We have just brought home a 9 week old puppy, who was from a litter of 9 but there were only 3 others left with him. I know that tonight, and for a few nights, he is going to cry. This is not our first puppy, but we are wondering what is best to do- ignore him or go to him if he doesnt quieten down after a while? A lot of websites and books say to ignore, but isnt this cruel? You wouldnt ignore a 9 week old human baby!

I slept on the floor nearby when my 2 were puppies I just didn't want to leave them,someone will probably say it was the wrong thing to do, but it was fine for us.

Hi, I got a staffy pup at 6 weeks old....... and he did nothing but cry for 2 constant weeks at night, when he was crying i wanted to go to him because he would cry for hours but i was advised not to.... you must leave him to cry otherwise he will never stop.

Prephaps a teddy and something with your smell on it will comfort him.

Hope this helps
Enjoy your new pup
Take care
kerry xxxxxxxx

hi when i brought my 7 week old staffie pup home for the first few nights me and my husband took it in turns to sleep on the sofa with the tv on. when my boy cried we would just speek calmly to him, this was enough to settle him and reassure him. after a few nights we went to bed and just left the tv on, then gradually swaped the tv for a radio. he is now eleven months old and we have never lost a nights slep with him.

Hi Bobby's girl...... nice to see you on here, i also use a radio for my puppy.... i have done since the first night we got him, and he's now 19 weeks old.

The only problem i have now with him is that he wee's in his bed every morning..... he goes out about 11.30 pm and then i put him in his crate..... then when i get up about 6am to take him out, he's already weed in the bed..... so at the moment i'm having to wash it everyday...... he doesn't cry through the night to tell me he wants to go out.

Take care.
kerry xxxxxxxx

Congrats on your new pup, you have lots of fun ahead with him :) Here's the method we used with our little man, I keep a copy of it for anyone who would like it!

The thing to remember with your new pup is that he/she has never slept on their own, they have always had either their mum or their litter mates there so it is very scary when they have to start sleeping by themselves.

The method we used was to get a cardboard box, with tall sides, place a thick wedge of newspaper in the bottom and cover with a blanket or piece of vet bed/fleece. We found this box useful when bringing Idõ home too, and we still used it up until a time when he wouldn't fit into it and began to learn how to ride in the car with the big girls!
The box is placed next to your bed, or settee I slept on the settee in the living room for 3 weeks after we got Idõ as it meant I was a very short distance from the bag door in case he needed to go outside.
If he at all unsettled during the night you simply drop your arm into the box and he will snuggle up instantly. If he still seems unsettled then pop him outside for a wee and then put him straight back in the box. Remember not to talk to him, unless it is to praise for 'toileting'.
Take him outside as soon as he wakes on a morning, this was around 6.30am with Idõ because he was used to having breakfast at 7am!

When we thought he was more settled at night, ie going from 11/12 at night til 6.30/7am without going out then I cut away the front of the box and put it inside his crate, which he had been used to going in and out of during the day since we first got him.
By now he knew the box meant 'sleepy time' and we had no problems with him settling in it and for the past 7/8 weeks or so he has no accidents at night, and he now asks at the back door when he needs to go out!

This method is very kind to the puppy, with our last pup we had her in a crate from the first night and she howled the house down, but there was nothing we could do as she had to learn to be in the crate. It worked but this is far nicer and we have still ended up with a pup that is settled at night, it just meant that we got some sleep too!

I hope this helps you, don't hesitate to ask me for more info if you don't understand something.

Emily :)

hi again : ) i was lucky enough to be able to leave a teddy with my pups breader, which was left in the whelping box with him, his littermates & mum. so when he came home with the teddy he had something familiar to cuddle up to and scent aswell.
good luck, hope your first night went well.
xx