Hi, I brought my first puppy home today, a beautiful black cocker boy.
He's 9 weeks old.
He's been great today, the breeder has weaned him away from his mum, he 'goes' on newspaper and is at home already.
We have a cage in the kitchen/diner for him to sleep in, but I am nervous as to how he will sleep.
If he cries, do I come down to comfort him? Do I leave him?
I;m just not sure what the best thing is to do.

Many thanks
John.

I've always had pups in with me until they get older - I don't agree with letting them cry it out, must be heck of a shock to be taken from your litter mates and left alone.

Hello John

Congrats on your new pup :)

With our latest he stayed about a week/10 days in the bedroom with us.  He was in his crate next to our bed and it's nice to be able to drop a hand in for comfort.

It's so much easier to manage the midnight garden outings too.  You soon learn the difference between snuffling whilst changing positons and "uh oh gotta pee soon".  Once you get a sense of your pups timings (bladder capacity) you will be able to anticipate outings even after he's moved to the kitchen.  If you can catch them before they get really revved up you can pop them back to bed with no dramas.  We did ours in semi darkness and not much noise (only to praise for peeing outside).  He generally settled back to bed very quickly but if I thought he was too awake I'd sit nr the crate til he'd nodded off again.

It's easy to think of this as mollycoddling but in fact it's great not to have to deal with a distressed puppy.  If you ever miss your alarm call he'll have you believe the sky has fallen in - it hasn't,  but it sure sounds like it!!  They soon learn that there's no need to shout at everything although there will be times during the day when you might get yelled at - but that's another topic... :)

My current pup sleeps in the kitchen which is fairly open plan with the living room and for the 1st 10 days I slept on the sofa and let him out when he cried.  the first couple of nights I left him and slept upstairs he howled for a good 1/2 hour but is now calm.  Sleep deprivation is par for the course.

My other dogI have just now I kept in the bedroom with me in a cage beside the bed.  I lived in a flat at the time so couldn't get her outside for a pee so just kept her with me.  both methods were successful so my advice is that different things suit different people depending on your house, family and tolerance of a lack of sleep!

Good luck!

I always have my pups with me during the night until they dont need out during the night, that way you get up as soon as they wake and put them out then back to bed before either of you get too awake.  Good luck!

Its a much easier option to have pup with you at night next to your bed. you can hear when pup starts to move about and needing that wee.
It will take a few nights for pup to get into your routine,but he will soon catch on.
Good luck with your new addition.

I leave mine in the kitchen although they do have a larger area, a puppy pen, for toileting.  I do not sleep well at all with a dog in the bedroom and would rather have my sleep and be as refreshed as possible for the full on business of housetraining etc. 
I suppose there may be breed differences but my breed are generally adaptable and confident and to me this is just one other change that puppies tend to take in their stride during this period of rapid development and change.

We all have different ways of doing things and no one way is right but i always sleep my dogs in the utility room and never go down in the night  when their puppies. If one cried i would ignore it and with in a couple of nights they would not bother to cry. the crying never lasted for more than a few mins at a time anyway.
Having the puppy with you all night is great if thats what you feel happy with and much better than leaving them down stairs then responding to them crying, as very quickly they will realise that crying gets you out of bed.
If you do take them outside in the night for the toilet don't forget to ignore them apart for alot of praise if they perform for you. then quietly put them back to bed not saying anything.
I'm sure your find a way which suits you and your puppy best.

Well, firstly thanks all for your comments.
In the end I put him in his cage in the kitchen/diner and went to bed.
He cried constantly and after 20 mins or so I had to go down as he was waking the kids up.
I sat with him for 10 mins, calmed him, then tried to leave again. Again, more crying.
So I moved his cage to the living room and slept in the couch. He settled immediatley and slept all night.
I woke up at about 5.30 and took him to the kitchen. (He has yet to have his 2nd injections so cant go outside) He weed on the paper, and I put him back to bed and lay on the couch.
Oddly, he seems to sleep on his back with his feet in the air(?!?!?)
So I'm hoping he thinks his cage is a nice place now, rather than a lonely one.
I'm thinking of moving the cage upstairs, then moving it back down in a week or so.
Not ideal, but hopefully this will work!

If you have your own private outside space there is no reason why he cannot go outside now.

>(He has yet to have his 2nd injections so cant go outside) He weed on the paper, and I put him back to bed and lay on the couch.

Just picking up on this point...if you have a secure garden that cannot be accessed by other dogs, then it is ok for your pup to go outside to toilet.  The sooner you can get him used to the idea of 'going' outside, the better :-)

I think you handled the first night just fine.  Once pup feels more secure in his surroundings, you can start to leave him downstairs on his own (says she who hasn't quite got around to moving her own pup downstairs yet...'pup' will be 4 next week )

I don't know how you people who sleep in the same room as your dogs manage.
We have never slept with our dog in the bedroom until we went on holiday last year, and he had his bed in our room. He settled down to sleep fine, but about 2 am - 4 am spent the whole time cleaning himself  LOUDLY, this was very hard to sleep through - do other dogs do this, or is it just mine?

We did wonder - we do have a secure garden from other dogs, but the cats next door wander through freely - would this still be ok?

Yes that will be fine.

The problem with training them to go on paper indoors is that you then have to retrain them to go outdoors so IMHO it's best to start off as you mean to go on :-)

Now Im Mum to a 2 year cocker and I did not have him in the bedroom at all. We just settled him in his crate with his bit of blanket from his Mum and that was that. I was incedibly lucky but he didnt make a sound. If he had I would have comforted him but not let him in my bedroom, still dont.

We crate trained by putting him in the crate whenever he went to sleep, every time, so he always woke in his crate with us around and went straight outside for a pee. House training took a time because he came to the ofice with us so he was in two different environments. We did the same with pup 2 BC and again not a sound, the BC goes off to his crate when he wants a sleep and puts himself to bed if he feels we are too late.

We always had all the bedroom door/kitchen door open all night in case they cried but they just settled, I dont know if you have children but we also make a rule that when grandchildren visist if the pups were asleep in their crates they have to be left alone as it is their "room". Good luck.

> 4 am spent the whole time cleaning himself  LOUDLY, this was very hard to sleep through

lol, tio does this every night at 4 am exactly, we've learned to sleep through it.

On Saturday night my OH was away and I thought it would be nice if my Cav slept in her bed in our bedroom to keep me company - I was woken at approx. 3am by her licking herself (I think she's coming into season) - last time she slept in my room she woke me up at 2.30am as she was snoring so loudly !! I can't sleep very well with a dog in the bedroom so OH is away tonight as well, but Pixie will be downstairs with the other 2 where she can lick and snore to her hearts content.

aaaahhhh i just love having a stinky dane next to me, with its windy bum and smelly breath in my face (i actually do) far better than my other half

John Chester I'm just going through the same thing at the moment.

Brought pup home Friday. I have him in a big plastic box beside my bed. First night I got up and let him out three times. As soon as he' done his business he went straight back to sleep. Second night I got up twice and last night daughter came in at 3am and let him out. he didn't wake until 7am. Its just like having a baby! 

Hello, From the 1st day we brought Kez home he slept in the kitchen,the first two nights were tough he cried a little but after that we never heard a peep out of him. When he was about 5 months he was fully house trained he had the full use of downstairs, but he has never come to bed with us. Not my choice he does not like going up and down the stairs. However not sure I'd want him to either.

But like you RReeve, when we are on holiday and he sleeps in the same room as us it drives me mad........ lick lick lick and likes to play with his toys too and when we are camping he likes to be up with the birds at about 5.30 !!!!

My dog is not in my room either and he along with all the other dogs were put to bed and any crying was ignored during the night(tbh we can't hear it anyway). They had their toilet breaks in the night but that was it.

I have had my boy in my room a few nights, he snores loudly and moves about too much. Also had him in my hotel room the night before Crufts and every time someone walked past the room in the early hours he would grumble at them.. Grrr..

So for me to be honest i don't like dogs in bedrooms. Also with my breed they are not to go up and down the stairs anyway(more so when young)

I don't keep mine in my bedroom permanently. I gradually move the box out on to the landing. My too older dogs have the run of the house apart from mine and my sons bedroom and they never even try to go into them.

Pups cry for a reason and in my mind to just leave them crying after they've just left their litter mates is cruel.

You can create a rod for your own back. Of all the dogs we have had from breeders they have all said ignore the crying.
My sister had a litter from one of her bitches and all new owners were told to ignore the crying. One family didn't heed this advice and almost a year later the dog was crying throughout the night after being left. They were beside themselves and the dog was in a different room.

I can't see how you can call it cruel by any means, certain breeds will adapt very quickly.
I'm not saying having a dog/pup in your room is wrong, its not for me and no breeder i know recommends it either.

> You can create a rod for your own back

Suejaw, I used to believe that but not any more.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread we let the pup in our room for the first week-10 days and, within that time period, as soon as we'd learnt his timings he was moved downstairs with the other dog.  I don't think he could tell the difference anyway; as far as he was concerned his bed was the crate and his stinky fleece, not the room the crate was in.  The important bit was being able to get him out for a pee without him (or us!) waking too much and just being able to give him some comfort in the first few days whilst he adjusted to sleeping on his own.

With regards to stairs, ours wasn't allowed to tackle those til he was at least 5 months old.  The first few days he was upstairs with us he was carried.  Another reason why it was only ever going to last a short time - too bloomin' heavy!!  Now he is 20 months we still have a gate on the stairs as I don't think it does any of them good to muck about half-way up - as ours would if they were allowed.

We don't sleep with our dogs in our bedroom, too noisy, too annoying and I lie awake listening to them breathing.  When we do it for shows I'm amazed at the length of time they are awake at night and do they really need to spend hours licking and slurping ??!! :)

Having spent night number 2 trying to sleep in the freezing cold conservatory next to his cage, that's it - he's on his own tonight!
My wife is home all day except for lunchtimes when she works at the local infant school. Charlie (the dog) is now in his cage on his own for the 2 school runs morning and afternoon (30 mins) and lunchtimes (1 hour). We havent got a choice, he just has to lump it. He can cry all he wants.
So, today being his first day where he's had to have 3 short sessions on his own in the cage, I'm going to let him whimper tonight.
I need my bed!
I'll come down to let him out midway through the night, but then he's on his own again.
He'll soon learn his spells in the cage aren't permanent and stop crying...............I hope!!!

> the freezing cold conservatory

He will, of course, sleep a lot better if he is comfortable with the temperature and free of draughts so if it really is freezing cold, and this time of year an unheated conservatory may well be at night, for anything less that the very heavy coated breeds you would both benefit by making sure he has plenty of warm bedding and a cover over the bulk of the cage to ensure draughts are kept at bay and body heat in.
Personally I would find somewhere more in the body of the house.

I've never taken a pup up to my bedroom, they have always been taken out last thing before I go to bed approx 11am and then settled into their puppy area for bed, I have then walked away and completely ignored any little cries, first nights can be the worst a pup will either do a wee whimper, a good 10 minute cry or a full on howling session, luckily I've never had more than the 10 minute cry, the worst thing you can do is go downstairs to a pup, it gives the signal that if they cry hard and long enough someone will come.  The best thing to do is just to warn any close neighbours that you have a new pup and sorry if it cries for a couple of nights, after that as long as you do not go downstairs whilst the pup is crying the pup gets the message very quickly that crying will not bring anyone to it.

I have then got up at approx 4am to let a pup out (to encourage fast toilet training) given loads of praise for being a good pup once the pup has gone in the garden, then settled it back down and ignored it again to go to bed, once you start to walk away and turn your back don't turn around again. ;-) Of course I don't expect that everyone can do this, some people have to get up for work, (luckily I have worked from home for many years so can catch up later) but it really does speed up toilet training if you can do it, by the time the pup is 4-5 months the time then goes up to 5am and then from 6 months to 6am. :-)

Having spent night number 2 trying to sleep in the freezing cold conservatory next to his cage, that's it - he's on his own tonight!

Hi,

If it is really cold in the conservatory, he is much more likely to settle some where warmer.  Personally I don't like leaving dogs or pups in a new environment to cry it out - I think you end up with a much more settled dog that is content and happy to spend time alone if it is built up to gradually.  Everything is strange and new to him and he probably feels a little anxious at night in this new environment without you guys around. 

Regardless of that he will be used to having the warmth of his litter mates/mum to snuggle up to and feeling warm and snug at night may make quite a difference to him.  If he needs to sleep out there you can get snuggle safe heat pads which are basically hotties for dogs.  You could wrap that in something that you've been wearing so that he has your smell around him.  Sometimes also a ticking clock near by, something rythmical can help as they are used to sleeping with mum litter mates and therefore hearing their heart beats.

surely your pup needs to be somewhere warmer if it is so freezing cold for you.
A young pup needs lots of warmth when its away from the rest of his litter mates for the first time.

>Having spent night number 2 trying to sleep in the freezing cold conservatory next to his cage, that's it - he's on his own tonight!

If the conservatory is too cold for you, it's too cold for him as well. Adult dogs can manage with cooler temperatures (and plenty of bedding) but puppies, like babies, aren't good at controlling their body heat, and he no longer has his living hot water bottles (mum and siblings) to snuggle up with. If he's not warm and cosy he won't sleep, any more than you can, so I suggest you move his bed somewhere warmer till he's older.

> (says she who hasn't quite got around to moving her own pup downstairs yet...'pup' will be 4 next week <

Oh you're such a mummy but I like it :-D

It's curious how they can all be so different and we change our ideas as we live and learn.

With our first baby we stuck to the 'be firm and don't go downstairs routine' she whimpered for 2 nights and then no more. No 2 came along 6 mnths later and as they had one another there was no problem.

No 3 came along 5yrs later and we adopted the same be firm attitude, BIG MISTAKE, as she was such a tiny she couldn't stay with the big girls straight away, so she was lonely and frightened :(

We had yowl, howl, whine and cry for 2 nights solid and absolutely no sleep, I'm saying to OH 'I must go to her' he's saying 'no' she'll get used to it, in the end 'b' what OH says and I went downstairs, got a sleeping bag on the sofa, pup on my chest and heaven we slept :) did this for a week then she settled fine in the kitchen still seperated from the big girls until she was a bit bigger

I'll never leave a crying pup again.

No 4 and No 5 came along together and as they had one another we didn't get a peep out of them, again they were tiny's so they got seperated from the big girls, but not a sound was heard.

If I ever get any more pups (will have to move first) they will either sleep in my room or I will sleep downstairs with them until they find their feet. I'd rather have a pup accidently tinkle on me than hear it in distress. Anyway they smell lovely :-D

On the point of taking little one out to toilet in the garden, to the OP I would say that even with having so many dogs my pups have always gone outside into our garden for toilet training, as long as your garden is free of wandering, possibly un-vaccinated dogs and is safe and secure all should be OK, so let little one out for a bit of practice, and most of all enjoy it all. :-D

I'm so glad I found this forum.

Charlie has a thick warm bed and blanket, and his cage was covered so no drafts would be breezing in.
Also, freezing was probably an exaggeration. The conservatory has roofblinds and is carpeted so it was just chilly.
Even so, I accept it was probably the wrong room to sleep him in - only chosen because the sofa was bigger in there for me!

Tonight, I'll sleep him in the living room and bed down myself in there to keep him company.
Maybe I'll see the week out like that, then try to move away.
Like I say, during the next few days he'll have to get used to being on his own in his cage for short spells during the day anyway.
Eventually he'll be sleeping in the kitchen/diner in his cage...does it matter that I'll be bedding him in the living room for a period?
I presume its the cage he needs to get used to rather than the actual room?

Many thanks for all the great comments so far.

Hi,

In my opinion it'll be better for him to do it that way - at least he'll have had some time to feel a bit more settled and used to his surroundings.  Is your kitchen next to your lving room - what you could do after another few nigh nights is gradually move the crate slightly further away from you towards the door each night so he's nearer where he's going to be.  Maybe when you are practising leaving him alone for short periods during the day it could be in the kitchen where he will sleep once settled, that way he'll be used to it for short periods any way and I'm sure once settled and feeling secure will adjust easily to sleeping in that room :-)

Yes , just put it during the day where you eventually want him to sleep at night .
It is the cage you want him to settle in as , if you go away , you need him to sleep anywhere in his cage .

My pug is 8 weeks old and i started his crate training on Saturday night.

He doesnt have to adjust to a new environment so we dont have that upset. What I always do is stand outside in the freezing cold ensuring both number 1s and 2s are performed before bed. he then goes from 10pm to 7am without accidents. I then take him straight out to the garden and again no moving till 1s and 2s are performed. It is a routine that works for us. It astounds me that he has good bladder control for that long, especially for a small breed. I also dont feed after 7pm.

just thought i would share our structure. Good luck!

Oh, and the crate is in the kitchen with pug mum wandering around and the cat.....no bedrooms for my guys!