Advise Needed For Puppy's First Night

[jr_inoz]

Sorry for repeating this post from elsewhere - but i need some advise

I am bringing my puppy home tomorrow night!!!!

I live in a little townhouse (bedrooms upstairs, living areas downstairs) and a small but nice backyard for puppy to play in that i have made secure (cant see anything she can get into trouble with).

I am hoping to begin the way i plan to continue and so am planning on having her crate downstairs (Inside) with perhaps a little pen around it as well. My problem is that with me sleeping upstairs, i dont think i will hear her if she needs to go outside. Should i keep the crate door open when i put her to bed (inside the pen) in case i dont hear her? I dont mind cleaning up 'mistakes' if i dont get her out quickly enough. I've also been thinking about making the 'pet-loo' that i've seen on another thread.

I bought a cushion/bed for her crate. do i need to put anything else in there with it? She has an outside shelter/kennel too for when she is outside.

Have bought bowls, collars, leads, toys, brushes, comb (a sheltie, she will need it). Someone gave me puppy training pads they had used with their dog.

My other big question is what should i do when i first bring her home? I am figuring letting her have a big sniff around the house and a play and just get used to new surroundings. Supper. Anything else that people think i should do to make it less stressful for her?

Should i have a hot water bottle ready for her bed in case she is unsettled? A radio for comfort? (Both of these things have been suggested to me but i have no idea as to what works or doesnt)

Very excited right now. Been waiting for the right puppy for almost two years! Finally here.

Any advice, help, recommendations of great crate training websites etc will be appreciated.

[Mjosa]

Congratulations on your new special baby arriving home tomorrow night.

You certainly have got everything in place for her arrival.

If you have a pen put that up with her crate and bedding into it place several layers of newspaper all over the pen floor and leave the crate door open, a puppy will never foul where they sleep and if she has this option to be able to come and go as she pleases to relieve herself on the paper it will make for a happier baby.

May I suggest, I do this whenever any of my babies leave home, ask her breeder for a blanket that her Mother and litter mates plus herself have used, as do not forget her new home is a big strange world to her and she will be missing her mates, and leave a radio on on a talkback station at night, she will then not feel as if she is by herself, even a light or lamp on not necessarily in the room that you are settling her down in, until she gets used to her new home.

Best of luck, BTW have a big play with her and tire her out, and should she cry during the night do not go down to her or she will then know that she only has to make a noise and she will have you down there with her, get some ear plugs and tell the neighbours to get some too, you will find that this will only last a couple of nights, especially if she does not have you running to her.

[NoodleNut]

Hi jr_inoz, Congratulations on the puppy!! How exciting!! It seems not that long ago since we got our pup! Must see photos when you get a chance .. make sure you have that camera handy to brag

I will attach a photo of what we did with our pup when we first bought her home ..

Penned, crate inside the pen, door of the crate wedged open, training pads for when I missed the sound of her waking up to toilet her. (suggest you either set an alarm or just take her out at 11pm before you hit the sack and then every couple of hours ... yes, it is very tiring the first few weeks but be sure to hang in there.

Get a heap of chicken necks from the supermarket and put them into little bags and freeze them .. wonderful for when you are getting to the stage of shutting the crate door (check out the other posts on this point .. it can be a bit tiresome and stressful but again have a strong resolve and all will be well). The frozen chicken necks are great for pups to chew on .. they chew slower because they are frozen .. less likely to gulp and the cool is good for cutting their teeth in a couple of weeks).

We also thought about the pet loo but to be honest the toilet training goes very quickly and it would probably be a waste of money .. our 5.5mth old has not gone to the toilet in the crate at all since we started shutting the door on her at about 14 weeks (can't remember the exact date) so even though it may seem a costly exercise of cleaning up poo and going through training pads at a rate that you are considering buying shares in them ... all of a sudden everything 'clicks' and you get left with 3/4 of a bag of 50!!! That is what has happened to us. She also has not gone in the house for about 6 weeks.

Lots and Lots of paper towel,... 'Urine off' spray if you don't have any, disinfectant, baby nappy bags (100% biodegradable ones,... smell nicer than the dog ones and they are cheaper too). Room spray too. Also I have found a chamois of great use... still use it now to wipe puppy's paws and muzzle after eating, or just to wipe down the coat with Aloveen or the like (smells nice and puts off the bathing initially) ... great for wiping poop off those little paws too Easy to wash after and better than wet old towels.

Perhaps an old towel in the bedding too .. much easier to wash than pillows. If you can get the towel rubbed all over her mum .. she will be able to smell this and that will be comfroting.

We have a bear that made a heart beat sound I attached to the outside of the crate (our kids had it as babies). We didn't do the waterbottle thing as we got our pup when it was hot ... she had icecubes in her water instead!

Take the first night pretty easy. I did not have anyone over .. just us and we restricted her movements to just the kitchen area, her pen and the lawn for the first week, The second week we introduced the backyard (in another pen) then the third week started to let her out to roam around the yard on her own. This worked well for our pup. In between times lots of little trips in the car with us (she LOVES the car now!)

Lots of lovely puppy massages with you on the floor legs slightly apart and puppy between them (belly to ground) and stroking her back and head etc with long calming strokes then roll her over (belly to ceiling) in between your legs again ... playing with her paws (eventually you will need to trim the hair on her paws so this will get her used to her being touched on the pads of the feet, belly rubs etc. Over time check her ears .. smell them , check in her mouth and her teeth etc.

These are things we did that worked for us but this Forum has some wonderful members that will share their suggestions with you too that may be different from mine - what works for you and your pup

Best wishes!

[sas]

To start with I personaly feel that the crate needs to be in the room with you so you can hear if the puppy cries to let you know they need to toilet. When I say cries, I mean the cries that come after they've settled and been asleep for a while not the howling, crying and screaming that you may get from in the first week as the puppy is away from its' litter.

Over time you can move the crate step by step further away from the room to where you want the crate to be. My personal preference is to have the dogs in my room so I know what's going on and if they're ok. From time to time dogs can get upset tummies and I'd rather not have to clean out a crate from that mess because I couldn't hear that the dog needed to toilet.