# Puppy's first night



## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

Hi All,

10 days till puppydom! Where do you all think I should have the puppy sleep the first night? I'm considering:

A) crate in arm's reach of my bed (I'll be crate training, so why not start right away?)

B) dog bed next to my bed

C) my bed

I'm inclined to follow the advice in Versatile Vizsla and have the puppy sleep in the crate from night one, then probably transition to my bed around 5 months or so. But what is y'all's experience with puppy's-first-night sleeping arrangements? What would you advise?

As always, thanks for your sage advice.

Emily


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

We did crate right next to the bed for 4 months then started transitioning Miles to the bed. 

Chase is 3 months and in crate still, we don't know what we are going to do with him yet. He actually seems to like his crate, so we may keep him in there a little longer than we did with Miles.


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

Here is my Crates

all with love care and washed every 3 days :'(

Jenn loves them some  ;D

I don't drink

biggens make poor drunks ;D

She says wine helps some ;D


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

If you're going to let the pup in bed eventually why not just start now?! But beware, they get bigger and take up more and more space. Both of ours are in a king bed with us and its still is tight. Oh, and our Vs are small at only 35-45 lbs. 

Good luck. You're in for the ride of a lifetime.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Hey, no crate, no problem just look :-[

We crate our dogs the minute they arrive.. In time, they earn their out, as trust is built over time.


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

Crate for sure.......


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Ditto crate............. :-\

http://hodj.smugmug.com/photos/i-QTxjmV2/0/X3/i-QTxjmV2-X3.jpg

Hobbsy 8)


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## marathonman (Jan 15, 2013)

Disclaimer-I am by no means an expert and I'm sure every pup and situation is different. 
That being said, we had our boy for the first night in bed with us. (I woke up at midnight with my arm hurting from being in a weird position and him snuggled tight into my armpit. Great memory We were advised by our breeder to do the first night in bed with him to help ease the transition from leaving his litter mates. After the first night, we had him in the crate at night full time for several months. We made the transition to sleeping with us at night, but we still occasionally crate him. We want to make sure that if he ever has to spend the night somewhere else, he's comfortable sleeping in his crate. Our method may not mesh with some methodologies, but like dog training and life in general, you need to be open to all ideas and then making the decision that works for you. Although sleeping with 2 adults and a 60lb V on a queen sized bed can be a little tight, we wouldn't have it any other way.


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## Carolina Blue (Sep 20, 2012)

I vote crate. Kiya slept in hers peacefully for months. We eventually started leaving it up to her if she wanted to sleep there or elsewhere (not in our bed). Most everynight she winds up in her crate sometime in the night. It is a safe comfort place for them. Side note, my cat likes to sleep in it during the day! :-\


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## lilyloo (Jun 20, 2012)

We definitely planned on our girl, Ruby, sleeping in her crate. We brought her home at 8 weeks and that first night in her crate she whined, howled and barked for 3 hours straight. I got up around 3 times in the night to take her out to pee and poo, and every time I picked her up out of her crate she was shaking and whining from so much traumatization! I KNOW she would have eventually gotten used to the crate, but my weak heart was not strong enough and on the 3rd night I brought her into bed with us. She slept from 11 p.m. till 6 a.m. without a peep and was glorious to cuddle with! A year later and she's still in bed with us --- all 45 pounds of her. She's still great to cuddle with, but can be quite the bed hog if she gets hot and decides to splay out. In the winter we can keep our thermostat much lower because I have what I like to call a "Vizsla Heater" keeping me warm!

I agree with what others have said --- if you plan on bringing the dog into bed with you eventually, just start it now. They are so nice to sleep with as tiny puppies and if you're light sleeper you'll wake up as soon as they decide they might need to tinkle. My hint that our girl needed a potty trip was when she would become restless.

Hope this helps!


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## Melissa_DT (Jan 9, 2013)

I too caved and let Bentley sleep in my bed after some sleepless nights of non stop howling. He instantly slept so much better, and most nights through until about 5-6 am. I'm a light sleeper so anytime he woke up I did too and took him out to pee. He went in his crate with little issue during the day when I went to work and I did a lot of positive reinforcement with the crate in the beginning. 

He's 9 months now and he spends most of the night sleeping on his dog bed beside my bed, but still likes to come up in the bed In the morning for some cuddle time.

Like others have said, not saying this method works for everyone, but it was my choice and I don't regret it


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## Angie NG (Jun 6, 2012)

Bella slept in her crate for a few months fine, we went on holiday and she wouldn't settle so we let her sleep at the bottom of our bed :

No going back as she still sleeps at the bottom of the bed now, we always said we wouldn't but I actually prefer her upstairs now. She has her own bed in our room to and when she has had enough cuddles or gets to hot she goes in there.

Only problem is she sleeps right next to me snuggled up and I can't move 

Maybe once pup has got use to toilet training let he/she in your bed.


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## MCD (May 4, 2013)

I know I replied crate before.... It is peace of mind so that I know Dharma is not terrorizing the cats or the other 3 small animals. Or she is doing something she is not supposed to be doing. It takes a lot of willpower and patience to endure the crate issues of the first days/nights or in our case even weeks. It does get better. I have done a lot of posting about her trashing her crate lately. We have had a psychologically and physically ill cat since she arrived so lots of visits to the vet to settle everyone. I have started to read Dr. Ian Dunbar, and we have had to make a lot of adjustments to our home situation and our schedules to reflect everyone's needs. That includes us, Dharma and our 2 cats! I am happy to report that crate training and potty training are finally coming together. Putting the puppy in her crate during the day is a must here.


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

Thanks for the advice, guys. And also not thanks . Now I'm totally conflicted between crate and my bed! (But that's maybe due to my secret desire to sleep-cuddle a wiggly, soft little puppy.) In all seriousness, I think I'm going to try the crate and hope for the best. I think it's important to crate train (thank you for the hilarious supporting photographic evidence, datacan and hobbsy) and I'll definitely be doing it --- I'm also of the opinion that my dog needs to earn home-alone freedom. 

But if I crack and let the puppy sleep in bed, I'm sure I'll find some support here, too.

Anywho, just wanted to thank you guys for your thoughts!

E


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

As a compromise position...

Savannah slept in her crate in the bedroom for the first year or so, then graduated to a dog bed next to the crate...but she gets to nap on the couch for cuddle time.


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## Angie NG (Jun 6, 2012)

Bella is 15 months old and still goes into her crate when she is home alone, I would definately use the crate for that reason alone and get your pup use to it. That is the only time Bella is in her crate. Unless she's escaping from the kids for some quiet time 

That is unless you are happy for your pup to be out of a crate while home alone


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