Creating a new puppy overnight

[GretaGip]

Just heading to collect our 8 week old pup

I'd like her to be in a crate overnight, this did not work for our older dog (now 6).

Im concerned the transition from sleeping with her mother and litter mates to a crate in on fell swoop is too great, but have no idea how to approach this.

Please send good ideas my way.

Despite smileypup being shut in a crate at night as a puppy i still had to get up with him several times a night for the first week to take him out for a wee, the crate didnt mean i didnt have to put the work in it just meant he was safe when not being supervised, the same way when my kids were babies i would put them in their cot whilst i showered so they werent getting into trouble. Now the crate is never shut he just likes sleeping in there overnight, during the day he has a bed in the lounge and is free to roam whilst we are out.

He does have a crate in the car for travelling as well to keep him safe.

Crates arent cruel if used properly and i say that as someone who has had dogs my whole life and until smileypup had never used one.

Thanks for all your replies, have decided to pop the bed in the crate with the door open, and see how that goes. I'll probably sleep in the sofa tonight near her.

Fingers crossed

Spudpup used a crate at the start. He had a stinky blanket from the breeder that smelt like his mum in there on top of a comfy bed, and plenty of newspaper on the bottom so if necessary, he could do a wee at the other end of the crate without wetting his bed. I was ready to sleep downstairs but actually I never needed to - I sat with him until he settled every night then gradually retreated, so he never became too upset. During the day we practiced shutting him in for a few moments at a time with a treat and also made a habit of feeding him in there, and scattering treats at random in there during the day so it became a super awesome place to be.

We got rid of it at around 8 months when he outgrew it (it was big. He got bigger!) and now his bed sits in the same place and we use a baby gate to make sure he stays in the kitchen and out of mischief when we’re out or at night. He seems quite happy there.

Our old dog was a rescue and a real food obsessive thief - I didn’t plan to use a crate but started after I went upstairs for a few moments and came down to find that he’d dug my handbag out and had destroyed the contents, including my prescription painkillers, though luckily he’d just chewed the packet up and not the tablets themselves. Bless him, he was a bit of s liability and needed somewhere safe to be. He was quite happy there and took himself off when he got tired of us!

Thanks for all your replies, have decided to pop the bed in the crate with the door open, and see how that goes. I'll probably sleep in the sofa tonight near her.

Lovely arrangement op! Good luck!

We had the crate in our room, he didn't cry at all, he went in it voluntarily when tired day ir night. We didn't leave him to wee/poo in it, we toilet trained him the same way you would without crating, I find that a really odd comment from a pp, none of the advice re crating suggests that. Our pup was 2kg and absolutely tiny when we brought him home, we felt crating was safer (we have 2 big cats).

We stopped at 6 months when he decided he hated it. He now sleeps in our bed. We have new pup coming soon, he's a bigger breed and we won't be crating him, he'll sleep in our room though.

We had the crate next to our bed for a few weeks. Meant pup didn't cry and we got sleep too. Moved it out gradually once he was settled.

How did it go last night @GretaGip?

Crating isn't new, just the name is
I had a border collie 25 years ago. I worked nights,DH days,she was left on her own roughly 2 hours once a week when we went shopping. She chewed the kitchen cupboards,then started eating the plaster walls. We had another border collie who, just did the normal puppy chewing. They were called indoor kennels then. We got one,put her bed inside it,left the door open at first,till she got used to it. After that she went in their perfectly happy. It's not necessarily to do with toilet training,I'm retired now pretty much always at home,my last puppy chewed through the legs of our dining table,chairs.For a while she had a puppy play pen ( which she fast learnt how to jump out of) and a crate Both dogs have a bed on the floor in our room,they both sleep on the bed! During the day, depending which room we're in,they are with us,tucked in a corner,dogs feel safe like this. From their wild ancestors they can keep a lookout,and no predators can.sneak round the back of them

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

How did it go last night *@GretaGip*?

I had a migraine so took myself to bed about 10, DH dealt with it, left her in the kitchen dining room with crate open and 2 other dog beds, told her goodnight and gave her her Mom scented soft toy.

She slept till 6.30, just a couple of puddles which is absolutely fine. She's a calm angel and is so loved already.

Aww that's fantastic :) bless her.

I'm old and had my first dog 56 years ago - we never heard of crates for keeping dogs in then. Everyone seemed to manage fine without. When I got my current dog from a well known rescue, they told me NEVER to put her in kennels as she had a great fear of them. Goodness knows how she'd get on with a crate with that fear.

[quote StrawberryPot]@Lambanddog

What part of my post is rubbish? Do you really lead such a sheltered life that you don't believe many many people misuse crates cruelly?

The people who are out at work/school all day who don't want their house wrecked by an untrained, bored, lonely dog might think twice about getting a dog. But hey - if they can stick it in a crate all day (and all night) and get it out when convenient - why not?

The people who don't want to get up several times a night to house train their puppy - just stick it in a crate for it to mess where it sleeps and clean it up when convenient.

Yes, many people don't use crates like that. They use them for limited periods of time, leave the door open so it's a safe haven for a dog to use when it chooses etc. But by making it a normal dog accessory the hard of thinking and the downright cruel will just assume it's an essential part of dog ownership for their convenience rather than for the dog's welfare. [/quote]
That's not what you actually wrote though, is it.

Ours slept in a crate from the night he was brought home. We left the crate door open so he had free roam of the kitchen on a night but he always slept in it. When we left the house, we used to lock the crate. He was never destructive on a night but always chewed when we left the house.

Fast forward 18 months, he's now fast asleep on my sofa :)

Painlesspup was in a deep box by our bed the first few nights, carried down for wees. Then on night four he made it clear he wanted to stay downstairs in his crate. So for about a month I got up in the night, pushing the time on gradually. We have never had an accident overnight. If he is in his crate in the daytime the door is shut, otherwise he drives my older dog to distraction with the toys in there. He still needs plenty of sleep, but if he's awake he's with me on a house line.