Congratulations on your new little one.We got our little girl Hope when she was 9 weeks old. She is my first puppy and I didn't know it was better to wait till they are 12 weeks old. Her breeder was headed out of town. The first night was a long one. We too are not keeping her in our bedroom. Hubby has a really bad back and we have too many medications for us to feel she is safe there. Afraid if she got out of crate and got into meds that would be the end.
The first night Hope cried alot...she had been removed from her litter mates and I know she was lonely. I kept wanting to check on her. Went to the vet for her checkup the next day and he told me she was a healthy little girl and would adjust to staying in our family room at nights but it could take a couple weeks. If you go to her every time she cries it will reinforce her behavior. Someone here suggested I put a pair of socks that I had worn all day in with her at night because she would have my scent. It did help. The second night she only cried half of it and by the third night she slept all the way through.
We also use the iris play pen and keep her bed, pee pads, toys, food and water there. Constant supervision and rewards when they do well has worked for us. We've just gone 2 weeks with no accidents. She will potty outside or run to the playpen to use pee pad. I keep hoping she will bark or let me know when she has to potty but so far if she has to go when inside she just runs to her pad. I guess that's a good thing because our winters get cold and she will need to know how to go both places.
Good luck with your little one. He is ADORABLE! |