Is it advisable to co-sleep with new puppy

[drivinmecrazy]

We have a new puppy, he came home on Saturday.
He's 8 weeks old.
This is our first time going solo with a puppy and have got off to a pretty good start.
He's well settled and bonded with us immediately.
He's (sometimes!) going to the loo on his puppy mats.
However our big issue is nighttime.
I was determined that we would just let him cry it out. Didn't last long obviously.
Second night I took a duvet down to the kitchen and slept next to him, actually he slept with me.
Last night DD1 did the same as she has a late shift today so was happy to.
Again he slept wonderfully.
Just wondering are we 'making a rod' for our backs?
All the stuff I've read suggests, just like methods of baby rearing, the advise is changing suggesting he'll settle in his own time (obviously not months down the line).
So my long winded and lack of sleep addle brain question is should we continue sleeping with him for the next week or so, will it hinder him sleeping on his own??

Our pup was fine downstairs in his crate and he was left a maximum of 3 hours without one of us. He never cried once or messed. House trained in two weeks. He never chewed anything other than his toys.When we go out he has the run of the house with our other dog.
Perhaps we were just lucky.

DH slept downstairs on the sofa next to our puppy's pen for the first few weeks/ months just until she had settled to sleep then he came upstairs to bed. We had to get up in the night to let her out to wee or poo for the first few weeks or months until she could go all night. She was always a good sleeper but needed that reassurance some nights of someone close by while sh was drifting off to sleep. She now sleeps on the sofa with the cats but does a comedy tiptoe upstairs at about 3am to crawl into bed with us. It is quite gruelling at the start settling them in but IMO having a chilled out secure dog will pay dividends in the long run.

I put our then puppys crate next to our bed - it was only a few nights later she ended up on our bed. I loved it! Especially when I was on my own with the kids and single for a while, she’s my absolute best friend!

Now she happily sleeps in her bed on my partners side as he doesnt like dog hair on the bed and she comes onto the bed sometimes at weekends for a quick snuggle when we have a lie in

Me and DH took it in turns to sleep on the settee with our puppy in his crate next to it. We gradually moved the crate a little further away from the settee. Took about 3 weeks and then pup was happy to sleep alone.

He was already crate trained by his breeder so that helped. If he cried in the night we would speak softly to him and stroke him. Usually he would go back to sleep but if not we took him in the garden to pee or poo.

He has never been allowed upstairs

I crate trained my dogs and until house trained were in the large family/kitchen/dining area. They now sleep on my bed, but I think crate training also made them able to be on their own without worry.
Never heard of not letting them out at all - surely your own garden is fine! I tried never to let the dog wee inside.

I think the first 3 nights we slept on the sofa with puppy next to us in her bed. Then we moved the bed to her crate and stayed with her till she fell asleep. Then went upstairs to bed. When she cried we came down, let her out for wee and then sat next to crate until she fell asleep. This was not fun. But I felt I couldn’t let her cry it out because she came from a litter of 10! And they’d all slept so snuggled together. Gradually she woke less and less and then just slept through at about 14 weeks. She loves her crate now and chooses to go to it most of the time but will have some day time naps on the bed/sofa. She sleeps through in no probs although she is 2 now so it would be expected.

i wouldnt co sleep with a puppy because the puppy will be really lost if you’re not there and they need to be able to cope on their own in the house or at night. It could cause a lot of separation anxiety for the pup. Equally I wouldn’t cry it out but aim for something in the middle

@Newpeep but is there quantitative data that tells us allowing a puppy to cry in their crate = unbalanced older dogs with poor mental health? If there is I would be happy to read it but that sciencey read is a company selling an online puppy training programme and doesn't contain any credible evidence.

Personally, I would sleep downstairs, give a heartbeat teddy next to pup and a small space so they don't feel over whelmed, go back a few times to settle or pop your hand in and then leave. They get the hang of it eventually. You don't need the dog sleeping in your bed.

There is plenty of data quantitive and qualitative about what cortisol does to the brain. A distressed animal is flooded with it. Try learning a new song or poem, or anything when you are having a panic attack. Stressed animals don’t learn so they are not actively learning to be ok. They’re just learning not to bother trying. Disregard the links to the training. There are plenty of recommendations for further scientific reading in the article.

Rescues are full of adolescent dogs with issues mostly because their needs of which one is company, are not met in these crucial stages. I know because my last dog was one and I know many.

Ours has slept in our bed with us from day one. He never had a single accident at night and sleeps like a log.

It's early days for us (16 weeks) but we've gone from sleeping with her in the living room (so easily able to go to the garden in the night) to her sleeping in a dog bed next to my bed, to her sleeping at the foot of my bed. She shows absolutely no signs of separation anxiety; in fact is so far a very secure in herself puppy who is currently over an hour into snoozing downstairs while I'm working upstairs (with doors open, so her choice). I really wouldn't worry about any rod for your own back nonsense.

Our puppy slept upstairs in his crate until about 12 weeks

He sleeps on the couch at night with us watching tv until around 11pm then he sleeps in his crate downstairs. He is 4 months old