Hi guys, its just on a week since bringing Paisley home. just wanted some reassurance that i'm doing things right (if there is such a way).  We couldn't fence her in (see other thread) cause the Babydan baby gate didn't come with wall fixings, so we just lock her in the kitchen of a night and when i go out (school run, shops ect...) she is hysterical, screaming and scrabbling at the door to get out. she is getting better but i know things are going to get worse instead of better with her starting to chew things ect. Shall i get her a crate, will this make her more secure?? or just persevere and hope she dosen't trash the kitchen?  unlike other people i could'nt have the crate in the bed room, but i would sleep down stairs for a few nights. She is a defo 'velcro' dog. people can come and go, the minute i leave the room, she is up and following me!
The toliet training is going really well 50/50, great daily improvement?  thanks for the tip on wee wee pads starryeyes they are a great help!
Aly xx

Well we wouldn't have been without our crate when we first had JJ, although now he's 20 months old we mainly use it for the car & shows, he doesn't go in it as much in the house. 
JJ see's his crate as a safe haven and he does fell more secure in it as shows etc i'm sure.
I think for any dog though you have to crate train them first as if you put them straight in and lock it they'll think it's awful.  We put the crate up and put a bed in it and loads of fun toys but we left the door of it open.  We fed JJ in it a few times again with the door open, so he could get used to it.  Gradually we started shutting the door for a few minutes and then longer as he got used to it.  Now it's no problem at all and i'd recommend a crate.  If you do decide to get a crate get one that will be big enough for an adult Paisley and then she'll grow into it :-)

Good luck!

You need to get her used to being on her own gradually. I.e. the first time you leave the house you just do so for a minute, then come back, then increase the time over days. If she screams straight away you need to wait until she takes a breath and is quiet even for a second and return when she is quiet -not when she is noisy. (If it's tricky you could do something like give her a new toy or treat or whatever so you are sure she is occupied for a moment, and leave and return whilst she is still quiet.) Whether you use a crate or not, she still needs to learn to be on her own. :)

I agree, alone training and crate training does have to be done very gradually. IF you are having problems at night, you could sleep down with her or bring her up and gradually after a few weeks get her back down again, not surehow old she is but I have done this successfully with pups - it makes them secure and thus more confident at the end of the day in my view :)

Hi Aly,
Totally agree with Goldmali.  I would also suggest a stuffed kong to keep her mind occupied.

Sarah.

We wouldn't be without our crate now even though I hadn't intended to get one.  Poj just settles down in it - only if we're out of the room though.  I didn't build her up to being alone, however she was always very calm being left anyway.  I strongly recommend a crate though.  Keep at it.  I wasn't naive about getting a puppy but didn't realise how exhausting it would feel. 

Crates come in useful for traveling ect, I know some dogs do become to see them as a den,however I have never used them,always had a baby gate across th stairs,my dogs even as pups have always had the run of the house and garden and we have never had problems.

Sheila.

thats what we intended to do, give her the run of the house. we brought her upstairs on her 2nd night, it lasted about 5 mins, she poohed straight away then was just mooching round the room, wouldn't settle. our 4yr old is still in our room (don't ask, that is a job for super nanny) and she was just disturbing everyone!! So she was religated back to the kitchen. i could try maybe giving her the run of the hall tonight, baby gate on stairs, although the cats sit there tormenting her!!   Arrrrrah.    I really messed up with copper (the beagle) and am desperate to make the right choices with Paisley!
thanks everyone
Aly xx

We have the same problem with the cat, at night when the dogs come up the cat lies in waiting, the dogs end up running back down.
My friend has just got a puppy, she has put the dogs bed in the kitchen and when she goes out for a hour or so she puts the dog in her bed, there is a baby gate ,at night she does the same she did have a few sleepless nights but the pup has settled now. Good luck.

Sheila.

i think the first thing you have to decide is what you'd like paisley to do - be an upstairs sleeping dog or not, for example, and then kindly but consistently train her. crates can be an excellent way of providing security since it's not as overwhelming as a whole house and of course it'll provide a safe place for paisley when your attention needs to be elsewhere. which, with a four year old as well i expect it does, quite often! i'd also be very thoughtful about giving her the run of the house right now too. you can always permit this later but it can be chaotic during the chewing phase since you'll have to have eyes in the back of your head!

We're currently re-discovering the joys and troubles of a new puppy. It's over 15 years since we had one so young. Because of this, I've been reading forums, both breed specific and this one - and it's been very helpful.

Having had two dogs not happy in the dark, and finding that this litter had never been totally in the dark, we decided to use a little spotlamp with a 25watt bulb on the worktop at the far end of the kitchen that we'd used for our last dog. It gives a small amount of reassuring light when positioned facing the corner.
We also got one of the taller dog safety gates to use at the kitchen door so that she could see into the hall and not feel shut in.
After two weeks of us only getting a few hours sleep, I read - either here or on another forum, that it can help to go about the nightly routine, then settle the dog into it's bed, put out the light and sit down (or stand) with your back to the dog for a short while until it settles, then get up and leave the room quietly. I tried this - setting a cup of tea on the table and a magazine, I'd switch on the small lamp, put out the light & sit squinting at the magazine ignoring her. She often got out and curled up at my feet, and after a few nights repeatedly putting her back in her bed, tried letting her stay at my feet & go to sleep, then lift her into her bed & leave the kitchen without saying a word, no eye contact, & closing the gate very quietly. Right from the first night I did that, she settled down to sleep without much fuss, and only barked one night for a short while.
It took around two weeks, but in that time, she began getting into her bed as soon as she saw me doing certain things in the kitchen, putting a soft 'bed time only' toy in her bed, or when I put the main light out.
This past week, she's often settled in her bed before I've put the light out, and as soon as I do, I put down the puppy training pad and can now pat her on the head, say goodnight and leave immediately without eye contact. She stays quiet, goes to sleep, and very rarely used the training pad.

Not having had this problem with a dog for 30 years, I feel quite relieved to have achieved something!  I have forums such as this one to thank for that :)
We did consider trying her upstairs with us after two weeks of very little sleep, but thought that if she still didn't settle down, we'd find it even more difficult to get her to settle in the kitchen, and still wouldn't get much sleep.

The seperation issue was the same - resolved by something I read on the forum. I'd leave the kitchen, close the gate, and return after a minute, then go to the loo, and gradually, she saw that we would return. She does whine or bark a couple of times in protest sometimes, but even when we go out for an hour or more, she's always quietly laid down when we return.

Now we're concentrating on finding a way to control her 'mad hyper' hours !

Hi Aly, you might find these links helpful:

http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/crate-train.pdf

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/housetrain.htm

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2002/sa.htm

thanks again everyone, last night we really started to see results. she only cried for a few minutes, a kong to keep her ocupied. then she had me up at 5.30am, a full 2 hours in the yard b4 she actually went the toliet, but at least she went eventually!!!
Thanks Aly xx