# puppy's first night



## NaomiLucy (Jul 29, 2012)

hi everyone,
im new to this sight as picked up my 7 week old GSD today.
its her first night at home and were struggling to settle her.
shes settled with us and has become quite attatched and will only sleep on us. 
shes paper trained and is doing well with that and isnt too bad in the crate in the day either but whenever we leave her to try and go to bed she howls the house down and my neighbours are not to apriciative! 
shes from a long line of security dogs and will be a working dog with my other half so i know our training with her has to be alot stricter and however much i want her on the bed or sofa with us i know it wont do her or us any good.
so my main question is how on earth will we settle her as shes clearly getting anxious from us leaving her. has anyone got any tips?
thanks in advance,
naomi, steve and puppy flo.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Move her crate into your bedroom at night and let her howl. Chances are she will settle fairly quickly with you right next to her.

Stop with the paper training!!!!!! This is such a huge mistake. If you ever want a reliably housebroken dog, you need to get her to potty outside and not think that going potty in the house is good. This is a very hard habit to break once they have it.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

this is pretty normal behavior for one so young. My best suggestion, put the crate IN your bedroom, and you can do one of two things, let her howl it out of her, or let her sleep in bed with you

Many do not suggest the second tho I admit I have flunked nighttime crate training 101 many times 

She will grow out it, but right now she is a baby, missing her littermates, and these dogs don't like being 'alone'..


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## NaomiLucy (Jul 29, 2012)

il try that but i dont want to take her outside untill she has had her jabs even if it is just for a toilet stop, we where going to try getting her used to going outside in a few weeks when shes had her vaccinations xx


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I agree with Elaine. Also the puppy should learn that being alone(crated) for short periods is ok. So when you do leave her she won't have separation anxiety. 
As long as you take her outside to a safe place that other dogs don't frequent for pottying she should be fine without all the vaccines.
I would crate her when she is in a relaxed state and not wait til she is in a zoomy ramped up mode. 
Puppies get overtired and then get mouthy, so try to use the crate before she gets in that mode. A nice treat when going in will help her see it is a good safe place.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Most pups are vaccinated at 6 weeks and 8 weeks. You can take her out to potty so long as you aren't taking her out to an area that's used by a lot of dogs. She needs to get out and start socializing now anyway. Waiting a few weeks is a mistake.


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## NaomiLucy (Jul 29, 2012)

thankyou for the advice i shall try it all, the only problem is is in england and my area the vets will not vaccinate untill 8 then again at 10. and ive been advised by so many people and my vet not to let her out at all incase on the off chance she picks something up and i wouldnt want that! i have never had a dog from a pup they have all been rescues of an older age so missed this bit! another question, if i start getting her to go outside rather than in what do we do at night if she needs to go and were asleep as she doesnt give any warning she just goes when and where she wants as do most pups i guess and i know pups dont have bladder or bowel control at this age, how do we teach it to her?


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Put your pup in a crate and you get up and let her out a couple of times at night so she stays dry. Never leave your pup loose in the house when you can't directly watch her. The more she potties in the house, the harder it is to housebreak. 

Don't you have a yard for her to potty in? If she hasn't been vaccinated at all yet, you can at least potty her in your yard until she's had her first shots. Then, I would be getting her out and about as much as possible. Early socialization can't be emphasized enough.


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## NaomiLucy (Jul 29, 2012)

thankyou, yes we have a garden and can use that so up every few hours an take her out til she goes. how long do i have to do this untill she can go through the night without?


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

During the day, she should be going out about every 20-30minutes. During the night, I would taking her out every two hours or sooner if she wakes up and starts fussing. If she's sleeping soundly and staying dry at night, then reduce the number of times you get up. The important thing is getting her out often enough so she stays dry. If she's going in her crate or in the house, it's not often enough. Set an alarm if needed.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

my pups crate was in the livingroom from day one. i
figured he needs to start to learn attachment. he 
whined the first 3 nights then all was quiet. i told 
my neighbors before our puppy came home that we 
were getting a puppy and the first week home maybe noisy. 
i also told my neighbors i need their help with taking care
of our pup. our neighbors were on board with helping us
when we needed it with our pup. we needed their help often
as you can imagine.


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## NaomiLucy (Jul 29, 2012)

thanks elaine i shall see how tonight goes, and weve tried having her down here this evening and she yelped so loudly! i would leave her to cry but unfortunatly my neighbours are not adverse to us having a puppy and are allready complaining! im a bit stuffed but there you go!


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## NaomiLucy (Jul 29, 2012)

So night one is over and I had two hours sleep, she yelled all night literally, it sounded like we where torturing her! She's still going now. She was fine with the toilet all night so mot needing that she just couldn't stand to be away from us  help!


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## LaneyB (Feb 5, 2012)

I put the crate in my bedroom, and the first nights I slept on the floor with my fingers in the crate. Once he was asleep I would try sneaking up on the bed. If he whined I would go back on the floor. 

Then after a few nights I would start on the floor, then move to the bed and would just talk to him if he whined. Then after he was ok with that I would move to the bed before he fell asleep, and just talk to him when he whined. Now he is fine. It's a process and takes patience, but it actually went pretty fast.


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