Puppy's First Night

Hello All,

In one week we will be bringing home or newest family member, Ragnar, from the breeders. He will be ten weeks old. We have bought a crate and have made it snuggly for him. What did you all do on your puppy's first night, ie did you bring the crate into your bedroom, or did you put it elsewhere?

Keep in mind there are no other animals in our home. Over the long term, we'd like him to sleep downstairs, as our apartment owner doesn't really want the dog upstairs (we're in a loft) but is it important for him not to sleep alone on his first night?

I want to make this experience as unstressful as possible for Ragnar, since this is our first puppy and all of the books we have gotten have different advice I am looking for practical advice as to what worked for all of you.

Thanks in advance, can't wait to get your input. :xfngr:

-P



P.S. One other question: is it alright if we move his crate between two different spots in the house to keep an eye on him during the day or would that be more confusing for him than beneficial?

Cavaliers are most content to sleep in our bedrooms! You need to decide where you want your cavalier to sleep, though. So if you aren't going to want him sleeping in the bedroom, don't start him off sleeping there.

It shouldn't matter if you move his crate around wherever you are. In fact he'll be happier if he can see you when he's awake.

In my experience cavaliers seem to be the only breed of puppy that doesn't cry the first night as long as they can see you and know you're near. I was flabbergasted when 11-12 week old India didn't cry at all during her first nights with us!

Good luck and post photos soon! :flwr:

Jake spent his first night in his crate in the family room. I won't say it was a breeze right off the bat but it didn't take long for him to settle in. We had an x-pen set up in the family room with his crate in it. During the day I would put in him the x-pen (if he was potty safe) and at night he slept in the crate with the door latched.

Congratulations on the new baby coming! I must say that with Pixie (now at the bridge) we let her sleep in the bed with us from the first night, so I'm not sure how she would have done.
Bandit, who is 10 weeks old has now been with us for 9 days has slept in a crate in my bedroom without crying (maybe a minute of whimpers the first couple of nights) since he came home. I put him in with a Kong with a little yummy stuff inside so he has already learned that going in there is a good thing. He needs to go to the bathroom once or twice during the night. He will cry when he wakes needing to go out, and I will take him out to potty, but he goes right back in the crate when we come in without a fuss.
During the day he naps in the xpen in the kitchen where he can see all that is going on around him and I can watch closely for when he wakes up and need to go out to the bathroom.

Good luck and I think if you are consistent, he will learn to be comfortable wherever he sleeps. I think it will be easier if you go with what you plan to use from day one.

When we first brought Jato home at 10 weeks, we had him sleep in a small veri-kennel upstairs in our bedroom until he started sleeping through the night. Ever since then, he sleeps in his big crate downstairs in the family room. He adjusted just fine.

I brought Dixie home at 10 weeks too, and she slept in a crate in our bedroom where she could see us. She never let out a peep and slept all night from the very first night on....I was absolutely amazed that she never even whimpered..

First off, CONGRATULATIONS on you new addition! You must be extremely excited. When we were planning for Holly's arrival, I had decided that she would sleep downstairs in her crate so that we all could get a good night's just in case she "objected" to her new digs. Well, that decision went by the wayside as soon as I laid eyes on her! She has slept in her crate, on my side of the bed in the master bedroom ever since. I have been shocked at how well she's done. She came to us at 10 weeks and has slept through the night WITHOUT A PEEP ever since. At first, she went to bed a little later (around 11 or midnight) and slept until 7 or 7:30 am. We have been gradually moving her bedtime a little earlier and she still makes it through the night until at least 7 am.

We have a playpen downstairs that has been WONDERFUL. She naps in there or goes in for a bit of "down" time if I can't 100% supervise everyone. She seems to like being able to see us, yet does not object to going in her crate for periods of time when we leave the house or at night. I'm sure an ex-pen would work just as well.

Good luck and it's great that you are planning ahead. All the extra planning and thinking about life with a puppy before Holly arrived really helped to make the transition easier for everyone.