles Cavalier female puppy and she wont eat or drink anything I try to give her ( Only water and the dog food the breeder gave me that she uses ). Is it the new environment the dog is in? She seems like she is scared here. We are treating her like a little queen, how long does this last for? Thank you!! Nicki and Lexi ( my puppy!!)
@Nicki, a new environment can be very stressful for a puppy. Hopefully she’s doing better with you now that a few days have passed. If you haven’t already I’d take her to your veterinarian for a check up. I’d also get in touch with a local dog trainer and perhaps sign her up for a group puppy class. This will help with socialization and you can work on building her confidence. Also, if you want some good information about puppies I’d read Puppies For Dummies (aff. link). That’s first book I read years ago and it is still a book I reference from time to time. Good luck to you and Lexi!
Excellent Q&A above!!! Just got my new puppy yesterday and we made it through the first night.
I was surfing the web to read about others’ experiences and sounds like Lucy (my new puppy) did great for her first night. I left her in an exercise pen- soft nylon kind- with her blanket, bed and snuggle puppy on one side and a puppy pad on the other side. She whined for about 30-45 minutes and then fell asleep. She hadn’t really made a sound all day and that whining was hard to hear but gave her reassurance and went upstairs to bed. Other websites say to ignore it and it’ll go away. She woke up a couple times and I heard her, took her out to potty and brought her back in….more whining 30 minutes and back to sleep.
She’s only 8 weeks old so we are definitely starting to potty train but I was thinking she probably couldn’t even hold it in yet so why bother with a crate yet. Anything wrong with her sleeping in the exercise pen vs crate training?
I will be leaving her in the exercise pen when I go to work on Monday- coming home at lunch. What else do I need to leave in her exercise pen besides the following- water, food, puppy pad, bed and a few chew toys?
Thanks for the resourceful website for us new puppy owners!!
@Emmy, thanks for visiting our website. We start crate training our puppies as soon as we get them home around 7 weeks old. You’re correct their bladders are not all the way developed and they can’t hold it as long. My last puppy Dublin usually woke up about once a night in his crate the first week or so, and then eventually would sleep through the night without having to go potty. During the day when my puppy is only about 8 weeks of age I will not usually leave him in the create for more than 2 hours.
If you plan on training your puppy to use the puppy pads then I don’t see anything wrong with using the exercise pen.
As far as the things you plan on leaving in your exercise pen the list looks fine. However, we don’t allow our puppies to graze on their food so we don’t leave food out for them. I would just make sure you don’t leave anything she might choke on.
I hope that helps. Good luck with your new puppy!
um hi we found puppys on the road a boandoned about 2 weeks old and we took one and all he does is cry in his crate or out and hes like a black lab mix type thing his name is mickey but he wont stop crying is that bad or is he just sad
@molly, 2 weeks old is a very young puppy. I would take him to your veterinarian and ask for his/her advice with a puppy so young.
just found this & wow so helpful. I have a 10mos female old amer. bulldog (Luna) & just brought home a 6week old mini schnauzer (Ninja) 2days ago. When I got Luna she was already crate trained & 7mos old. Ninja’s 1st was ok. I didn’t have a kennel or crate then so he was in my huge shower stall with a blanket, paper & a stuffed toy. He used the paper overnight & never missed. He slept for 6hours then woke up crying, so I fed him, talked to him & he went right back to sleep. I bought a plastic travel kennel yesterday. I set him up in my master bathroom with a toy, peepee pads & a blanket in the crate (with the top off). Night #2 didnt go well. He slept for 4hours then was relentless w/his crying & whining. I fed him & went back to sleep for 1hour the started crying again. He didnt potty at all. He didnt stop until I moved his kennel next to my bed. That’s where it will stay. Luna’s crate is downstairs & she was whining too when she heard him. She never whines while in her crate. She is a little rough with Ninja, still a puppy herself, but with well timed corrections she’s getting better. They’re play time is supervised. She’s taken quite a shine to him, even took a couple of naps on her bed with him. She’s dog aggressive, same sex or yappy dogs, but adores my brother’s 1lb male yorkie/silky terrier mix so knowing I wanted a 2nd dog, a small male seemed like the best option. Luna’s housebroken so I will be transitioning her to sleeping upstairs on her bed so she’s only crated during the day (9hrs) when no one is home. I want to crate train him too I plan to put his metal crate next to Luna’s downstairs so he’s not “alone”. My worry is he’s going to be either in the crate or in the bathroom for 9hrs. There’s no one else to come take him out so I thought the bathroom with peepee pads would be the better option until he’s a little older. Maybe 3mos old. The floor space is equal if not bigger than if he were in an exercise pen. Should I move Luna’s crate upstairs to keep him company? Any suggestions?
let me add, my co-worker has 1 of Ninja’s littermates & crates him for about 6hours per day. Shadow hasnt soiled his crate. Again, my worry is that wherever he is, it’s for 9hours. I just dont want to stress him out or harm him.
@Peggy, we have strict rules we follow when raising our guide dog puppies. We do not allow our puppies to potty in the crate even on a pee pad. During the day our puppies come to work with us and spend the day at the office. If we do have to put them in their crate during the day we don’t leave our young puppies for more than a couple hours.
I think 9 hours is too long to spend in the crate during the day. Do you have a neighbor, friend, or relative who could take your puppy out some time during the day? You could also hire a pet sitter to stop by your house.
Hey Colby. Thanks for replying. I apologize if I wasn’t clear. I was apprehensive about leaving the puppy crated for 9hours so I was planning on leaving him loose in my master bathroom with peepee pads, toys & his blanket. The floor space is equal if not bigger than if he were in an exercise pen. However, life’s little miracles, I was able to have my lunch time expanded from 30mins to 1hour. I live 9miles from work so it’s a 15min drive home & he can be let out for 25mins. I did it today & he was asleep when I got home. No accidents in the crate. Yay!
Hi Colby. I am getting an Aussiedoodle that will be 8 weeks old. I work part time, so the puppy would need to be alone for about 3 1/2 hours during the day. Where is the best place for him to be? Crate? Penned off in the kitchen with pee pads? In the backyard? I am hesitant on using the pee pads cause I’ve heard it will then be very hard to get him to go potty outside. Thanks in advance.
@Stacy we crate train all of our guide dog puppies. However, we never leave our puppies in the crate for more than a couple hours during the day when they are only 8 weeks old. We’ve never used pee pads so I cannot attest to whether or not you’ll have problems getting the puppy to go potty outside after using the pee pads.
Between the two options you’ve mentioned I’d probably choose penned off in the kitchen over 3 1/2 hours in the crate.
Hi! I got my puppy, a shih tzu, 2 days ago. The first 2 nights, I allowed my puppy to sleep with me in my room in his own bed on the floor. She did fine, only waking up once in the middle of the night. Tonight, I decided to move her bed in the laundry room. First time, she’s barking, crying and clawing through the walls. Is it too early to seperate her from me in such a quick period of time? I think I’m going to get a crate for her. Not sure what to do.
@Meuy our guide dog puppies are crate trained and always stay right next to our bed in their crates at night. I’d recommend getting a crate, put it next to your bed, and allow your puppy to sleep there for at least a few weeks.
Your information seems to be very great from the limited bit of it that I have read so far. We just got a German Shepherd puppy yesterday from the pet store. We wanted a dog of our own bc we are newly weds and aren’t ready for children yet. We went in and found Zack our pup. We did not realize that it wasn’t very “safe” to have a timid GSD. When we got home with Zack, I immediately started researching German Shepherds and training them. The more I read the worse feeling I had about our choice. I hope we didn’t make a bad decision. Everyone else’s blogs that I have read so far has been so pessimistic about other people making similard “quick” decisions about getting a dog such as Zack. Any encouragement about our choice and helping information would be great. We are trying to help Zack to become less timid. I understand that time and patience is going to be needed with Zack, but I would like to have some confidence in knowing that we can have a great dog regardless of the timidity of him right now. The pet store told us that he was timid at first, but would warm up to you. He has a little…and maybe with more work will continue in a positive direction. I want to make the best decisions to make Zack a happy German Shepherd and to have a wonderful pet in return.
Right now, we have him in a crate on a big doggie pillow for his bed. Tonight will be the first night in the crate bc we just got the crate today. He seems to be doing well with it so far. We have covers drapped on all but the front so it is more “cave like and cozy feeling for him”. He can see us, but we are trying the technique of ignoring the whining unless it’s time to go outside to potty. Oh, I don’t know if I mentioned it or not, but he is 2 months old…he didn’t come with “papers”, but I have attempted to make contact with the actual breeder to get papers on him. : ) Thanks for any future info you can give!
@James and Jessica thanks for visiting our website and congratulations on your new puppy. We recommend against not making quick decisions when it comes to adopting or purchasing a dog. We adopted Linus from te shelter and he was a shy and timid dog too. We’ve taken him to many training classes and work on his socialization daily. Here’s an article we wrote a while back on one of his training sessions: Training A Shy Timid Dog
I’d recommend talking to a local dog trainer and start getting some advice on the best way to go about building your puppies confidence. We’ve taken group dog training with Linus from the beginning and continue to work on his shy, timid behavior. We are going to enroll him in K9 nosework training to help build his confidence.
Hopefully this little bit of information helps. Best of luck with your new puppy!
@colby: hello sir, i just got a black labrador home which is about 25days old and it has been 4 days that i took him to my place. i am having a problem related to his sleep. the thing is that at night it does’nt sleep in one single go full night. i read the above article which helped me. it has mentioned above that you can take the dog out for a stroll and put him back in his crate, but my dog takes so long to sleep after that which troubles me alot. when i switch off the light of my room he cries.. plz sir i need your advice..
@nihil thank you for visiting our website and congratulations on your new puppy! 25 days old is probably too young to be away from his mother and littermates. Our puppies don’t leave the litter until they are at least 7 weeks old. Unfortunately, we have experienced the exact same behavior you mention above on trying to get your puppy to go back to sleep with pretty much all of our puppies. It has taken anywhere from a couple days to 4+ weeks for them to get used to sleeping in their crate. When we were trying to get Stetson to sleep in his crate it took him over 4 weeks and I seriously don’t think I got to sleep more than 2 hours in a row during that time period. Hopefully your puppy adapts to his crate quicker. The most important point that I can’t stress enough is do not let your puppy out of the crate when he is crying, barking, whining, etc. If you do they will learn to do this unacceptable behavior every time they want out of the crate.
Best of luck with your new puppy! In our experience most puppies seem to have an adjustment period when going to a new home.
hi there ! plssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss help ! I have a 7 months male maltese, he was 3 months when i got him. I crate trained him and he completely toilet trained in less than a month ! with no no no accident till now. I got a 3 months female maltese 3 days ago to make my pleasure even more!!!! but my life has become like a night mare since then. my first pup who was 100% trained has changed completely. he is peeing and pooing every where and doesnt listen to me at all !!!! I dont know what to do, im so desprate and angry at the moment. just mention my frist pup has bben trained to toilet in a special toilet in the house. cuz i live in a very hot country which is impossible to take him out side most of the year. so what can i do? is it possible to toilet train them both in same toilet?! my first pup seems to hate the other pup smell ! and doesnt want to do his business in the same place. and also i have problem in crate training the second one, sory was different for the crate trainign with the first one.
(((((
@mitra thanks for visiting our website and congratulations on your new puppy. I would go back to basics with both your puppies and work from the beginning on their crate training. I would be very strict with both dogs and do your best not to allow them to play or wonder around your home without your supervision. Also, I would do my best to clean the entire house and make sure your pups are not smelling spots where they’ve pee’d or pooped in the past. A good product to try is Nature’s Miracle which does a pretty good job of removing the odors.
You are correct on the crate training. Every puppy is very different. Again I would stick with the basics and if your puppy is barking, whining, howling, etc don’t let them out of the crate until they stop even if it’s just for a few seconds.
If you need more help I recommend contacting your local dog trainer and getting some private in-home dog training. Best of luck with your two puppies.
WELL! The first night i had my duck tolling retriever home, i tried to kennel train him and he whined and whined and whined the entire night long. Now, this is not any ordinary whining… it’s like a shrieking squealing rip your hair out kind of whine! haha Of course looking back now i laugh, cause it was 8 months ago! however, at the time i just couldn’t take it … we let him out of the kennel at oh i’d say 6am.. and managed to get an hour sleep before he started again to want to go pee! lol Oh the joys of puppyhood! Now that he’s trained and a wonderful companion, we are expecting another puppy in one week to start all over again with but this time in company with our previous dog! I suspect this will be interesting. Heres hoping that the new addition doesn’t pull an all nighter, but i suspect she will as well! Sucker for punishment!
@Jennifer your duck tolling retriever sounds a lot like our black lab Stetson. It was miserable trying to get him crate trained, but just like you said I look back and laugh about it. Stetson actually did have a companion in my dog Linus plus he got to sleep right next to my bed. It didn’t really matter those first 4 weeks of crate training. Your description of “shrieking squealing rip your hair out kind of whine” really hits the nail on the head.
I hope your next puppy does better. We’ve been lucky our last two pups, Derby and Dublin both had a short adjustment period when it came time for crate training. They both whined a little bit the first few nights, but they didn’t wake up too many times in the middle of the night and they both figured it out after the first few days. Good luck with your new pup!
Hey there…tonight was my first night i had my little pup away from her litter mates. She is a 7 week old mini dachshund. I have a small crate lined with a blanket that i had always put her in when ever i would hangout with her before the over night. i have a stuffed animal tiger in with her and small food and water. I attached recycling bin to the front of her crate and have shavings in it incse she has to go in the middle of the night.
The first night was hard…..if she woke up and my hand wasnt within touching distance she would scream and howl like a banchy…she only actually woke up twice, but i dont want to get her in a habit of crying out for me and having my hand right there.
The top to the crate i have screwed off so i can take it off if need be to reach her. Im just wondering if i should completely ignore her cries throughout the night? I feel so bad, she seems so sad and lonely. During the day she dont really leave my side unless its to shower….or i have to go someware real quick….
I just dont want to neglect her and i dont want her to turn into a spoiled brat ahhahha.
@Daniel congratulations on your mini dachshund. When my puppies start crying in the middle of the night I take them straight outside then straight back to the crate. They usually cry for a minute or two when they get back to the crate then eventually fall asleep. I do my best to leave my pups in the crate and ignore their cries as long as I know nothing is wrong (sick or have to go potty). Eventually they understand that crying doesn’t get them attention. Best of luck with your new puppy.
My 6week old Chihuahua Shih Tzu mix wakes up 3:00AM for the two days I had her. What can i do to make her get use the crate with out whinning and make her sleep all night?
@Thelma thanks for visiting our blog. Congratulations on your new puppy! Take a look at this post we added to the website not too long ago: crate training puppies. Hopefully some of the suggestions in that article help. It’s taken me anywhere from a couple days to 4 weeks to get my pups to stop whining and crying in their crate. Hopefully your pup only takes a couple days before she is used to her crate. Good luck and hopefully she adjusts soon.
I have a 9 or so week old black lab mix. Her name is Kate, since I found her in the 24 hours following the Royal Wedding. I first brought her to the humane society for a few days, so I’ve only had her for a week. I have a large crate, but bought a smaller one that fits her better.
First, I know you said you put a blanket over the partition, but what did you use to partition off your large crate? Also, when you say draft, do you mean some form of air other than the ceiling fan? Because anywhere in my room, you can feel the air from the ceiling fan.
I was wondering what you think about pee/poo pads? My girlfriend’s dog does his business on pads when they leave the house and outside when they are home. I started the dog on pads but it seemed like there wasn’t any clear evidence she was getting better at using the pad. She did pee on a pad just a little bit ago on her own, but that is one out of the three times she peed in the house. I’ve been trying to take her out before she can do anything.
We just got a 15 month old female lab. She is sleeping in a crate and seems ok with that. But she does cry at night. Should I leave the TV or a radio on in the room she’s sleeping in to quiet her at night.? Will this help?
@Ronnie I’ve heard different opinions on leaving the radio and tv on for your puppy. However, I do leave the radio on for my pups to drown out noise coming from outside. It helps my older dog, Linus who always seems to be on alert when he here’s something going on outside our house.
Thank you for creating this informative site. I need your advice on crate and potty training my 2 month old chihuahua. She was just given to me by a friend yesterday. She slept with me all night last night, which is probably a huge no-no after I have read what you and the others wrote. Can you give me some advice on how to train her effectively since I’m gone most of the day everyday, and only have someone to watch over her every other day on the weekdays. Thanks in advance!
@Anna, thanks for visiting our website. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to raise and train a puppy if you’re away most of the day. Is there any way you can take her to work with you? If not, you might try and have a member of your family or a pet sitter stop by and spend some time with your puppy every day.
hi! I’ve just been reading over all the tips/posts/questions/answers and they have been helpful and very similar to how I have trained Duncan my 10wk old (today!) chocolate lab. he took to his crate very well very quickly (thank the lord haha) the 1st night he cried for about 45mins the 1st time I put him in and then he cried less and less each time I took him out to potty during the nite and put him back in. he pretty much stopped crying/whining/barking by the 3rd nite and if I do hear him I immediately get up and take him out to potty then put him right back in and he goes back to sleep. I have had him for 14 days now and he hasn’t had an accident in the house since day 5! I am amazed as to how lucky I have been with him being crate/house trained so easily. he has yet to chew on ANYTHING he’s not supposed to and he loves the 12 or so toys I have laying around for him (: he does on rare occassion play nip at hands so I tell him NO! very firmly and give him a little flick on the nose. my question is … is the flick on the nose w/ a firm NO! ok to do? it seems to be working but I don’t want to be “mean or abusive”. ): another question is I WANT him to sleep in bed w/ me so do you think since he appears to be housetrained it is ok to do so at this point as long as I still take him out to potty if he whines during the nite?
sorry for the looong post and I hope to get any advice you can share! this is my 1st lab and I absolutely adore him and couldn’t be happier with my choice. thanks!
@Janice congratulations on your new puppy! When my puppy is nipping or being mouthy I usually just try to redirect his behavior to an appropriate chew toy. I would probably avoid flicking the nose as he might think that it’s a game your playing with him. The earliest I’ve allowed any of my dogs to get on the bed is at 9 months of age and even to this day I still work with them on their crate training by sometimes having them sleep in the crate for a night. Every puppy is different, but I’d advise against letting your puppy sleep in the bed at such a young age. Good luck with your new puppy!
oh p.s. when I brought him home from the breeder I met all of his littermates and both parents. all 10 of his littermates were very calm tempered … when the breeders opened the kennel door the pups all came running at us but weren’t overly jumpy/yippy/nippy … the pretty much just swarmed around our feet letting us pet and scratch them. then the parents were let out of the house and they were amazing … they didn’t run or bark at us … they also kinda just hovered around us and the breeders letting us love on them. they were 2 of the most beautiful well behaved dogs I have ever met! (: so I am wondering if the terrific temperment of the parents (and littermates) are a good indication that Duncan will be like his mama and daddy?
@Janice the parents temperament is usually one of the best indicators of how the puppies will be as adults.
thanks colby! I keep his crate door open at all times and he does go in by himself several times a day to chew on one of his fave toys or to take a lil snooze
if I were to guess I’d say it was feeding him in his crate that got him so comfortable with it.
I have to admit tho I did start putting him in bed with me (I know I know then why did I even bother asking your opinion right? haha sorry!) but to be honest he is doing awsome with it … he sleeps the whole nite thru! I have to wake him up in the morning to potty!
I am trying the toy redirection for his play biting and he seems to be catching on slowly and seems to understand that it hurts me when he does it. I also read that if you let out a yelp sound when he bites it will get the point across also. When I do that he backs off and kind of looks at me with a sad sorry face! haha
thanks again colby … I look forward to reading more on this website!
Hi Colby,
First, thank you for all the great advice you’ve posted! I’ve really enjoyed reading your articles and all of your helpful responses to concerned readers like us!
So here’s our story…..My husband and I just adopted a little 10 week old maltipoo from the Humane Socitey 6/6/11 we named Zoey. We wanted our older dog (a corgi/american eskimo mix named Parker) to have a little buddy so he’s not as lonely during the day. When we adopted Parker he was already 1 year old and very well behaved, so this new puppy has been quite the adjustment for us and him! (Parker is always growling and getting annoyed with Zoey)
Our biggest problem is her separation anxiety. If we walk just 2-3 feet away from her she starts crying and whinning. We’re trying to build up her confidence/independence but it’s been hard. We have a crate and completely plan on crate training her, but I’m worried about having her in the bedroom with us. Even if she’s in her crate and a foot away from us she starts whinning and crying. As of now she’s in the laundry room with her crate open at all times, and a floor full of newspapers. She’s got a bunch of chew toys, food/water, a couple of our dirty t-shirts and a little stuffed dog with a fake heartbeat inside of it. Even with all of that she still whines/crys/howls/shill barks all through the night.
Obviously our main goal is to train her to stop this behavior, but we have a few things making our situation even worse:
#1. We brought her home the day she was spayed, so she’s still recovering from surgery and we can’t play with her lots and wear her down before bed like we want to for fear of hurting her!
#2. We were instructed by the vet. to keep her away from our other dog so she doesn’t play too much while she’s recovering. Plus our other dog is so annoyed with her he keeps growling and snapping at her to get her to back off…that’s a whole different issue I’m not sure how to handle yet!
#3. I’m almost 4 months pregnant, so this lake of sleep at night is killing me! We’ve been trying to let her “cry it out” because we don’t want to re-enforce bad behavior by visiting her when she’s flippin’ out, but in the middle of the night when she’s reacting I have a really hard time ignoring her. Even through sound machines, ear plugs and an air purifier on high blast my new Mommy istincts kick in, I hear her and I can’t fall back to sleep because I feel so bad!
Any advice to speed up this training process would be greatly appreciated. I’m typically a very patient person, but this pregnancy is making it all a lot tougher on me.
Thanks in advance for your help.
@Heather congratulations on your new puppy. I hope things are going better for you now that it’s been a few more days. I put this list together a while back to help others out with crate training: http://puppyintraining.com/cra.....eful-tips/. It sounds like you’re doing a lot of things correct. Unfortunately, it can take a while for some puppy’s to get used to being alone. Hopefully some of the tips in the crate training article can help you with Zoey. You might also try contacting a local dog trainer and having them come to the house and give you some tips while observing your puppy’s behavior. Best of luck with Zoey’s training.
I still have over a month to wait before I pick up my puppy and I found this very interesting and helpful. I’ve had 2 other dogs before but this is the first one that is actually mine and not my parents. Is there any other links or tips you can give me to help me learn all that I can before the time comes for my puppy to come home? Thank you.
-Brandon
@Brandon if you don’t mind spending a few bucks I highly recommend the book Puppies for Dummies (aff link). I read that book cover to cover before I brought home my first puppy and found it invaluable. I still sometimes go back and read through some of the chapters. Unfortunately, this website is a jumble of things I’ve learned throughout my journey as a guide dog puppy raiser. In the future I’m going to organize it or put together an e-book that will better help people wanting to learn more about puppy training. For now I highly recommend Puppies for Dummies (aff link).
Thanks you so much. I’m lucky enough to have an iPad as a resource so I just downloaded a preview to “puppies for dummies” and I’m sure I’ll find it useful and then I’ll download it. I’m just trying to pass the time and learn as much as I can before I’m able to get the puppy! I’m majorly excited! Thanks for the reference! If your able to give me any more references that you find, it would be much appreciated. Thank again!
Brandon
@Brandon I’m glad you’re putting in so much time and effort before picking up your puppy. Raising a puppy is definitely not easy, but the more you plan the better off you’ll be. By the way, I’m not sure if you saw Dublin’s first puppy video, but I talked about a few things I usually do before picking up a puppy. Here’s the link: http://puppyintraining.com/pup.....our-puppy/.
Good luck with your puppy. Let us know how everything goes and remember to take lots of pictures/videos because they grow up fast.
I will make sure to do that. Thanks again Colby! I’ll make sure to watch the video and searchnfor more things.
Brandon
I just got a Doberman puppy and he’s a very cute and smart creature. He is 8 weeks old and his name is Kacey. His first night he cried at around 3 in the morning and then I just woke up at 5:30 to take him out again. The only problem I’m having is that even when not in his crate, he still cries even though I’m a couple inches away
@Ivan, congratulations on the new puppy. Have you had a chance to take your puppy to the veterinarian for a checkup? It’s possible that he may have a health problem. Some puppies do whine a lot even when they are close by. If you pet your pup and reassure him when he’s crying he may be learning that crying gets him attention (not a good thing). Anytime he’s not crying and he’s being good make sure to reward and praise him. If you’re still having trouble I’d try contacting a local dog trainer. Good luck with your new puppy!
Last night was my gorgeous boy chocolate labradors first night at home. He cried for 2 and a half hours straight (even with classical music on softly) as I keep him in the laundry. I ended up going and sleeping in the laundry and he stayed quiet for the remaining 5hours of the night cuddled up beside me on the floor. I am really worried and feel terrible about leaving him to cry. What should I do??? I feel horrible but i don’t want to encourage bad habits as I will need to leave him home alone soon whilst my partner and I are at work. Any advice? I’m goign to try a hot water bottle, clock and my sweatshirt tonight and see how he goes.
@Breanna, congratulations on your new puppy. Here’s a list I put together a while back that might help you with your puppy training: http://puppyintraining.com/cra.....eful-tips/. Some puppies take a while to get used to their new environment. Good luck with your new pup!
I just got a beagle puppy. He’s about 6 to 7 weeks old and i do not know what to feed him. Please help.
@Jasmine we feed our guide dog puppies purina pro plan puppy food. Most of our pups are either Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, or German Shepherds However, you might check a few other sources before feeding your puppy the same food. Try asking your local dog trainer, veterinarian, and a good website I’ve come across for dog and puppy food ratings is http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/.
Hi Colby, just want to thank you for this site. I am getting a mini schnauzer next week at 8 weeks old. I’ve never had a dog before and have researched the whole idea for about four years!! I am terrified and ridiculously excited too. I just want to get off on the right footing from the start and reading your persistent/consistent replies to everyone’s comments has given me confidence that I will be ok with the pup. It’s a daunting step as I want my family to enjoy the dog and it to be happy with us too. The less traumatic the whole experience is, the better! Hopefully it will go fantastically and I will have wished we’d have taken the plunge sooner……..
@Jo congratulations on your new puppy. It sounds like you are very well prepared. If you have any questions please let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Hi Colby, So last night was our first night. Boo cried and howled for about the first thirty minutes in the crate – loudly! I told everyone he was fine and we were to leave him and the next thing he went to the toilet in there. I think he must have been extremely distressed and that’s why he went or maybe he was howling because he needed to go? I cleared it up anyway and put him back in and we didn’t hear him once again. I got up in the night to take him out but he was so sleepy that I just left him. He seems just fine this morning. I took him outside where he had a pee and now he’s asleep again. It didn’t feel like the right thing to do-just leaving him to howl in the crate but that is definitely what I’m supposed to do -right? thanks a million……….
@Jo I hope everything is going well with your new puppy! Our guide dog puppies sleep in their crates right next to our bed. However, even having our pups nearby does not always mean no crying, howling, barking. Your puppy may have been howling because he needed to go potty. However, you still want to make sure you don’t let him out while he’s howling. Try to stop him for at least a few seconds, praise him, then let him out of the crate. He’ll eventually learn that he only gets out of the crate when he’s being good(quiet). As far as your last question…you just do not want to let him out of his crate while he’s barking/howling. My last two puppies, Dublin and Derby, would bark/howl for about 5-10 minutes before they fell asleep and did this for less than a week. Stetson barked/howled nearly non-stop and the only way I got him to sleep was by talking to him…he did this for about 4 weeks. Each puppy is different just make sure your consistent with your crate training and eventually your pup will understand.
Thanks so much for the advice. He is fine in his crate now and I only put him in there at night. He doesn’t make a sound. I have been getting up every three hours to take him outside to wee which is tiring and when I mentioned this at the vets today where he went for his injection they laughed and said nobody would have a dog if they were getting up at night with it! They advised me to put paper in the corner of his crate for him to use and chuck that away in the morning. I think this defeats the purpose of the crate training? I went out of my way to buy a crate with a divider (which are hard to get in the UK for smaller dogs), so that he just had space for a bed and nowhere to potty. Confused/tired.com…………
I’m not spoiling him am I? Just helping him avoid soiling his bed which he would hate and I wouldn’t love either. I have young children and I would prefer all doggie poops to be outside away from where the children might be playing.
@Jo it sounds like he’s learning. As your puppy gets older and better control of his bladder he should be okay to sleep through the night. I agree with you it does defeat the purpose if you just have your puppy pee in the crate. If you’re taking him out every 3 hours right now I would try to make him hold it a little longer every night until he’s sleeping through the entire night.
Here’s the usual ritual with my puppies:
1. I put them to sleep for the night – they usually whine/howl for 5-10 minutes then fall asleep except for extreme cases like Stetson.
2. If they wake up and start crying in the middle of the night after I put them to sleep I take them to their potty place and ask them to “get busy”. Of course I make sure they stop whining for a few seconds before I actually let them out of the crate. After they potty I take them directly back to their crate without any play time and have them go back to sleep. They usually whine for a couple minutes then go back to sleep.
3. Usually for the first few days they wake up 2-3 times a night. After about the first week they start sleeping more and more until they sleep through the entire night.
Jo,
I do not agree putting paper in the crate. Even though I haven’t personally had to take care of a baby (YET!), I hear babies and puppies are similar when it comes to nighttime duties. For anywhere from just the first few weeks to a few months, they both need to use the bathroom during the night sometime. It took my lab a couple of weeks to be able to sleep through the night. Needless to say, I took a nap when I could those days.
By putting paper in there, I think you’d be supporting an action that goes against the dog’s instincts.
Hi Colby,
I will be getting an 8 week old mini-schnauzer next Saturday, and I was hoping you could give me some advice. My boyfriend and I like to watch tv in bed before going to sleep. Do you think it would be ok for the puppy to lay on the bed with us during this time, or should we keep him in the crate even while we are awake and just laying in bed? Thanks for your help!
@Kristen congratulations on the new puppy. Steven B gives some great advice. We do not allow our guide dog puppies on the bed and I would recommend the same for your puppy. As Steven mentions it can be difficult at first, but he will get used to it over time. Best of luck with your new puppy!
Hi Colby,
Thanks to you and Steven B for the advice! We have had Oscar for nearly a week now, and there are several things that are just perfect about him. He has yet to make a mess in his crate, and since night 2, he sleeps through the night without making a sound. However, he is extremely mouthy.
For a while he was mouthy with me and my boyfriend, but now he listens to me pretty well and stops when I tell him to. He does NOT, however, stop when my boyfriend, Justin, tells him to. He will play nicely for a couple of minutes, but it escalates from playfully chewing to outright biting within a matter of seconds. It is so stressful, and it is nothing like we were hoping it would be. It’s like Oscar has no respect for Justin, and it really upsets the both of us. Every night this week, since we got him, we have been stressed beyond belief!
The breeder recommended we use a time-out box, which does work in the short term, but Oscar still goes after Justin.
I’m not sure what else we can do! Sorry for such a long message – any advice would be helpful!
Thanks!
@Kristen, It’s difficult to tell what’s really going on since he behaves fine with you, but differently with your boyfriend without observing in person. The best thing to do would be to have your local dog trainer come in for and in-home training and observe your puppies behavior around both you and your boyfriend. We raise mostly Labrador Retriever puppies and they are naturally mouthy. When they start biting we usually just redirect their attention to a toy or pressed rawhide rather than our hands or arms. Another thing we’ve used is bitter apple spray. We just spray the bitter apple on our hands/arms or whatever we dont want our puppies biting/chewing and most pups will stop. One last thing, our pups usually start biting/chewing less after about 4 months when they lose their baby teeth. Good luck with Oscar!
@Kristen, in addition to what Colby said, you (and your boyfriend) can try yelping like a dog when he bites. It might seem silly, but I think the idea behind it stems back to when a dog is with his siblings. If a pup starts playing too rough with one of his siblings, that sibling would yelp, which would cause most pups to stop.
As for the boyfriend issue, it may be that your pup doesn’t respect him. First, while I have no idea if mini-schnauzers are like this, some dogs bond to one person, while other dogs, like a lab, bond with the whole family.
Second, is your boyfriend around the pup as much as you? Does he take him out, (attempt to) enforce rules, etc.? My pup Kate(lab) at first would usually only listen to my commands, as well as only not bite me. As my girlfriend spent more time with Kate, she started to listen to her too.
Kristen,
Do you plan to let your dog lay in bed with you when he is older? If not, don’t do it now. We, as humans, like to treat dogs differently when they are smaller/younger, allowing things then that we don’t want to allow when they are older/bigger. The problem is, it isn’t good for the dog. Consistency is the best. Your dog may not like it at first, but him staying in the crate even while you are sitting there watching tv will be something he will get used to. My dog Kate has gotten used to it, so will your new puppy!
Thanks for some really useful information. Great article.
Hi Colby! im gona get my new puppy today. His breed was Japanese Spitz-Terrier. mix breed. and, i worry alot because my mom refuse to adopt a pet. it might die. and what i worry is, if it would make noise during night time. my parents hate that. but i guess i need to train it. problem is, i dont have a crate. what do u think is an alternative for crates? what temperature should be it in? i worry alot. how much is the rates of vets? like, check up and getting advices? thank you! -kenneth-
@Kenneth, sorry for the late response. I guess it’s been a few days since you picked up your puppy. How’s everything going? The first few days are usually the toughest. To answer your questions:
what do u think is an alternative for crates? I’ve used X-Pens as an alternative to a crate. However you want to make sure it’s the right size. It should only give your puppy enough room to stand up and turn around. If you give your puppy too much room he will sleep on one side and pee on the other.
what temperature should be it in? I keep my crate in the bedroom. As far as temperature my house is usually between 70 and 80 degrees Farenheit.
how much is the rates of vets? like, check up and getting advices? Vets are expensive. Stetson’s ear infection cost well over a hundred dollars and he seems to get those around 3-4 times a year. Our vet bill is usually the largest expense with our dogs.
Hopefully that helps. Best of luck with your new puppy!
hi we are picking up our Labrador/Staff today at around five and she is aa beautiful gal my sister used an old mattress and set it up as a bed for tonight and im gonna move the couch near it so it wont cry but my sister wants to cuddle it to sleep should she?
@Tahnee, congratulations on your new puppy! As a guide dog puppy raiser we crate train our puppies and therefore wouldn’t recommend cuddling up on the mattress with your puppy. I hope everything is going well with your first few nights with your new puppy!
When you are playing with her, put her in her crate every so often, even if it isn’t bedtime. Put her in after playtime or whenever for about two minutes and only let her out when she stops whining. Then praise her. If you do this often and make it longer each time, she will come to realize that every time she goes in her crate she might not be locked up for 7 hours. This is for someone who said their dog won’t go in the crate.
Oh yeah, I’m about to get a Doberman puppy, but just wondering, when you put them to bed, and take them to pee or poop before they go to bed, can they stay up the whole night? Do you have to set an alarm to take them out in the middle of the night or something?
@Allison, congratulations on getting a new puppy. I don’t set an alarm in the middle of the night. I’ve had some puppies sleep through the night and then I just take them out in the morning. While I’ve had other puppies wake up once or twice (Steson was the exception he woke up about every two hours) during the night and I take them outside to potty then bring them right back to their crate.
can a one-year old dog who has not been housebroken be taught to relieve herself outside the house? she defecates and urinates in just one part of the house though but i would prefer that she holds her pee til she’s out of the house. or that she would let me know that she’s going to pee.
@Nheng yes, you can teach a one year old to relieve outside. Take a look at this page on how to potty train a puppy. Potty training will be the same for an older dog.
I just got my new scottish terrier mixed with another breed they think is ‘cane-terrier’. He has been with us for five days ago. He slept his first night in a crate. Although I slept in my bedroom, he was in the kitchen of our small apartment with his wee pad that held his toys, and a nice soft blanket to sleep on. My 19 year old daughter let him out because he was whining so much.. grrrrrrr.. so this morning when i got up to take him to potty, he went back in his crate.. he whines durning the day for a spell, but he gets tired of it and stops.. i am praying that this will not last as long as it could.. I will remember consistency and patience….. love the stories and the site.. most helpful..
@Kimmi, thanks for telling us your story. It sounds like your well on your way to crate training your puppy. Please let me know if you have any questions. Best of luck with your new pup!
I’ve had my Schnoodle pup (11 weeks old) for three weeks now. At bedtime I crate her next to my bed. She yelps/screeches/whines for 30 to 45 minutes, then falls asleep for 4 to 5 hours before needing to go out. She doesn’t do so well in the daytime (I’m retired, so am home with her) and will holler off and on for as long as she is in the crate. I have two questions … every other week I travel to another state (with my dogs) to spend the week caring for elderly parents in their home. While I’m there I can’t let the pup be noisy at night so keep her on a short leash by my bed rather than in a crate. Will this un-do the progress made the week before? My other question – my dog training book says not to let her potty in the crate, but to take her out if I think she needs to go. My vet said to just leave her in the crate with an old towel for 6 to 8 hours and clean up the ‘accidents’ when I take her out of the crate. This seems counterproductive. What do you say? By the way, she’s doing great in every other way!
@Anne, congratulations on your new puppy. I’m not too sure on the leashing your puppy rather than crating her at night as I have never tried that with any of my puppies until after they were used to their crate. Regarding allowing your puppy to potty in the crate…I would definitely advise against allowing your puppy to do this. You should as your dog training book mentions take her out int the evening when you thinks she has to go potty then bring her immediately back to her crate.
Good advice, I thank you for this. I think most of the people miss such simple things which are very important in a dog’s life. Thanks
Hi I’m getting a puppy in summer, it’s a breed called shi poo a shihtzu poodle cross and as my parents have relatives that are allergic to dogs it would have to sleep outside as soon as possible, I was wondering how long until it’s allowed outside and is it also ok if I have the place for relieving in one place and then move to another in about a month. I also forgot to mention we will be getting it at 8 weeks.
Hope you can help
@Spinespin, as a guide dog puppy raiser we raise and train all of our puppies to live in doors. You might try contacting your local dog trainer or veterinarian and ask when would be an appropriate time to allow your puppy to live outside which would vary depend on where you live (weather conditions, etc.).
We just brought an 8 week old puppy home. My husband wants to hold it in his lap all of the time and let it sleep there. Is this advisable? She’s not liking the crate at night much any more since he started this. Help please?????
Your puppy is not a baby. She needs to not be coddled. There is a difference between getting coddled and giving attention/love. Obviously your husband’s lab is more comfortable than the crate. It is recommended that you train your pup to take naps and of course the nightly sleeps in the crate.
Okay just got a puppy the 9/24/2011. and hes 9 weeks old. he is a chihhuahua. and thing need to know is sleeping too much bad thing?
@Diana, if you think your puppy is sleeping too much you should probably have take him to the veterinarian and make sure everything is okay.
Hi I just brought home a 4 week old Pitbull mixed with a Labrador Retriever and he is not getting used to his crate I’ve tried leaving him there, ignoring him, giving him a little attention then leaving but this pup only gets louder and louder.
@Saul our guide dog puppies don’t come home until they are 7 weeks old. 4 weeks old might be a little bit young to be away from his littermates and mother. In our experience it has taken any where from 1 night to 4 weeks before our puppies have gotten used to their crate…we even heard it taking over 2 months for one of our puppy raisers. Stetson literally cried for hours on end before he got used to his crate which took about 4 weeks. Dublin cried his first couple nights then was fine in his crate. It’s important to be consistent, patient, and persistent with puppies. Make sure you never take them out when they are crying. If anything get them to stop for at least a few seconds before taking them out of the crate.
Hopefully things are going better with you and your puppy this week.
Hello
Hello! We are bringing a Golden Retriever puppy home in a few weeks. I’ve raised a pup before, but it’s been a while! We plan to crate train our girl, but I have a question about crating. Since our bedrooms are on the second floor, I am considering sleeping on a futon in the basement with the crate next to me for the first week she is home; it will be faster to get her outside, and the rest of the family needs to sleep! Wherever we end up in the beginning, is it a problem to move the crate to another overnight location after a week?
Love your blog and plan on reading many more posts!
@Heather we have our crates right next to our beds the majority of the time. However, we have on occasion had to move the crate to a different room and had no problems. It may take a little bit of time for your puppy to adjust to moving their crate location, but I wouldn’t really expect any major problems. Best of luck with your new puppy!
Hello there , i have just got a 12 week old chihuhua boy his a beaut but was from a home with his mum and dad and other pets, now last night we put him to bed in the kitch with the scent blanket and toy and he moaned and moaned i did totally the wrong thing and splet on the sofa with him in the end , now i have put him back in the kitchen we scents and toys with breakfast and gone to work and i could hear him still moaning , hopefully he will get used to this and queit right ? also he is also using his training pad only had 2 accidents , i didnt tell him off just praised when using the pad , but o my days am i tired to day
@leigh, it sounds like you’re doing everything right. It can take a while for your puppy to get used to being on his own. After all he is probably used to sleeping with his litter mates. As I mentioned in some of my posts it took Stetson about 4 weeks before he stopped crying in his crate. Hopefully it will be much shorter for you and your new puppy. The early days of puppyhood are the most difficult.
I just brought my puppy home. His name is Atlas and he is a pit mix from the shelter. He is 4 months old and incredibly smart. last night was his first night and he slept in bed with mommy and dad and woke me at 1 in the morning to go potty i was shocked! i didn’t think he would wake up so i had set an alarm to take him out just a half hour later then what he needed. he didn’t like the tv and went insane barking and growling which, even though daddy wasn’t happy, i loved it. it allowed me to teach him “quiet” which he picked up after the 4th time of me telling him!
@Sam that’s great that he’s already learning how to be “quiet” I hope the rest of his puppy training is going well.
I tried your steps and norhing happend. This made my dog worse then ever ugh
@kerensurie, every puppy is different. It took my first guide dog puppy, Stetson about 4 weeks before he got used to being alone in his crate. If you’re working on crate training here are a few other things you can try: http://puppyintraining.com/cra.....eful-tips/
Hi all you dog lovers…. I am so excited im getting my puppy on Saturday… I have been reading through and I can not wait to get my little pup training.
@Claire, congratulations on your new puppy. I hope everything is going well with your puppy training.
Colby please help!
I just purchased an 8 week old siberian husky and have been having all the fun your articles said i would be(insert sarcasm). You were dead on in the other article on stetson about expect to be up 3-4 times a night and no more than 6 hours of sleep. Im beginning to think ill never sleep thru the night again!! Boy oh boy oh boy does he whine and howl in the crate!!!
He turned 9 weeks today and has SLIGHTLY progressed with the whining and howling to get out of the crate so maybe what we are doing is working. Any tips you can add as far as when he really needs to relieve himself or if hes just being sneaky to get out of the crate?
How long in between bathroom breaks age wise should he be going? Please help a very sleep exhausted siberian owner!!!!
@Justin I just sent a response to your other comment. Just in case you don’t get it here’s a copy. I hope this helps.
@Justin sorry for the late response and congratulations on your new puppy. It sounds like you’re new pup is related to Stetson. It can be difficult to know whether you’re puppy is crying because he has to potty or if he just wants out. The times I always take my puppy out are after meal times, after play times, before I put him in his crate, and as soon as he wakes up. Usually any time my puppy wakes up in the middle of the night I will take him outside, have him potty, and bring him directly back to his crate. Here’s how things worked with Stetson:
1. Take him out to potty
2. Put him in his crate for bed time
3. He cries, howls, barks for 10-20 minutes while I talk him to sleep
4. He sleeps for 2 hours
5. Wakes up in the middle of the night crying.
6. I get him to stop crying for a few seconds then let him out of his crate
7. Take him out to his potty spot and let him potty.
8. Bring him directly back to his crate
9. He cries, howls, barks for 10-20 minutes while I talk him to sleep
That was basically the cycle with Stetson and he did that for approximately 4 weeks. The 2 other puppies I trained as guide dogs only woke up once or twice the first few nights and then everything was fine.
Hopefully your Siberian Husky is doing better today then he was doing last week. We bring our puppies home at around 7 weeks of age and like I said after a few nights with 2 out of 3 puppies they were sleeping throughout the night. I hope this all helps. Best of luck with your new puppy!
yes everything has gotten MUCH better. After the end of the first week we decided to try the blanket of the crate and it either worked wonders or he just decided to be comfortable enough to let us sleep.
he still wakes up at the first sign of activity in the mornings though and doesnt want to go back to sleep at that point which makes for early weekend mornings for me which can stink since i work 5 days a week but hey at least now i can sleep for more than a few hours straight.
i have to say, he has gotten much better with the crate now i just need to finish the house breaking which i heard is tough with this breed… Is this really true Colby? how old should he be before i should expect the accidents (or not accidents) to stop?
@Justin, I’ve only worked with one other Siberian Husky and that was years ago. He didn’t have many problems with his house breaking. My personal experience is mainly with Labrador Retrievers and the amount of time it has taken to house break has varied widely for me. Anywhere from a few weeks to a few months with my pups. Best of luck with your little guy. I’m sure he’s doing even better this week!
My huband & I just got our puppy, Hoss, yesterday. Our night was AWFUL last night. He was fine until we went to bed and he woke up with the lights off and whined all night long. He would hush for a few minutes & back to whining. It was ridiculous. He doesn’t like his box. I wasn’t about to leave him out this morning when I left for work so he was in the box til I get home this afternoon between 1:30 & 2:00. I haven’t had a puppy in a while and I don’t remember having this much trouble with our first pup, Shadow.
I haven’t brought home my puppy yet. I will go and pick him up next week and I can’t wait. He is a Siberian Husky. Your forum was very helpful to some things I have been curious about. Do you have any other tips or advice about huskies
i got mine at 8 weeks and he is 10-1/2 weeks now. be ready for at least a week of waking up every 2-3 hours to take the puppy out and a ton of howling when he is in the crate. (especially when your not right next to him/her. try covering the crate at night after a few days or so and that may help with the whining
I just got a puppy male pit bull terrier. He loves to prance around and be with me when I walk but once I stop he likes to run off and tear things up. I have the pads and the wee wee drops how exactly I make him want to go on the pad???
@Frankie, we haven’t really used the pee pads too much. However, using the pads is very similar to taking your dog outside to pee. Here’s something you might try: anytime you think your dog might have to potty put him on his leash and walk him over to his pee pads. We usually give our guide dog pups a command and tell them to “Get Busy”. Give him about 5-10 minutes to try and potty. If he does give him tons of praise and any rewards you might give in your training. At a minimum take your pup to his potty spot anytime he wakes up, before he goes to sleep, after meal times, after he’s been playing for a while. Also, you might try keeping a potty log so you know approximately when he goes throughout the day. Hopefully these little tips help. Good luck with your puppy!
I love this forum/blog. Next week our puppy will be ready to come home! He’s an OES, we’ve decided on calling him Mumford after the band. The thing is, we have to drive about 5 hours to get him. Any tips on long distance travel for pups? He’ll be 8 weeks at that time.
@Kim, I’m not sure if you’ve hit the road to pickup Mumford yet, but just in case here are my thoughts. Make sure you bring someone with you to help with Mumford in the car and during pickup. It was about a 2 hour ride when I first picked up Stetson and I couldn’t talk anyone in to going with me which was a big mistake. Mine was only about a 2-2:30 minute drive with traffic. During pickup I got very few pictures because i didn’t have anyone there with me. During the car ride I crated Stetson, but he was very difficult crying, barking, and howling. He also had an accident in the crate.
1. Make sure you bring someone with you to help with your puppy pickup.
2. If you don’t have someone with you bring a crate. You might bring one anyways if you plan on crate training.
3. I’d make several stops for potty breaks. Anytime your pup wakes up he’ll probably have to potty. Look for a safe place for them to potty. Young puppies don’t have fully developed immune systems so you want to stay away from areas where other dogs regularly hang out like a dog park, pet store, etc.
4. Have fun during pickup and take lots of pictures/video.
Those are a few things that I can think of off the top of my head. Have fun picking up your puppy! We put together a video of when we picked up Dublin if you’d like to check it out: http://puppyintraining.com/pup.....our-puppy/
Hi my name’s Tatyanna, I’m 13, and I was reading a lot on this website and it’s really helpful but i was wondering is it OK to let my dog sleep in my bed because I’ve read stuff about not letting them in your bed when they whine but what about when they’re already trained?
@Tatyanna, sorry for the late response. We don’t allow any of our guide dog puppies in training to sleep in bed with us. All of our guide dog pups are required to sleep in their crates at night. If it’s your personal pet dog and he’s well trained then I don’t see any reason why you can’t allow him to sleep in your bed. This is usually a personal choice. However, be advised that letting your dog sleep in your bed may lead to training issues so always consult your local dog trainer.
Hi, I am supposed to be getting a labrador puppy in a few weeks, he will be 8 weeks old and vaccinated. We are going on holidays soon after (10 weeks) – will he be OK coming with us or will it be too much change for him too quickly?? We’ll be away for a week and the breeder said the pup can stay with them till we come back. I would like to take him with us as he’s to be trained as a companion dog for my daughter and think she will benefit from him there as she does not like change herself…. any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Monika
@Monika are you going on holiday 10 weeks after you pick up your puppy or is he going to be 10 weeks old when you start travelling? You should talk to your local dog trainer and veterinarian. If your pup is old 10 weeks old when you start your travels he will not yet be fully vaccinated and may be susceptible to disease.
When we pick up our guide dog pups at around 7-8 weeks of age we mainly try to get them used to their homes and try not to expose them to too much too soon. We don’t usually take our puppies on major outings until they’re about 6 months old. If you’re puppy is only 10 weeks old when you start your travels I think he may be a little too young. As I mentioned consult your local dog trainer and veterinarian before you decide to travel with such a young pup…I’m sure your breeder will have some good advice for you as well.
Thanks for your prompt reply and advice, the pup will be 10 weeks old and we will leave him with the breeder until we come back. One of his mates will be there as well for company and she will continue training him for us. Your site has been of great help in preparing for the arrival of our pup and I can’t wait to get back home to pick him up and welcome him into our family. Will sure be visiting your site some more!!!.
@Monika, that’s great that your breeder is going to watch him and continue to work on his training. I’m sure your puppy will be very happy to see you when you return from vacation. Have fun on your trip!
Hello, I have just got a german shorthaired pointer puppy.Every night she wakes me up howling and crying.I am sure she makes these noises because she is telling me she has done a wee or a poo!! But this is nearly every hour almost.I am just about to try ADAPTIL diffusser plug in (DAP) do you think it will work.
@Louise, I’ve never tried ADAPTIL diffuser plug in (DAP) so I’m not really sure. We had similar problems with Stetson. It took him nearly a month before he was comfortable in his crate. Crate training can sometimes take a while and require extreme patience from both you and your neighbors.
hello. i just got my pug mix puppy on friday he is 8 weeks…. and oh boy was that first night a long one. i took him out before i put him in. i was wondering instead of having him in the same room is it ok to put him in another room with a light on? The second night was better i placed him in the kennel and put a shirt of mine in there because i was unable to get a toy with his littermates scent is that fine also?
boy do i remember and feel for you. a little over 2 and 1/2 months ago i was in the same position. my first week was hell. just make sure your ready to be up and down throughout the night for at least a week…
during the second week i got some relief by putting a blanket over the crate and he slept most of the night. we had to sleep on the couch and one on the fllor next to his crate
the first week* the second week we slept back in the bedroom
@justin, you’re right! The first few days are tough. It makes me wonder why I keep raising guide dog pups.
@Everyone, it gets better…I promise.
@Lina, congratulations on your new puppy. We keep the kennel in the same room with us so we can be sure nothing bad is happening with our pups and also to help create a bound with our new pups. Putting him in another room is not a terrible thing to do as your pup eventually has to learn to be alone. However, it’s a tough transition for your puppy to go from being cozy and cuddly with his mother and litter mates to a brand new home all by himself. I think a shirt with your scent on it is a good idea and may help your puppy relax. Best of luck with your new pup!
I enjoy this site very much. It has great suggestions. Thank you!!!
I just purchased a 9 week old yorkie yesterday evening and since she has been in my home she has been whinning constantly while she’s awake.. Is this normal? Is it due to her being away from her mother because the rest of the litter was sold when I got her.. She kept me up all last night howling and whinning is there anything I can do? How long will it take for her to adjust to her new environment??
CocoaDior,
Congratulations on the yorkie! My girlfriend’s mom has had her yorkie Buster for five years or so and loves him to death. Buster is probably her confidant when my girlfriend isn’t around haha!
When you get a puppy from a breeder, if you can, you should try to get some of the scent. That typically means getting some kind of puppy-safe plush toy and rubbing it where the puppies and mom used to be. This provides the puppy with a familiar smell and helps calm the pup in a new environment. Mind you I said it HELPS, not completely solves! Since you got it yesterday, perhaps you will be able to go back and get some of that scent?
The adjustment period is different for any puppy. Some may take two days, two weeks, or two months. Be vigilant. The info at the top of this page is all true and helpful.
This past summer, I found a less than 3 month old lab mix on my way back to my apartment. After originally not planning to adopt her, leaving her in the care of the humane society, I went back and actually got her. It wasn’t easy. Like it says up at the top, I too did not get much sleep. 4-6 hours was my max. It’s hard at first, but don’t give in and it will pay off immensely. That little ball of fur has a full heart ready to pour out and love you!
Hi. I am getting a 3 month old american cocker spaniel puppy this week! My question is this: When we are at my boyfriends house i want her to sleep in the crate, and at my house i want her to sleep in bed with me. Will this be too confusing to her? I am fine sharing the bed and think it will be a great way for us to bond, but my boyfriend isnt jazzed on the idea which is fine. Should I have her in a crate in both houses or will she learn that she is in the crate sometimes and in bed others.
Thanks
I am friends with a married couple and originally, the wife wanted to exactly like you are talking about. They have two mini-poodles. Cutting to the end of the story, the dogs are in crates now every single night. I recommend you just do the crate thing from the get go. There are many other ways you and your pup can bond. Have the crate beside your bed or at least in the same room. Colby(the author of this page) I’m sure will back me up on this hah.
hi, we are going to have a chocolate lab puppy end of this month. I am so excited ..can’t wait
anyways, I hear a lot about crate training. My husband suggested to leave him in the kitchen and put gates up so he only stays in the kitchen area for the night until he’s housebroken.
should i respond to his howling at night or should i ignore it? And how many times should I take him outside in the yard so he can pee (at night)?
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We want him to have a corner in the yard where he can release himself, should i still teach him to pee at a newspaper or teach him from the beginning to go outside?
I know..many questions need an answer …please
I got up many times at night for the first month-month and a half to take my dog Kate out. I got up every time I woke up and heard her. She was almost 2-3 months old when I found her. I never really counted but it was probably around 3 times at first, moving down to once a night a week later. Just remember that those night interactions are strictly business: Take the pup out, give it some time to pee and stuff, and then back in the crate. No treats or any of that.
As for the corner relieving thing, there are these pee spikes you can stick in the ground that supposedly help make the dog eliminate(use the bathroom) around that area. I cannot say if these actually work since I’ve never used one yet, but that would be your best bet. Routine helps too. Actually, routines will help with more than just bathroom times!
Using training pads to help with toileting is great. my puppy was using them after a few days. You must ensure you put them in the same place and reward and make a fuss of your puppy when he usesit. Ignore if he forgets or misses. Take your puppy out as much as possible, in the garden at first until he has had all of his boosters. Check out my website for more info.