# First Night Home Tips



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

That first night can be a tough one but it will get better in a hurry. If the puppy is sleeping it may not even need to go out during the night. Take up the pups water a couple of hours before bedtime. Be sure to have some clothes you can throw on quick to get the puppy straight outside when he gets up. Sometimes a sheet over the crate makes it feel safer and more denlike. Good luck to you.


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## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

We set an alarm to take Brady out every 3 hours during the night when we first brought him home, and gradually increased that time...after a few weeks he slept through the night. 

Ditto what Rob said about covering the crate with towels. We first set up the crate in our bedroom against a wall about 4 feet from our bed, and Brady cried and cried and cried. So my husband had the idea of dragging the crate up against the side of our bed and he settled right down.


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## pburchins (Mar 11, 2009)

Our Riley is now 14 weeks old. It seems like a lifetime since we brought him home and it was only 7 weeks. LOL Do you have a dog type doll ? We had a St. Bernard and a Golden pup doll. He really liked having one of them in the crate to sleep with during the first few weeks. It was cute how he would lie on top of them.

Another thing to think about is a radio or some type of music near the crate. Some people even use the nature type clock radio with beach waves, birds chirping,etc. If you have one of them it would help her.

I believe you should plan on going out at least 3 -4 times at night during the first week. Oakley's dad made an excellent point about having clothes handy to go outside. We had a leash,flashlight, umbrella, towels,shoes(I prefer slides to get into quickly) and a jacket. It is a lot when you are trying to get it all on at one time and having a little puppy ready to explode. LOL

Have fun with the early days. Take a lot of photos because they grow up instantly. Mine was 9lbs when we brought him home and 7 weeks later he is 30lbs and full of energy.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

The sheet on the crate works to make it feel more like a den and does work. I tried the alarm and getting him up for a potty trip in the middle of the night but he didnt want to go so I let him tell me by whining and like a Mom you will hear that first whine when you are asleep.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

We feed our puppies 4 x a day until 12 weeks( I know many people choose 3x). When I set back the times, starting with breakfast at 5 am and last meal at 5 pm, I had much better luck with Tally and Tango sleeping a 6 hour stretch. Those first weeks, I do get up every three hours-ish, just to jumpstart the good habits. With Tango, I slept in longjohns and ugg boots lol, because it was 10 degrees outside at night. The classic advice is not to make potty trips too fun at night: no playing, kissing/cuddling(it's hard to resist!), or lavish treats.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

When we got Teddi we only had a GINORMOUS crate. We ended up putting a box inside her crate to make it smaller. She actually slept through the night, she was the first pup I ever had do that. I think having the 'tight' space with lots of snuggly towels/blankets made her feel like she was snug with her brothers and sisters. She went down around 10:30 and did not wake up until 4AM to me with puppy that is all night!!!

As she grew we cut the box down to give her more space and then when we felt she was ready we took it out altogether. Some crates have a barrier you can position in them. I plan to do the small space test with our next pup, it made our life SO much easier with Teddi.

New puppies are a lot of fun,and a lot of work. Allow yourself time to enjoy your new baby, and see the wonderment of the world through his/her eyes. Of course you know we want to see LOTS of pictures!!!!!


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## Kelli (Apr 28, 2009)

Good luck with your new pup. I am new to the forum and have a new puppy so no expert...We put a sheet over Emma's crate at night and it helps alot. I got up with her the first night at 2:00am but she has slept through the night until 6 or so every morning since. She was 9 1/2 weeks old at the time. She is 11 weeks now.

I do wake her up at 10:00 pm to go out for one final time. She is usually very sleepy and will plop down on the grass but if I give her a couple of minutes she does wake up and does her business then back to the crate she goes.

Emma has a couple of towels besides her blanket and a stuffed dog and squirrel that she sleeps with at night. She usually lays with her head on top of the stuffed dog.

They are so adorable as puppies. Have fun.


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## Olddog (Mar 24, 2009)

When I brought Riley home, I was out with him around three times per night. It slows down faster than you think. Before I knew it, he was sleeping through the night. He is now 13 weeks and has been sleeping all night for about the past week and a half. He sleeps in the crate next to me with a blanket over the top and sides except for the side he can see me from. Seemed to work. I am a light sleeper so I didn't bother with alarm clock. I could hear him stirring so I knew that was time. If I didn't wake up, he would let out one little wine and if I didn't catch that, it was too late. Now my big challenge is keeping him from mawling one of the cats. Good luck with your new addition.


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## Maya's Mom (Apr 13, 2009)

Maya's first night home went well.  Thanks for all the helpful advice. I am enjoying every moment of this puppy phase because I know it goes by too fast! We set the alarm for every 3 hours, but she generally woke us up every 2 1/2. I got more sleep than I expected, because she settled down fairly well. She whined off and on, but I think it was mostly when she had to go out (although it was hard to tell). When she had been sleeping for a while and started whining I would take her out just in case that was why. I took the advice to put the crate directly up against the bed rather than the wall, which I think helped. I kept my hand on or in the crate for much of the night, and she leaned into it a lot (but strangely didn't bite!). When do you start increasing the amount of time between potty trips? 
Thanks again for all the help!


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## Maya's Mom (Apr 13, 2009)

I forgot I was going to post pictures!


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## Maya's Mom (Apr 13, 2009)

Hmmmmm, it doesn't look like the pictures worked. I'll try again.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Awww adorable!


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