Hellooooo!

[Starbaker66]

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Hi Everyone
Just wanted to introduce myself:
I picked up my new puppy yesterday (Eeek!) - he's a standard poodle called Luca...and he's absolutely adorable! However...feel like a baaaaaad puppy mom this morning. I put him in his crate last night, determined to be strong and masterful. No deal. I listened to him barking and whining for 2 hours solid...and then I gave in. Please help! Have I now set the tone for the rest of his life? Is it too late? Am I destined NEVER to get a decent night's sleep????

 

[JudyN]

Welcome!

He's just a baby, taken away from his family, and dogs are social animals. The very best thing you can do for him now is to let him sleep in your bedroom. He can either sleep on your bed, on a bed next to your bed, or in the crate. If he's on a bed next to yours you may have to repeatedly remove him from your bed till he gets the idea, and if he's in the crate you may have to comfort & reassure him in the night. This approach really helps with toilet training as you'll be able to hear him if he gets restless and can take him outside. But most importantly, it helps him feel safe and secure from the start and minimises anxiety - a lot of anxiety in puppyhood can affect dogs long term.

There's absolutely no reason why, once he's more settled, you can't gradually transition him from your bed to his bed/crate, and a bed/crate in your room to one elsewhere. And in the meantime, he'll be happy and secure and you should get a lot more sleep! But broken nights are almost inevitable in the early days because apart from not understanding that 3am isn't a good time to play, he won't be able to hold his bladder through the night. Just make sure that night-time toilet trips are very low-key, keeping him on lead. Praise peeing/pooing in the garden but otherwise don't say too much and then take him straight back to bed.

Oh, if for any reason you really don't want him to sleep in your bedroom even temporarily, then you can sleep downstairs with him next to his crate to reassure him till he's happy to sleep alone.

 

[Josie]

Welcome to the forum @Starbaker66 and congratulations on being a dog Mum to Luca!

I think it takes a lot of guts to leave a puppy on their first night especially when you can hear them crying. I think I would struggle if we got another one now. Dennis sleeps in our room now but was always happy in the kitchen until I decided to bring him upstairs after a few drinks one night and now that’s where he stays!

It’s not too late to undo anything but you must be consistent. You can’t keep switching otherwise he will get confused. I would make sure his crate is lovely and cosy, maybe with a nice cuddly toy to snuggle up to? Make it his happy safe place!

Keep us updated

 

[arealhuman]

Welcome to the forum! I'm sure your puppy will settle, but in the meantime - PICS!

 

[Starbaker66]

Welcome!

He's just a baby, taken away from his family, and dogs are social animals. The very best thing you can do for him now is to let him sleep in your bedroom. He can either sleep on your bed, on a bed next to your bed, or in the crate. If he's on a bed next to yours you may have to repeatedly remove him from your bed till he gets the idea, and if he's in the crate you may have to comfort & reassure him in the night. This approach really helps with toilet training as you'll be able to hear him if he gets restless and can take him outside. But most importantly, it helps him feel safe and secure from the start and minimises anxiety - a lot of anxiety in puppyhood can affect dogs long term.

There's absolutely no reason why, once he's more settled, you can't gradually transition him from your bed to his bed/crate, and a bed/crate in your room to one elsewhere. And in the meantime, he'll be happy and secure and you should get a lot more sleep! But broken nights are almost inevitable in the early days because apart from not understanding that 3am isn't a good time to play, he won't be able to hold his bladder through the night. Just make sure that night-time toilet trips are very low-key, keeping him on lead. Praise peeing/pooing in the garden but otherwise don't say too much and then take him straight back to bed.

Oh, if for any reason you really don't want him to sleep in your bedroom even temporarily, then you can sleep downstairs with him next to his crate to reassure him till he's happy to sleep alone.

 

[Starbaker66]

Thanks - I feel better about bringing him into my bed now! I was worried because all the advice I've received is to leave him to tire himself out...I felt terrible, knowing that he's left his mom and littermates. He's so adorable and was so good in the car. It took us 2.5 hours to drive home with him, we made some pitstops along the way but he didn't do anything until we got him home! He was fine on my bed until 5am so I got up and fed him, he weed everywhere but on his puppy pads (not a problem, easy to clean up at this stage and we have hard floors anyway) - I just didn't want to do the wrong thing and make a rod for my own back. Thank you so much.

 

[Starbaker66]

Welcome to the forum @Starbaker66 and congratulations on being a dog Mum to Luca!

I think it takes a lot of guts to leave a puppy on their first night especially when you can hear them crying. I think I would struggle if we got another one now. Dennis sleeps in our room now but was always happy in the kitchen until I decided to bring him upstairs after a few drinks one night and now that’s where he stays!

It’s not too late to undo anything but you must be consistent. You can’t keep switching otherwise he will get confused. I would make sure his crate is lovely and cosy, maybe with a nice cuddly toy to snuggle up to? Make it his happy safe place!

Keep us updated

 

[Starbaker66]

Thanks Josie - I'm going to try him in the crate again tonight. I'll get him some cuddly toys to make it cosy. I'll also get some puppy treats to stuff into his chew toy...I tried stuffing it with bits of kibble this morning but they weren't terribly successful. Will also try to tire him out before bedtime...we didn't get back until 5pm yesterday, whereupon he fell asleep on our laps - completely zonked out! So all in all it wasn't the best set of circumstances! Thank you so much for replying. This forum is great!

 

[Starbaker66]

Welcome to the forum! I'm sure your puppy will settle, but in the meantime - PICS!

 

[Starbaker66]

Of course! Happy to share!

 

[Josie]

Its a big journey getting a dog but the rewards are amazing! So keep going with it and we'll be here to support you The forum has such a great supportive community so please always ask any question big or small and you will get a response.

Like @arealhuman said we would love to see pictures of Luca!

 

[Josie]

Ah posted just as I sent this message! .... Adorable! A big bundle of curls

 

[arealhuman]

Thanks for the pics He looks great!

 

[Starbaker66]

Brief update: we've put his crate in my daughter's bedroom and he settled in there immediately! He's dry all night every night and sleeps from 10pm until 5:30am when I get up with him and give him breakfast. He performs his usual ablutions and then gets back into bed with her until she drags her sorry a*s* out of bed! GO LUCA! Not many accidents - he's JUST started to let us know when he needs to go out...such a chilled out puppy! Head over heels we all are! Thanks so much for the advice.x

 

[Josie]

Brief update: we've put his crate in my daughter's bedroom and he settled in there immediately! He's dry all night every night and sleeps from 10pm until 5:30am when I get up with him and give him breakfast. He performs his usual ablutions and then gets back into bed with her until she drags her sorry a*s* out of bed! GO LUCA! Not many accidents - he's JUST started to let us know when he needs to go out...such a chilled out puppy! Head over heels we all are! Thanks so much for the advice.x

That's great news! So glad he's settled in well Make sure you keep us updated with his progress! Or even start your own Luca dog diary!