# Any tips for the first night/first week?



## marleys_family (Oct 28, 2010)

We pick up our beatiful gsd Marley tonight, and wanting to see what I should expect...She is 8 weeks old, the breeder has kept the puppies in a small room indoors-she has NEVER stepped foot outside, and has been fed Beneful for the last couple weeks-we are changing her to a holistic food as soon as she gets home, curious about housetraining when she's paper trained right now (never had one that was trained on paper-our last dog was a purebred chow chow, came to us at 11 weeks fully housebroken!)...Thanks for the advice Oh, I also have 5 children, a baby that still gets up during the night and a hubby on straight midnights (yes he's working tonight, so I gotta do the first couple nights myself!)


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## JazzNScout (Aug 2, 2008)

Can't wait to hear about (and see!) your new baby! 

It's worked best for me to have a new puppy sleep next to my bed in a crate. 
I would make the food change-over gradually so as not to upset her stomach. And housebreaking always came easy here because I stayed glued to the puppy for the first couple of weeks. Also, of course, take her out frequently and praise her like crazy when she goes outside. 
Puppies need a lot of rest. 

Good luck!


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## Montana Scout (Sep 27, 2010)

the first night i slept next to scout while he was in his crate, i lined the crate w/ some of my used shirts and just left a finger or two in the crate while i was sorta "sleeping" he will howl and whine but you shouldn't have to do it more then 2 days, of course i've had my crate in my bedroom the whole time so i don't know how long before you can move it... also when i noticed the pup was getting sleepy i would lure him into his crate, wait for him to pass out, then continue on doing whatever...
im still on the same puppy food he was on from the breeders (eagle pack) but i agree w/ jazz, mix 1/2 1/2 for about a small bagfull before going straight to the other food


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

First, I just gotta say: socialize, socialize, socialize! Especially since she hasn't been socialized any already. Take her EVERYWHERE you can with her, but don't overwhelm her. (Like parades and such). 
When I brought Ozzy home, I took him with me everywhere. It was easier for me to get away with since he's a toy breed, but I took him through drive throughs and Lowe's and every dog-friendly place I could find.

He slept in his crate by my bed, and as long as he could see a part of me (like my hand over the edge of the bed), he'd stay quiet. Now he sleeps on the bed with me.


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## marleys_family (Oct 28, 2010)

We have a crate that will be beside my bed, we weren't planning on using one but figure it will help out alot until she's housetrained-we are hoping once she's older she will have full run of the house; she'll be a family pet, so usually indoors and I'm home during the day too, although we have a large 1 acre property that is fully fenced and she will go out when the weather is good-it's snowing today...


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## joelucci33 (Oct 26, 2010)

def crate youll be happy....I just got my carlo last week...best advice i can give you... PATIENCE....AND STAND YOUR GROUND DONT GIVE IN WHEN HE WHINES!!!!.....crate him at night and have an extra pillow to put ova your ears....after 2 or three nights they will get better. i promise.....try putting a shirt in the crate that you wore that day...also an alarm clock and a warm blanket is key...its been a week and i got to sleep all night the past two nights...No water after 6 or 7 and you shud be good as far as bathroom breaks go in the middle of the night...feel free to PM me for im one week ahead of ya soo i might be able to help!


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## manther21 (Aug 12, 2008)

I'm such a mean mom...

I started our routine first night we had them on both my dogs. The kennel was open with a couple of my shirts in it. 10pm was bedtime. Go out for potty then in the kennel. I covered them with a big blanket to give them their "room". 

Then I just let them cry it out. If it got too carried away I would just say "you're just fine, go night night". (I was back up by 5am with them since we worked at 7.)

With both of them it only took about 3 nights before they knew how it went. Of course Abby outgrew her kennel and Parker learned how it goes after a couple months.

Best of luck to you!


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

This is how I spent the first night.. or two.. 

** Picture was taken at our cabin when it was under contruction, please don't mind the mess. **


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

elisabeth_00117 said:


> This is how I spent the first night.. or two..
> 
> ** Picture was taken at our cabin when it was under contruction, please don't mind the mess. **


 

:laugh: love it. wouldnt have done it myself but love it. Laying across your legs like HAHA I WIN!!!! 

Best advice i can give to the OP is dont give in when they whine and cry. Ignore it and they'll slowly start getting the message its not doing any good. and breath. just breath. 

What we did when Shasta came home was she slept downstairs in her crate the first 2 1/2 months. Didnt want her thinking it wasnt okay to be away from us. One seperation anxiety troublemaker was plenty. Now at almost 7 months old she sleeps in her crate in our room. She wasnt happy the first week downstairs but over time the crying and fit throwing ended. and i agree with Konotashi. SOCIALIZE!!! Alot. So much so you can stand people anymore but keep doing it.


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## dOg (Jan 23, 2006)

they nap a lot, take a lesson and join in!


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## Cherry314 (Jul 21, 2010)

The used tee shirt works wonders! It is proven with both my GSDs.


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## marleys_family (Oct 28, 2010)

Thanks everyone! Unfortunately I can't do the let them cry it out thing cause I have 5 young kids (aged 11 years to 11 months) and the bedrooms are very close to eachother...also, my hubby works straight midnights so I'm by myself if the dog wakes up the kids Anyway, last night went amazing, I took her outside at 11:45 pm, then decided not to put her in the crate, and let her sleep in bed with me! She cuddled by my legs all night, and when my hubby got home at 5:30 we took her outside then-she didn't move all night! I was very surprised, at only 8 weeks old that she would hold it that long! She's definately a cuddler for now, even snuggling on the couch with us


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## Montana Scout (Sep 27, 2010)

you might want to buy some earplugs... cuz if you teach him that whinning/barking will get a positive result of getting out of the crate... guess what he'll do EVERY night


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## ladybugmomma (Mar 20, 2011)

I know this thread is a few months old but... 
I also have 5 kids 15- 6 months. I'm excited but nervous. How has it been getting a GSD puppy with 5 kids including a baby?


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## CuriousKira (Mar 15, 2011)

elisabeth_00117 said:


> This is how I spent the first night.. or two..
> 
> ** Picture was taken at our cabin when it was under contruction, please don't mind the mess. **


Love this 

I was so prepared for lots of howling & whining, bought a big box of ear plugs but by some grace we got about 5 minutes for soft whining and she was out. She whined a little each time she had to go back in the crate after going out but not bad. 

My boyfriend & I were feeling bad about putting her right back into her crate after peeing the first 2 nights so we would play with her a little and let her chew on her toys.....BAD IDEA...no wonder why she was getting up every hour, she wanted to play !!!

We went from getting up 6 times a night for night 1 & 2, to only getting up 2 times on night 3 and now she only gets up about 3am and then at 6 when my boyfriend goes to work.

A warm hot water bottle I've heard works great and a ticking alarm clock...which would probably drive me bonkers so glad she didn't need that.

Good Luck & hopefully you can sneak a nap in during the day if she kept you up!!


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## spidermilk (Mar 18, 2010)

When we got Dax we started him right out sleeping in the crate too. Honestly there wasn't as much whining as I thought there would be. I think the first few days he was so tired from all the excitement and new stuff that he just passed out. I still try to put something amazing (kong, treat, something to chew on that he doesn't normally have) in his crate with him when I am leaving the house.

My advice: Socialize! You can't do it too much. I still take every chance I get to take Dax somewhere new and he takes it all in stride and has a great time. And obviously you want any training/learning to be short and super-fun but he isn't too young to learn things.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

marleys_family said:


> the breeder has kept the puppies in a small room indoors-she has NEVER stepped foot outside,


Holy unsocialization batman! Why would somebody do this?


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