Bringing Puppy Home

[j.lee]

I know i can ask the breeder this but just thought i would ask here first. So im bringing home our new mini foxie pup in two days i have everything ready but it just hit me this morning that its been a while since i have had a puppy and i cant remember if during the night when puppy cry's the exact thing to do. I took a teddy over to the breeders house yesterday to be left in mum's box to get mums smell on it but im sure there will still be a few cry's. If im recalling correctly you simply go and get puppy back into his bed walk away with no pats or attention as puppy may confuse this with praise. Is that right ?

[Kyra]

Both of my dogs did more than cry as puppies, they howled the house down at night in their crates, i made sure they didnt need the toilet, if not and they continued to cry, they were ignored.

They got the message soon enough a friend of mine ran and petted her puppy, talking to it in a ridiculous voice everytime it made the slightest sound and her dog is now 18 months old and still barks and cries in the crate trying to get her attention, not fun.

[LizT]

I've also discovered that the entire litter (5) will bitch and moan and whine at 3.30 am for no apparent reason (we got up and feed them, checked their water and changed the paper and they still carried on!) And they haven't even left home yet! So don't stress too much over the 'wingeing' puppy at night time syndrome.

[Paul Bright]

tough love is the answer. In short, ignore the cries all the time Be consistent about it and he's sure to stop crying soon enough. :D

[persephone]

In short, ignore the cries all the time

Fair enough...BUT, you will probably need a night time toileting routine .. a couple of times during the night, for the first little while- as puppies have very little control....

[chi4me]

Ive only just got my puppy on Monday, and was worried about this as well.

From reading the forum and all the advice offered, I came away with "start out how you mean to go on" because setting up a routine from day one is a MUST.

Charlie is a Chihuahua and have to admit, with him being so tiny and fluffy all I want to do when he starts up his little whine is pick him up and comfort him as you would a baby

What I did was set up a puppy playpen with his crate inside. Charlie was used to toileting on paper, so I have defined areas in the pen - sleeping, eating, toileting.

So far so good Last night he had a little bit of a grumble, but basically what I did was timed myself. First time he started crying after putting him to bed for the night, was wait 10 minutes - then off to see if anything was wrong. Of course there wasnt lol - next time I let him have a whine for 20 minutes - again I had to get up and see if he was ok. Third time and final time was 30 minutes later, was just about to step out and go see what was happening when all went quiet. Waited around the corner for probably another 10 minutes, sneeked out like a thief looking for jewellery and trying not to wake the occupants of the house and looked in his crate. There he was laying curled up next to his snuggle puppy like there wasnt a care in the world.

He slept all the way through with only one little whine at around 1.30am to 7am this morning.

It is HARD, but the benefits of keeping to a routine will most definitely pay off.

Have fun with your mini foxie and would love to see some pics!

[Paul Bright]

Ive only just got my puppy on Monday, and was worried about this as well.

From reading the forum and all the advice offered, I came away with "start out how you mean to go on" because setting up a routine from day one is a MUST.

Charlie is a Chihuahua and have to admit, with him being so tiny and fluffy all I want to do when he starts up his little whine is pick him up and comfort him as you would a baby

What I did was set up a puppy playpen with his crate inside. Charlie was used to toileting on paper, so I have defined areas in the pen - sleeping, eating, toileting.

So far so good Last night he had a little bit of a grumble, but basically what I did was timed myself. First time he started crying after putting him to bed for the night, was wait 10 minutes - then off to see if anything was wrong. Of course there wasnt lol - next time I let him have a whine for 20 minutes - again I had to get up and see if he was ok. Third time and final time was 30 minutes later, was just about to step out and go see what was happening when all went quiet. Waited around the corner for probably another 10 minutes, sneeked out like a thief looking for jewellery and trying not to wake the occupants of the house and looked in his crate. There he was laying curled up next to his snuggle puppy like there wasnt a care in the world.

He slept all the way through with only one little whine at around 1.30am to 7am this morning.

It is HARD, but the benefits of keeping to a routine will most definitely pay off.

Have fun with your mini foxie and would love to see some pics!

Great job! glad you were able to control not picking up your puppy when it cries. It is so hard to ignore, I have been there many times. But you are absolutely right, sticking to a routine will pay off. ;) Congratulations!!!