[markoff]

Hi everyone,
We pick up our puppy in a couple of weeks, and can’t decide where she should sleep.

When puppy arrives, we wanted her to sleep in her crate next to us for several reasons including restroom related business. (I thought I would set up an alarm to take her outside for restroom) or in the future, we can hear her awake and take outside. Also she might feel better next to us (?), plus I feel like it’s good idea to keep an eye on her.

Given:
2 story house with 2 cats, bedroom is upstairs.


Concern 1:
Let’s say she sleeps in our bedroom, will I even have time to bring her outside for restroom? Pretty long walk.

Concern 2:
Our bedroom’s door is closed during the day. And we are almost never there. So for the day nap, we would use different crate downstairs in living room. I am not sure if it is good idea to have 2 different crates and places to sleep (?)

Plus, we don’t want to leave bedroom door opened because of the cats. Also Ideally, for the beginning, I was thinking to install gates at the stairs, so the cats will have some safe place at the house while adjusting.
What I am saying, she will not always have free access upstairs.

What is my best option? Sleep in the leaving room on the couch? (Closer to backyard). Get a second crate And use bedroom for nights and living room for days?
Sorry if my question is silly, trying to plan ahead..Thanks!

 

[Pawsed]

Your plan sounds good to me. Pups are happier where their people are so having her by the bed will help her be more secure.

We actually start new pups in bed with us. They always seemed to prefer staying near our feet. There has never been any crying or stressing the pup with separating them from the only family they have known.

We can easily tell when they get restless and need to go out. They feel safe and content being with us. As they get more settled in our home we transition to a crate beside the bed where it's easy to reassure them if necessary.

There was never a problem with getting them outside in time. Maybe we were just lucky with that, or maybe having them so close would alert us at their earliest indication.

Enjoy your new family member. Good to know that you are working on a reasonable plan to start her new life.

 

[Catrinka]

I start with a crate right up against my side of the bed (since I'm the one who gets up in the night with pup). That way, I can easily slide a hand down to the new puppy to reassure him if he starts crying in those first nights away from his mom and littermates. Plus it makes it easier to hear him wake up when he has to go outside (I've never needed to set an alarm). The first couple of weeks, I scoop the puppy up in my arms and carry him out to make sure he doesn't stop along the way to pee (then they quickly catch on and I snap on a leash). These puppies potty-train quickly. Later on, as the pup starts sleeping through the night, we move the crate to a more convenient location in the bedroom.

If buying a second crate is an option for you, it would work great to have another crate on the first floor of your home for daytime (somewhere away from busy family noise). Just make sure that the crate is sized appropriately. If the crate is way too big for the new puppy, he'll be more likely to think he can soil his 'den' and housebreaking will take longer.

 

[WNGD]

I start with a crate right up against my side of the bed (since I'm the one who gets up in the night with pup). That way, I can easily slide a hand down to the new puppy to reassure him if he starts crying in those first nights away from his mom and littermates. Plus it makes it easier to hear him wake up when he has to go outside (I've never needed to set an alarm). The first couple of weeks, I scoop the puppy up in my arms and carry him out to make sure he doesn't stop along the way to pee (then they quickly catch on and I snap on a leash). These puppies potty-train quickly. Later on, as the pup starts sleeping through the night, we move the crate to a more convenient location in the bedroom.

If buying a second crate is an option for you, it would work great to have another crate on the first floor of your home for daytime (somewhere away from busy family noise). Just make sure that the crate is sized appropriately. If the crate is way too big for the new puppy, he'll be more likely to think he can soil his 'den' and housebreaking will take longer.

100% this.
Except I have always used a full sized crate and no divider even for a puppy. Never a soiling in the crate over 6 dogs, not once. During the day, take them out far more often than you think they need to, be very very patient until they go and praise profusely and they can be largely house trained in days, sometimes a few weeks

 

[Sunflowers]

Both pups slept on my nightstand in a crate, at first.
In a cat crate 😄

 

[markoff]

Thank you, guys, for taking your time to respond! Great advises, exactly what I wanted to hear.
You are awesome!

Bonus: (not a very good picture, but the most recent one)

 

[WNGD]

Cutie!

 

[Catrinka]

Bonus: (not a very good picture, but the most recent one)

Adorable!

 

[Honey Maid]

Here is how I handled it. I used a medium wire crate, one big enough for dogs 30 to 50 pounds, with a divider in the middle. No room next to the bed, so I slept on an air mattress next to the crate. The puppy's whining woke me up when he had to go outside to potty. I'd put his leash on him, and carry him outside. It would vary in times, from about 1am to 3am, then he'd wake up again about 6 or 6:30am, when I'd go ahead and stay up. His breeder gave me a little blanket that smelled like his mom, and that is always in his crate.

His first night in the crate, he screamed like a banshee for about 20 minutes. We put him in the crate when we were getting ready for bed, brushing teeth showering etc..... After the 20 minutes of screaming, he whimpered for about 10 minutes. What has nice about having the air mattress right there, I was able to talk to him, and stick my fingers through the cage and pet his head..

Next night he screamed again, but only about 10 minutes, and whimpered after that....... after a few days he would only whimper for a few minutes, then fall asleep.

I would haul his crate into the living room in the morning, but we're one story. Sometimes he'd sleep in it, but most of the time he'd flop down on the floor.

Puppies pee and poop A LOT. What's nice about being retired, I was able to be with him all day, watch him like a hawk. After EVERY meal, play session and nap I took him outside to potty. It was cool to see, on the 6th day we'd had him, he walked over to the door and sat down, waiting to go outside and potty.

This forum has been a wealth of info for me. Just do a search for any questions you have, suggestions will pop up.

 

[markoff]

Here is how I handled it. I used a medium wire crate, one big enough for dogs 30 to 50 pounds, with a divider in the middle. No room next to the bed, so I slept on an air mattress next to the crate. The puppy's whining woke me up when he had to go outside to potty. I'd put his leash on him, and carry him outside. It would vary in times, from about 1am to 3am, then he'd wake up again about 6 or 6:30am, when I'd go ahead and stay up. His breeder gave me a little blanket that smelled like his mom, and that is always in his crate.

His first night in the crate, he screamed like a banshee for about 20 minutes. We put him in the crate when we were getting ready for bed, brushing teeth showering etc..... After the 20 minutes of screaming, he whimpered for about 10 minutes. What has nice about having the air mattress right there, I was able to talk to him, and stick my fingers through the cage and pet his head..

Next night he screamed again, but only about 10 minutes, and whimpered after that....... after a few days he would only whimper for a few minutes, then fall asleep.

I would haul his crate into the living room in the morning, but we're one story. Sometimes he'd sleep in it, but most of the time he'd flop down on the floor.

Puppies pee and poop A LOT. What's nice about being retired, I was able to be with him all day, watch him like a hawk. After EVERY meal, play session and nap I took him outside to potty. It was cool to see, on the 6th day we'd had him, he walked over to the door and sat down, waiting to go outside and potty.

This forum has been a wealth of info for me. Just do a search for any questions you have, suggestions will pop up.

Thank you for sharing your experience! And what a smartie pup!
I work as a computer science professor, and when the pandemic started all of our classes transitioned to online form. We are not going back on campus until January 2022. I’m going to take advantage of that and will put all the time and effort to raise a puppy 🤗

I agree this forum is great! I have been reading it for about 4 months now, and kind of feel a “theory expert” already in some questions haha.

 

[Lexie’s mom]

We have 3 bedrooms upstairs very close by, so I didn’t want my husband or kids to sacrifice their sleep. Lexie was sleeping in a crate downstairs in a family room. We have a Border Collie that was/is also sleeping in the same room so she had some company. We also wanted some safe space for our 3 cats while she was getting used not to chase them. She was fussing for a few nights, nothing major. I would go to bed earlier and my husband would let her potty late. In the morning I would get up 1st and let her out before waking up kids to go to school. Sometimes I had to get up at 4 or 4:30. After kids left to school I would sometimes sleep on the couch in the family room. Being a light sleeper I was always keeping an eye on Lexie so she would not get into things and let her potty very often. We have a sliding door and a fenced back yard. So far she is the least destructive dog that I’ve ever had. We stopped crating her after 4 months. I cover the carpet in the family room with a large waterproof pad because the dogs mostly eat raw and chew bones. It’s also a good protection for a carpet as far as any kind of accident. I wash it often. It’s really handy for any kind of mess or spill. It worked good for us.

 

[markoff]

We have 3 bedrooms upstairs very close by, so I didn’t want my husband or kids to sacrifice their sleep. Lexie was sleeping in a crate downstairs in a family room. We have a Border Collie that was/is also sleeping in the same room so she had some company. We also wanted some safe space for our 3 cats while she was getting used not to chase them. She was fussing for a few nights, nothing major. I would go to bed earlier and my husband would let her potty late. In the morning I would get up 1st and let her out before waking up kids to go to school. Sometimes I had to get up at 4 or 4:30. After kids left to school I would sometimes sleep on the couch in the family room. Being a light sleeper I was always keeping an eye on Lexie so she would not get into things and let her potty very often. We have a sliding door and a fenced back yard. So far she is the least destructive dog that I’ve ever had. We stopped crating her after 4 months. I cover the carpet in the family room with a large waterproof pad because the dogs mostly eat raw and chew bones. It’s also a good protection for a carpet as far as any kind of accident. I wash it often. It’s really handy for any kind of mess or spill. It worked good for us.

Thank you so much for sharing and tips!
Can’t wait when she is home, it feels so real finally!

 

[anarcee]

Here is how I handled it. I used a medium wire crate, one big enough for dogs 30 to 50 pounds, with a divider in the middle. No room next to the bed, so I slept on an air mattress next to the crate. The puppy's whining woke me up when he had to go outside to potty. I'd put his leash on him, and carry him outside. It would vary in times, from about 1am to 3am, then he'd wake up again about 6 or 6:30am, when I'd go ahead and stay up. His breeder gave me a little blanket that smelled like his mom, and that is always in his crate.

His first night in the crate, he screamed like a banshee for about 20 minutes. We put him in the crate when we were getting ready for bed, brushing teeth showering etc..... After the 20 minutes of screaming, he whimpered for about 10 minutes. What has nice about having the air mattress right there, I was able to talk to him, and stick my fingers through the cage and pet his head..

Next night he screamed again, but only about 10 minutes, and whimpered after that....... after a few days he would only whimper for a few minutes, then fall asleep.

I would haul his crate into the living room in the morning, but we're one story. Sometimes he'd sleep in it, but most of the time he'd flop down on the floor.

Puppies pee and poop A LOT. What's nice about being retired, I was able to be with him all day, watch him like a hawk. After EVERY meal, play session and nap I took him outside to potty. It was cool to see, on the 6th day we'd had him, he walked over to the door and sat down, waiting to go outside and potty.

This forum has been a wealth of info for me. Just do a search for any questions you have, suggestions will pop up.

Hello, Newbie here. Long time lurker, first time poster. I am waiting for a puppy and have been in contact with a breeder. Fingers crossed he or she comes this year.

Thanks for this tip. I have been thinking about doing the same. Getting a smaller crate to begin with and sleeping near the puppy. We have sunroom which has a couple of day beds to sleep on, plus it has easy access to the backyard.

Our last dog (a Golden Retriever) was a breeze to potty train. No accidents. I am hoping to take a couple of weeks off when the puppy comes home.

Agreed, this forum has been so useful for information