# new puppy and sleeping



## bullwinkle (Oct 5, 2008)

*I am just getting a 12 week old havanese and need the best answer anyone can give on this.. I don't want the puppy in the bed with us and so my question is, if we sleep upstairs and puppy in crate downstairs, can a puppy stay in crate all night withhout going to bathroom if I take out at 9 :00p.m.or 10 and take away water? any help appreciated..*


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## SaydeeMomma (Sep 9, 2008)

If you put the puppy's crate in your bedroom where she/he can see you, you'll avoid potty accidents and it will comfort the pup to know you are close by. We put the water up around 7pm and do lots of trips outside before actual tuck-in time, around 9:30 pm. Once puppy is tucked, we do not talk to her until it's time to get up in the morning. If she fusses, just a stern "QUIET!" and then silence usually gets the point across. If the puppy wakes up and needs to go potty, CARRY her outside without talking, get the business done, and then right back to bed. This way puppy won't have an accident on the floor on the way out, and the lack of conversation will prevent her from thinking it's time to get up and play. If you can make it in and out without turning on lights, that also helps (I have a night light in the hallway that helps me to see down the stairs.)

The crate should only be big enough for the dog to comfortable turn around in ...any larger and she may make the extra space a pottyland. A rolled up blanket at the back of the crate helps close the gap, and I like to think it also makes the puppy feel cozy.

You may have a few sleepless nights as the puppy gets used to the routine, but it won't take long for her to get used to your schedule. Eventually you can move the crate out of the bedroom when you feel confident of your puppy's ability to "hold it". Some people keep their dog's crate in the bedroom permanently. If you make dietary changes it's nice to keep them close in case they have loose bowels while adjusting to different food. My puppy Saydee is 5 months old and at this point we still keep her in the bedroom just to be on the safe side. Better to avoid the accident altogether...

Congratulations on your new puppy & welcome to the forum. Hope this helps!


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## Gabby (Jul 20, 2008)

We got Caya @ 12 weeks and thought that keeping her downstairs the first night was a good idea. A sleepless night of puppy wailing made us quickly realize that are puppy, Caya, needed to be close to us. The next night she was an arms length away and we slowly pushed her further out of the room into the hall where we eventually wanted her to end up. You can get your puppy downstairs eventually but slowly transition to that point. 

I think that first night set us back weeks with separation anxiety issues.

As for the bathroom situation, it took maybe the first week or two of getting up in the middle of the night and then she went right back to bed.

Hope that helps.

Oh BTW, first post so... Hi everybody! This site and it's members are invaluable.


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## SaydeeMomma (Sep 9, 2008)

Welcome Gayle! I love Caya's happy puppy avatar! I like her name, too. Alot like Maya :biggrin1:


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## isshinryu_mom (Mar 23, 2008)

Welcome Bullwinkle and Gayle... congratulations on your new puppies. (I love your avatar, Gayle!)


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## Cheryl (Mar 17, 2007)

Bullwinkle, welcome. We look forwar to pics of your Hav. You have heard from the experts: keep the puppy in a crate in your room. Best of all keep the crate next to your bed at bedlevel and I expect you to have a great night.


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## DanielBMe (Nov 25, 2007)

BIG MISTAKE if you put the puppy downstairs. He or she will cry all night long. Definitely keep the puppy in the crate as close as possible to your bed, even on the night table if possible. That way he will know you are close by and can see you and feel secure.


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## juliav (Nov 21, 2006)

DanielBMe said:


> BIG MISTAKE if you put the puppy downstairs. He or she will cry all night long. Definitely keep the puppy in the crate as close as possible to your bed, even on the night table if possible. That way he will know you are close by and can see you and feel secure.


I agree with what Daniel said. When we first got Bugsy he was sleeping in his crate, on top of the night stand where he could see us. He never even cried, just wimpered for a few seconds the first time. He eventually graduated to the crate on the floor and all if fine.  All three of our dogs sleep in our bedroom, two in crates, one on the doggie bed and oaccasionally our bed. We have a large bedroom, so we don't mind.


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## bullwinkle (Oct 5, 2008)

THanks to all, very helpful... appreciate it....


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## Kathy (Nov 9, 2006)

bullwinkle said:


> *I am just getting a 12 week old havanese and need the best answer anyone can give on this.. I don't want the puppy in the bed with us and so my question is, if we sleep upstairs and puppy in crate downstairs, can a puppy stay in crate all night withhout going to bathroom if I take out at 9 :00p.m.or 10 and take away water? any help appreciated..*


Remember, these are COMPANION animals. They should start off with you at night for sure!!!! Put the crate on your nightstand or on a chair close to your bed. The puppy will need to be comforted. They are very much like human babies in that regard. They are in a strange place, with strange people, in a strange "box" with lot's of strange smells and noises. Your puppy will be happier and so will you if you start off right and have the puppy with you at night, NOT downstairs all alone!!!


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

Can't imagine leaving a Havanese downstairs all alone.

We've done it previously with bigger dogs we've had, but these Havs just belong close to the pack. One of ours sleeps on the bed and the other in the crate in our room.


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

We started off wrong and it was awful! Scooter cried, we didn't sleep, awful! Moved him into our bedroom and he's perfectly happy. If he makes noise at night, which is rare, we just tell him to go to sleep and he quiets down. We can even watch tv, talk, get up to brush teeth, etc. after he's been put to bed and it doesn't bother him anymore. 

Congrats on your new puppy and :welcome: to the new people and puppies!


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## mckennasedona (Feb 20, 2007)

We brought a chair in from our dining room and put the crate on the chair next to the bed. It worked out perfectly for us each time we brought a puppy home. We could lay in bed and watch her as she slept and if she stirred, we put our fingers in crate to comfort her. Neither puppy ever seemed to be fearful or lonely. Of course, every time they opened their eyes there was DH or me looking in at them, marveling at their cuteness, and not quite believing that the adorable little bundle of puppy was really ours!


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## Esperanita (Jul 12, 2008)

It took me about a week initially before I discovered I should have Cuba sleep in my bedroom in his crate. Initially he would cry and it was horrible. Cuba is my first dog and I admit I didn't know what I was doing. Now he sleeps on the floor next to my bed. I put a sweet potato stick in his crate and he climbs in everytime ready for bed. When he was younger, he only cried when he had to go potty. Other than that he's perfect. And it is so fun to watch the exagerated stretch when he gets out of the crate each morning. :biggrin1:


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## SaydeeMomma (Sep 9, 2008)

OMG! How c..u...t...e! Saydee does the same big long morning stretch and I was worried maybe her crate was too small... ound:


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

Cali does the stretch too, and it is very cute to watch. Starts my day off with a smile.


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## Esperanita (Jul 12, 2008)

Cuba always takes the stretch a step further. He does it when getting out of the crate. He'll walk a few steps and lay full out on the carpet again. He'll do it again before we go down the stairs and usually he's done by the time I take him out for party. There are always some loud yawns intermingled with the stretching. I laugh every morning.


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## RIstream (Aug 21, 2008)

bullwinkle said:


> *I am just getting a 12 week old havanese and need the best answer anyone can give on this.. I don't want the puppy in the bed with us and so my question is, if we sleep upstairs and puppy in crate downstairs, can a puppy stay in crate all night withhout going to bathroom if I take out at 9 :00p.m.or 10 and take away water? any help appreciated..*


Cooper is 6 mos old and we got him @ 5mos{21 weeks} and we couldn't have him sleep in our room because of allergies so he sleeps in his crate in the kitchen. The first night was rough but it's been great since. The kitchen is not downstairs but it's at the other side of the house. We found that covering the crate with a blanket works best. Cooper seems to like it covered. As far as his schedule we take away his water between 7 and 7:30pm and take him out for the last time @ 10pm. He sleeps right through until 6-6:30 when I take him out. He's been like clockwork for weeks, in fact atfter going out for the last time he comes back in and I stay up with him for a little while longer. He usually sleeps for 5 mins. then half of the time gets up and goes into his crate on his own. I'm not sure about a younger pup but this routine has worked for us. good luck.


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## bullwinkle (Oct 5, 2008)

RIstream said:


> Cooper is 6 mos old and we got him @ 5mos{21 weeks} and we couldn't have him sleep in our room because of allergies so he sleeps in his crate in the kitchen. The first night was rough but it's been great since. The kitchen is not downstairs but it's at the other side of the house. We found that covering the crate with a blanket works best. Cooper seems to like it covered. As far as his schedule we take away his water between 7 and 7:30pm and take him out for the last time @ 10pm. He sleeps right through until 6-6:30 when I take him out. He's been like clockwork for weeks, in fact atfter going out for the last time he comes back in and I stay up with him for a little while longer. He usually sleeps for 5 mins. then half of the time gets up and goes into his crate on his own. I'm not sure about a younger pup but this routine has worked for us. good luck.


 thanks so much,just worried if upstairs in my bedroom will be harder to housebreak. I had a rescue dog not havanese, who died last year who stayed downstairs and was fine every night..Had a llasa apso in my bed who bit so am worried about a dog in the bed. Maybe this breed is different and needs to be close by but what happens if it isn't ? Can a dog really develope anxiety just from not sleeping in the same room with you ,would think it is all in what you train them to do.would be with them all day and playing... thanks again


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

The problem isn't training your dog to sleep downstairs - eventually you can definitely get that done. But a young 3 month puppy is much less secure and more anxious than a 5 month puppy and it would be better for you (and him) to start out by having him upstairs in your bedroom. Wait some time (a week or so) and if he seems fine in the crate at bed level, move it down the floor and every couple of days move it back about 6 inches to a foot. Keep doing this until the crate is wherever you need it to be. We did this with Kubrick at first and he was outside of the door and in our hallway (with the door to the bedroom closed) and slept through the night just fine by the time he was 4 months old (we started when he was 13 weeks). He won't develop anxiety because he's not sleeping in the same room with you but he will if you move him out too fast. I hope that makes sense.


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## Paradise Havs (Sep 25, 2008)

I have always kept puppies beside the bed in a crate at first. I have used cardboard boxes to decrease the size of their sleeping space to just enough space to turn around. For my last puppy I found a crate with an adjustable grate. I think that you will find that Havs make good bed buddies if you give them a chance! We have three with us now. They are great as back heating pads if you have a sore back!


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## bullwinkle (Oct 5, 2008)

Lina said:


> The problem isn't training your dog to sleep downstairs - eventually you can definitely get that done. But a young 3 month puppy is much less secure and more anxious than a 5 month puppy and it would be better for you (and him) to start out by having him upstairs in your bedroom. Wait some time (a week or so) and if he seems fine in the crate at bed level, move it down the floor and every couple of days move it back about 6 inches to a foot. Keep doing this until the crate is wherever you need it to be. We did this with Kubrick at first and he was outside of the door and in our hallway (with the door to the bedroom closed) and slept through the night just fine by the time he was 4 months old (we started when he was 13 weeks). He won't develop anxiety because he's not sleeping in the same room with you but he will if you move him out too fast. I hope that makes sense.


 Thankyou so very much! I will try this.. Guess I was just used to my last dog who was a large mix breed and the needs of this breed are different. Much thanks again to all who responded! It is all very appreciated!


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## LuvCicero (Mar 31, 2008)

Bullwinkle, I think all dogs are different and you have to learn your baby...much like a human kid. We wanted Cicero to sleep with us on the bed and started out with that. He walked the bed for three nights...and nobody got any sleep. His crate was downstairs in the den and he would go to the crate at night on his own...so the fourth night we left him in his crate and never heard a sound. We woke at 6, jumped up and went to take him out. We have tried to put him in the bed several times during the last 6 months for a few nights...and after 3 days he is as tired as we are from not getting good sleep...so he goes back to this crate. I think DH snores to much for him (and me) and I wiggle to much...so Cicero loves his own bed in his own room. I'm almost to the point of wanting that also...lol

Don't worry...you are going to ge a good parent to your furbaby. You will learn him...and he will learn what you want. Just get him in your home...take him to the vet for his 'forever home' check-up...then love, enjoy and train. With those 3 things...you can't go wrong!!
What day will you get your new baby??


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## bullwinkle (Oct 5, 2008)

again, many many thanks.....!!!


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## bullwinkle (Oct 5, 2008)

I should be getting her on tuesday morning..


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## SaydeeMomma (Sep 9, 2008)

Awww. Let the picture requests begin. What are you naming her?


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## bullwinkle (Oct 5, 2008)

so far lola is the name i think but apt to change , again many thanks to the forum for help ..


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