# Nervous about the first night.



## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

I am picking up my new chi on Wednesday and I am so excited! But I am also nervous because this is my first dog ever in my adult life. I have never trained a dog before. I have been reading a lot about training but I am most nervous about the first night. I want my pup to sleep in her kennel. I got her a nice big kennel and put a comfy blankie in there. I set it up in the laundry room with her litter box and lots of toys. I really do not want her to end up in my bed (we have enough stress on our "alone time" with two young children in the house). I also don't want her to hate her kennel. What do I do if she doesn't want to sleep in her room? I am not going to lock her into the kennel, just into the room. Any advice? I am picturing situations where I give in and end up sleeping on the couch for the next 15 years with my dog on my chest lol.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

She will sleep where you want her to, you are in charge, not her.
A baby puppy away from its mother and littermates is going to cry on it's first night alone. Make her bed warm and cosy, and ask for a blanket with her mum's scent on it. The idea is to make the crate her safe place, somewhere she wants to be, not a prison.
Then you have to put her to bed and ignore any crying. It is really hard, but you have to teach her to sleep where you want her to sleep.
I am too soft to ignore the crying, so I opt to have the new puppy in a crate in my bedroom. If she can see and smell you, she is less likely to cry. Once happy in her crate, you can move it gradually to where you want it.


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## Ruffio N Reinas (Oct 30, 2012)

My advice would be to stick with it. If she whines, you just have to ignore it. If you keep giving her attention and bringing her out when she whines, she is gonna learn all she has to do is whine and carry on to get your attention to bring her out. If you just ignore her whining she should learn pretty quick that it is not going to get her anywhere. If should should wake during the night and start crying you still just try to block it out till she goes back to sleep, since she will be able to get out of her crate to pee on the pad there shouldn't be any problem. 

It is hard to resists those cries, but just dont give in and she should go off to sleep. If you stick with it, it shouldn't be long before she doesn't give you any problem. She will learn that is her space and she will probably start going in there on her own to take naps.


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## guccigrande (Apr 17, 2011)

Unfortunately the majority of puppies cry a lot when they first come home, sometimes for a week (like mine LOL)
It is heartbreaking, but bear with it and make sure you don't go checking on them all the time when they cry because then they just do it to get your attention 
If you can, take a little blankie or toy to the breeder and leave it with their mum to get her scent. I found this very helpful (I took a snuggle puppy to my breeder, it has a heartbeat and heat pads and they dogs loved cuddling with it).
Just stay strong  and enjoy your new puppy, they really grow so fast


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## Lupita's mom (Dec 31, 2012)

All I can say is best of luck. I am a softie. The first night I ended up sleeping on the floor with Lupita because "There will be no dogs in bed!". That was my husband saying that! The next night my husband said, "I don't think Lupita feels good. I think she has a belly ache. I think we should let her sleep with us JUST TONIGHT!". 6 1/2 years later... Lupita looks up at me about bedtime as if she is saying' "come on mommy, I know it's bedtime, let's go! Pleeeeez!. Darn, I love my little girl!


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

Bitsy's home all ready for her. What do you think? The green thing is the litter box with wood pellets.










Also- does she need to eat at night? I usually go to bed between 11 and midnight and wake up around 7. Will she be ok that long?


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

How big is she? Very tiny puppies need to eat in the night to avoid hypoglycemia. When she is settled you can leave some dry food for her overnight, but a lot of Chi's don't eat much for the first few days so you might have to get up in the night to make sure she eats something.
The set-up looks great, but is she used to a litter box? If she isn't you might be better using pee pads or even newspaper until she has settled, whatever she is used to at the breeders.
Too many changes aren't a good idea at the beginning. Once she is settled you can introduce whatever you like, but it is a good idea to try and keep things as similar to what she is used to as possible at the beginning.


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

all she is used to right now is going outside which really isn't an option for me. I will take her out on the front lawn and walk her a bit but at night she will have to get used to the litter box. I have no intention of using pee pads and she is not used to them so I see no reason to introduce them. Thanks for the suggestions! edit- she is only 7 weeks but bigger than her half-brother was at 8 weeks??? Not sure how big exactly since I just have pics and haven't seen her in 3 weeks.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

I think she might be intimidated by that covered litter box. Could the lid be left off until she is used to it? If you use pads or paper you can put it where she 'goes' then transfer it into the box. The box and litter is a lot of new things at once. Ask the breeder what she used before she started going outside.
7 weeks is extremely young to bring a Chi puppy home. I would think she will need a night feed. Is there a reason why the breeder is parting with them so young?


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

She just says they are ready to be away from their mom. They are going outside to potty and are weaned. Not really a reason, no. I can easily remove the lid to the litter box. Do you think it would be easier to do that for now and then get her used to the lid later or to just have it how it is going to be from the start?


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

I have never trained a puppy to use a covered box, it isn't something they would naturally do, unlike cats. Plus it will be hard to train her when you can't see what she is doing!
I think the unfamiliar litter will take some getting used to as well. 
You can try with the box as it is, she might really like it, they are all different lol. Personally I would work up to it in baby steps. There is no rush, you can always train her to the box/litter/lid when she has settled in.
Puppies can be extremely sensitive to changes, especially if the breeder hasn't gone out of their way to introduce new things. Not wanting to toilet on unfamiliar surfaces is a common one. Lots of puppies will not eat from a plate or dish they haven't encountered before. A good breeder will ensure they have walked (and peed!) on as many different surfaces as possible and eaten from as many different bowls, so they are used to it.
Early exposure to lots of different experiences is what makes a confident puppy who takes change in his/her stride.


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

*Well, I am actually getting her from my cousin*

She is not really a breeder. She has two chis. The female had never gone in to heat before and she had not gotten her fixed so she got pregnant rather young. So she isn't an expert at getting puppies ready for new homes. This is the second litter she has had, though. The mother of the first litter was unfortunately nabbed by a coyote  I will remove the lid and hope she takes to the new box. I bought a spray that is supposed to attract them to pee in a certain place so I will be spraying that in the box. Thanks for all the advice everyone! I know 7 weeks is young but hopefully getting her young will give me an advantage in bonding and training her just how I want. Any experience with lemon juice to deter her from biting on cords? I will hide them best I can but she is such a small pup she will most likely encounter them.


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## Quill (Nov 20, 2012)

I would recommend using newspapers instead of that litter box, at least for the first night. Sometimes puppies don't like going in dark, covered spaces that smell unfamiliar. Especially if they've already had a bad experience being bundled into a carrier and separated from their littermates and mum!

If you can get a bit of paper with some of her pee on it, and put it underneath the newspapers, it's a good way to encourage them to use that one spot. And cheaper than sprays.

Don't worry about biting cords and stuff just yet. I was paranoid that Edie would do that (my partner is an audio engineer, so there are a lot of half-built speakers and stuff lying around!), but in fact she's never even tried to bite cords. 

I have to say though, 7 weeks really is on the young side. It's better for bonding if you get them later, closer to 12 weeks. That way the litter-mates have all taught each other basic manners and bite inhibition.


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## princess_ella (Jun 4, 2005)

just make sure the pellets you are using are dog litter


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## Rach_Honey (Jan 13, 2012)

Unfortunately, Honey was/is a cord biter! She was in a puppy playpen if i couldnt watch her like a hawk when she was younger, and i still dont trust her 100% not to chew stuff when im not around, so she is left in puppy proofed rooms. 

I also got Honey when she was 7 weeks (breeder said she was 9, but paperwork after i got her proved otherwise!). She is very hard work. If i could go back now, i would have double checked everything. In your case, could you ask the breeder to keep her a little while longer? I know how much you want her now, but in 6 months time, you will be wishing you had asked the breeder to hang on for a couple more weeks.


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

The pellets are wood pellets for stoves which I read make great litter and are safe for dogs. They are much cheaper than buying dog litter. I am taking the lid off the box so she feels safer. I would rather not have her started on newspaper just to have to break her of that and switch to pellets later. If she was used to paper now it would be a different story. The "breeder" is giving all of the pups away on wednesday so I don't really think there is much of an advantage to keeping her there. If she was the only one going home maybe. Besides, I am kind of afraid if she keeps her around an extra few weeks after the others go she might get attached and want to keep her  Plus other dogs have been snatched from her yard by coyotes and that wouldn't be a worry here.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

I haven't had any experience with wood pellets myself. Mine would want to chew them!


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

Well here we are. She has been crying for 12 minutes but it feels like at least 30. Is it harmful to let her go on this way? I feel like a terrible mommy just going to bed and leaving her but I know she has everything she needs. Anyone have reassurance for me?


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## Chrissie (Jan 21, 2013)

aww, youve got to stick at it. when i was at my parents we got a little jack russell and the first night we was planning on keeping her downstairs with her bed, food/water bowl, toilet etc however she just kep crying and crying so guess what we gave up and since then she has always slept in our beds and currently sleeps with my mum in her bed haha. 
dont give up if you really dont want her to stay in your bed  good luck


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

Well I just went to check on her at 2 AM and she was asleep in her kennel so I gave her treats (because she woke up when she heard me). And I set her near her kennel and she went right in and lay down. So I gave her a few more treats and walked away. Of course she came to the door of her room and started crying but I walked away. When she lays back down the treats will be there. Hope I am doing this right.


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## Chrissie (Jan 21, 2013)

it sounds like you are  bless she will settle in im sure just takes time for her to adjust being away from the others and in different surroundings


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## WinniesMum (Jan 20, 2013)

Oh how exciting! I hope you managed to get a good amount of sleep last night. It sounds like you are doing a good job  x


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## erinself (Jan 20, 2013)

Thanks I think the first night went rather well. I think she quieted back down about 2:30 because her cries got quiet or stopped so I could not hear them. She was crying this morning. But she had pooped and peed several times on the newspaper outside of her litterbox so that is encouraging. This morning I removed most of the wood pellets and moved some of the soiled newspaper into the box with just a bit of litter scattered around. I cleaned the floor with bleach where the newspapers were and put down fresh. Hoping she chooses to go in the litterbox where it smells right  Bottom line- she did not sleep in our bed and she did not poop in her kennel. Yay! I also held her belly up til she stopped squirming and looked away this morning and gave her lots of praise. Going to work with her on crate training today.


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