Toilet trading puppy

[Daftaboutthecat]

We are adding to our family with a beautiful puppy today.
As we have a toddler I am hoping to train pup to use a particular part of the garden to do his business. This is an area the full length of the house and about 5ft wide. It is chipped though will this be a bit incomfortable for the pup I could turf some of it?
Also any thoughts on where pup should sleep at night he will have a crate I feel he should be in my bedroom but will that start bad habits?

It's perfect possible to train to a certain area - though probably easiest if you use a clicker. Take him on lead to the area.
As for sleeping, once they are in your room they will always expect to be there

I disagree with Wyld there is a lot of advice now from behaviourists to start in your room and then once they are settled gradually move them to where you would like them to sleep.
Mine sleep in my room for three nights, on the landing for two, on the turn in the stairs for one, bottom of stairs for two and then in kitchen.

I'm just speaking from experience lone. My girl whines until she's let in now and she's four. Habits are always harder to break than to make.

Mine slept in my bed for the first two nights and then in a crate for about a year. Now she sleeps on a bean bag in the front room.

She took about a year to be reliably toilet trained! And now uses the whole garden, we've had no success at training her to use one corner I'm afraid.

You can train them to go in one place quite easily with a clicker. Just start as you mean to go on and be consistent. Also, remember to refresh the training even after they have got it.

I have always allowed my dogs to sleep on my bed for a week or so and then theyou have moved downstairs. This helped them settle in and also seemed to help with toilet training as they didn't need to go in the night after a week. I actually disturbed them in the night so they happily slept away from me.

I treated having a puppy like having a baby and took the path of least resistance

What breed do you have?

As for sleeping, once they are in your room they will always expect to be there

Not the case. When they're very young the only way to make a young mammal feel safe is to allow it be close to it's family. I absolutely hate the advice that people spout about leaving a baby animal to cry in a strange room or crate until it gives up and feels unprotected and hopeless. If the same advice was given for newly-adopted babies there would be an uproar. Gaining confidence, security and independence takes time, it certainly doesn't happen the minute a 8 week old pup is taken away from it's litter!

Once a dog is older and feels secure and less vulnerable it's much more straightforward to give them an other place to sleep, in fact many dogs will actively find somewhere other than their owner's bed as it's hot and they get disturbed too much.

Thank you for all the wonderful advice he is settling in beautifully. Only problem is our cat is looking like he is plotting his murder. Any advice to help make them friends? Xx

Let the cat leave as he wants. Make sure part of the house is dog free so the cat has his space. Don't push it. The cat will come round in his own time.

dotdotdot I would always leave them with a blanket with mums scent, a heat mat and a radio on low but as I said I started with pup in our room and now cannot keep her out at night without her scratching the door

Can't you give her a bed in your room? As I said, it's perfectly normal for dogs to crave company while they sleep, it feels much safer to be in a group when you're asleep and vulnerable. A blanket an a heat mat aren't going to fool any baby. A few years ago the advice for crying babies was to leave them to cry but we now know that it's damaging to the psyche of children. While dogs and babies have their differences, I firmly believe that giving a young mammal a sense of security is one of the most important caring acts you can give.

Nope. She insists on sleeping on the bed. She's not a growler or anything but if you put her in her own bed she sneaks up in the night