We have a date!!!!!!

[BaconAndAvocado]

Newboy is coming home on 4th September!!!

He's a chocolate Labrador and we are very excited, worried, scared....

Any top tips for the first night, few days, week?

Take some blankets when you collect puppy to rub on mum and siblings, so when you put puppy to bed with blankets, they can settle easier. We had a crate and to be honest although we weren’t keen at first, it really went well. We covered it with a dark blanket and put him in throughout the day with a treat. You are lucky in that labradors usually do anything for a treat. We have a border collie who was a chewer, so we couldn’t leave him outside crate on his own. He cried for 15 minutes first night, then slept till around 3am. Each morning after, he would go a little later. Some people get up every 2 hours at first, but he was directly under our bedroom and with doors open, we could hear when he was moving around. I wish looking back, I had cleared my garden more, he destroyed it within weeks. We made house safe, all cables secured, but he never touched these, but boy did he chew chair legs, coffee table and carpet. But he is great fun, hard work and has got us through some difficult situations during the past 2 years.

Thanks Mindymomo
Did you keep the blanket on the crate all day or just for bedtime?

Join dog training advice and support on FB and read their files. LOADS of advice about bringing home a new pup and toilet training and socialisation. And just about everything!!!

We left blanket on, he seemed to settle better in semi darkness. We left around 4 inches from the ground to get some fresh air. People say put water in crate, but after him tipping it over every night, we stopped.

Wolfiefan I'm not in FB but I've got a couple of puppy books and MN!

Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy seems like a good approach.