# New Puppy and Routine



## Rayven (Jul 3, 2013)

Hello. I have been reading this thread for some time now. Now that we are due to bring home our puppy Ivy in just over a week I thought I should ask all my questions. I didn't want to start asking too early for fear that you guys would get tired of me!

My question today is about her morning schedule. This is pretty much what I need it to look like;
6:30 wake up and outside toilet run.
Into her Xpen. I could feed her now or at 7:15.
7:15 Back out to toilet. Or feed then toilet.
7:15-8:15 Supervised play.
8:15 Out to toilet
8:30 In Xpen until I get home from work at 12:00 (I am now home for the day)
So what do you guys think? I know that she is going to be up in the night to pee as she will be 8 weeks when we bring her home. She will be sleeping in a crate in my room at night but she will have a different crate in her Xpen for during the day.
I think I added a photo of Ivy to the page but I'm not too computer savy so if not I'll try again.


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## Rayven (Jul 3, 2013)

Okay maybe this worked.

Ivy at 6 weeks.


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## RoutineAvocado (Feb 6, 2013)

Welcome and congrats! It's great you're thinking about the morning routine so much. That ended up being the hardest time of day for me since Zelda is so active and I'm not.

I brought my puppy home at 10 weeks and she peed more frequently than that in the mornings. I once counted 7 times in an hour... She could hold it all night without any problem or fussing, but was just so excitable in the mornings. She luckily outgrew that (well, not the morning excitability but the need to express it with pee part...), but it was hard to keep up with her at first! We used an indoor litter system so I'm not sure how people who bring them out handle those first hard weeks.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you might need to stay with her when she eats, at least at first. A lot of us had a hard time getting the new pup to eat but it was much easier if we hand fed or at least stayed nearby. I'm not sure if there was a time in that routine you need to leave her alone to get ready for the day. It was very challenging to get any alone time without the pup for awhile. My pup is 6 months, and hubby and I still trade off when we're getting ready. But she at least will eat alone now and is happy to play with a food toy ball unsupervised.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Rayven said:


> Hello. I have been reading this thread for some time now. Now that we are due to bring home our puppy Ivy in just over a week I thought I should ask all my questions. I didn't want to start asking too early for fear that you guys would get tired of me!
> 
> My question today is about her morning schedule. This is pretty much what I need it to look like;
> 6:30 wake up and outside toilet run.
> ...


 I would do the play twice if you can fit it in your schedule. Try to spend at least a half hour before going back to the x pin. She might work up an appetite to eat while you're getting ready for work. Mine like to eat when I'm around. So maybe your pup could come to the bathroom with you while you're getting ready and have some food their?. Although mine always just sat by the shower and waited for me. She will cry like you won't believe when you put her back in the x pin. Mine always did.I failed at not giving in. Be careful if you have a crate inside the x pin Havanese are clever and will jump on the top and then climb over the x pin. Maddie actually climbed out without the help of the creat. She ended up hurting herself. If your new puppy is going to be left alone for 3 1/2 hours just be sure she won't get out. Some people use a top on the x pin.I'm excited for you!


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## tra_po (Aug 14, 2013)

Suzi said:


> ...Be careful if you have a crate inside the x pin Havanese are clever and will jump on the top and then climb over the x pin.


This was my first thought, too. Why not just put a puppy bed in there versus a crate? This way she has a little freedom.

My only other comment is to let her have a little more "roaming" time and be sure and exercise her really well before putting her in until noon. 8:30 ish - Noon is a reasonable amount of "rest" time, I think.

My daughter's name is Ivy so I have a soft spot for yours already


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## Rayven (Jul 3, 2013)

Thanks for the advise. I will leave the crate out of the Xpen and just put her bed in there.
I'll experiment on when to feed her. I prefer to feed her in her xpen at 6:30. My DH will be there at that time so he can sit with her but neither he or I am going to hand feed her. I get ready for the day at 6:45 and I have to be back down stairs by 7:15.
I do before and after school care in my home and the first child arrives at 7:15. Don't worry. The kids will not be allowed to maul Ivy. They are good kids but I will be supervising their play/interactions with Ivy very closely.

I really hope this schedule works as I don't have a lot of flexibility. But I believe that the puppy adapts to our life and not the other way around.....within reason.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Rayven said:


> Thanks for the advise. I will leave the crate out of the Xpen and just put her bed in there.
> I'll experiment on when to feed her. I prefer to feed her in her xpen at 6:30. My DH will be there at that time so he can sit with her but neither he or I am going to hand feed her. I get ready for the day at 6:45 and I have to be back down stairs by 7:15.
> I do before and after school care in my home and the first child arrives at 7:15. Don't worry. The kids will not be allowed to maul Ivy. They are good kids but I will be supervising their play/interactions with Ivy very closely.
> 
> I really hope this schedule works as I don't have a lot of flexibility. But I believe that the puppy adapts to our life and not the other way around.....within reason.


Play it by ear with the crate. Some dogs REALLY prefer the close feeling of the crate for their "den". (Kodi is one of those) You also don't want to get to the point where the puppy no longer accepts a crate, because it can be very important to settle happily in a crate as certain times.

As long as you supervise things carefully with the kids, the fact that you do before and after school care can be a WONDERFUL socialization opportunity for your puppy. I had a day care next door when Kodi was a puppy, and I regularly took him over there, had the kids sit in a circle in the grass, and take turns calling him too them for a little stroking and a cookie. The kids LOVED this, and he got VERY used to (well mannered) little children as a result!

You are right, the puppy will adapt to your schedule, and you to the puppy. You will all work it out. Like with children, a schedule is a good thing, but being to rigid isn't. You have to figure out what schedule best fits you AND the puppy as you go along.

And as far as the hand feeding is concerned... I'm with you. Unless the puppy was sick, there's no way I'd fall into that trap. The puppy will eat if she gets hungry enough. Put it down, stay close if she needs some support in the first few days, and pick it up, finished or not, after 15 minutes. (at MOST! A dog with a good appetite will scoff down their meal in 30 seconds!!! ) I didn't fuss with my kids over food and I refuse to fuss with healthy animals over food.


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