The first night (and a few after that)
First of all, thank you for all the support and advice you gave me regarding crate training and every other issue I asked about. I am deeply grateful for everything, and I hope to return the favor after I become an OES owner (T-minus 16 days!). I have another inquiry - sleeping (the dog, not me). I have a three-story townhouse. The bedrooms are upstairs, the dining room and living room are on the main floor, and the basement is ... well, the basement. I have Bob's crate set up on the main floor, just because that's where I intend to leave him during the day - there is a big sliding glass door he can see on one side, a picture window on the other side, more stuff to look at, etc. I could fit the crate in my room - barely, but I think I could - and in time, I hope he is housebroken enough to sleep in there. For the first few nights, though, what is your advice? I read a book that suggested I set up some sheets and blankets on the floor next to my bed, tether him to my bed, and let him sleep there - that way, he could smell me, hear me breathe, and get used to my presence. Plus, if he's tethered, the thought is he wouldn't mess up his sleeping area. Alternately, I've read that I should get him used to the crate immediately - which is fine, but is it okay to do that if he is on a different floor of the house? Should I squeeze the crate into my room until he is more comfortable with his new home, then move it - and him - to the main floor? Or ... whould I get a second crate, only flr sleeping and (hopefully) only for his puppy/housebreaking stage, just for me room? Decisions, decisions .... and in advance, thanks for your help! - David |
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| David, not sure if you noticed my threads but we just got our pup last week. In my threads there is tons a great advice from everyone on this site. I recommend reading through it. About your question, we have our crate on the middle level of our home, next to the kitchen. We all sleep upstairs. The first few days he was whining and crying but these past 2 days he has been going into his crate and not much crying. In fact somone told me to put the crate in my bedroom (which I do not have room for) or perhaps in my daughters room (which there is room). Anyway it has not come to that and he is getting used to his spot next to the kitchen. My advice so far is to stick to a plan that works best for you. Hope this helps. |
| I too live in a three level townhouse. I previously posted (in Giantfish's post) about how I house-trained Izzie overnight using an alarm clock. You can look there for those details...but to add to the story I will explain her crate situation. When we first got her she was only 9 pounds and therefore easily fit into a plastic travel crate that we borrowed from our Aunt. She fit in there for awhile and I would move it around the house depending on where we were. So at night that was moved up to my room. After that she had a gigantic crate that we call her "condo." It is so big that she could have had friends sleep over. That crate stayed on our lowest level because it was too much of a pain to move. So at night I would gate her into my attached bathroom. When she was smaller, but too big to fit into the small crate I would put the small crate in the bathroom purely to take up space and not give her too much room. That way she couldn't pee/poop in one side and then go back to sleep in the other. Once she could safely make it overnight she was gated into my room so I could hear if she got into anything overnight. Whooo...that was very long winded. Basically...I wouldn't try the tether. I would move the crate  If you can't move the crate then leave it downstairs and leave her/him in overnight. It might take longer for her/him to adjust or quiet down, but I think the crate is the way to go overnight.FYI...I now share my bed with Izzie...she gets 2/3 and I get 1/3.  |
| Our crates are on the same level (upstairs bedrooms were the kids rooms, they are grown and moved out) as our bedroom, but in a different part of the house. We never did the crates in the bedroom, or dogs in the bedroom at all; and they trained really well. Mine go to their crates/sleep areas all by themselves (now adults) when they are ready to go to bed. We have multiple dogs, and it just was a house policy  to not have them all in the bedroom. Just Tipup the cat  |
| Both sheepdogs had full run of our master bedroom/bathroom from their first night in our house. Everything was puppy-proofed, so the only damage they could do was to have a potty accident. Quincy came to us when he was 12 weeks old. Since the breeder had brought him and his mom and littermates into the laundry room every night, Quincy NEVER, EVER had an accident overnight. He went from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., with no trouble whatsoever. During the day? A whole other story! Oscar? He was a piddle machine! My hubby and I staggered our bedtimes so that he could get some extra potty trips outside. And he's deaf, which meant that we couldn't yell to get his attention if he started peeing. As soon as he was housebroken, our master bedroom carpet went bye-bye. Oscar still sleeps in our master bedroom/bathroom, but has never been allowed on any furniture.We were lucky that neither dog was chewer, so we've never had a need to use a crate. Laurie and Oscar |
| We had Mady's crate on the main floor from the first day. The first night she whined a bit but we were careful not to go and let her out when she whined. Having said that, we made sure to have a few bathroom trips during the night (maybe just two, if I remember correctly). Like some others have mentioned, Mady goes into her crate on her own when she needs a good nap. It is her cozy spot. |
Quote: Alternately, I've read that I should get him used to the crate immediately - which is fine, but is it okay to do that if he is on a different floor of the house? I would start with the crate from day one if you're going to use one (I highly recommend it). Begin making the crate a very positive place to be... here that means feeding all meals inside the crate too. This is Bumble at 14 weeks- http://oesusa.com/BumbleNightNight.html . Here, we use crates for the first 6-7 months... then they either sleep in the bedroom (puppy proofed) or in another puppy proofed room. I don't think you'll have a problem with the puppy on a different floor. You are in for SO MUCH FUN!! Congratulations to you on your pup!  |
| You have been given good advice Just wanted to say hi from maryland I am in harford co and we will have a sheepie get to gether this spring and or fall Hope you can come!!! |
| Welcome from New Jersey. I posted a few "pearls of wisdom" on Giantfish's thread on a similar item. Hang in there it gets a little hectic at first but with a lot of patience and a lot of treats and praise "this to shall pass!" |
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