Quote:
Originally Posted by amyc514  Hello everyone, I just brought my 9 week old Gracie home 5 days ago. I've never owned a puppy, as my other dog was 7 months and already trained when we brought her home. I knew it would be difficult, but let's just say it's so much harder than I thought!
I set up a little gated off area in my room, with a bed, food & water, toys, blanket, and pee pads. So I've opted for a pen instead of crate, but now I'm starting to wonder if crate training would be better? Or do you think I should keep the pen as her safe space? The problem is she is constantly barking and crying in the pen and I haven't slept much since I got her. I can't leave her alone for more than a minute or she'll start crying again. A friend recommended that I move my mattress on the floor next to her pen so she can see me, and I've done that for 2 nights. She usually sleeps about an hour and then she'll wake up crying. I'll stick my finger in the gate and let her lick me and talk to her and she'll usually get back in her bed. Right now with my mattress on the floor, I'll let her sleep with me if I take a nap in the afternoon and she is fine. But I don't want to do that at night because I want the pen to become her safe space for when classes start back up in the fall and I'm not home as much. When I leave the house right now and put her in the pen she's barking and crying, and when I come home she's still crying. I make her calm down and stop for a few minutes before I take her out. Should I continue what I'm doing, and she'll eventually sleep through the night and get use to the pen? Are there any other tips you have to help her stop crying at night and when left alone? I heard a ticking clock wrapped in a blanket helps so I may try that.
I appreciate any advice you all have for me! Thank you  |
Our yorkie was 12 weeks when we got her - and as another comment said 9 weeks is pretty young. We gave her a bear that became her "sibling" and she bonded immediately. We also kept her with us continuously during the day. We opted for crate training right from the start for night time and put the crate up on a hamper at the mattress level within reach. Yes she fussed. We would get her out, take her to the pee pad and then right back to bed. Before long she was sleeping through the night - mostly. Slowly we moved the crate further away but she is still in our room. We did find she slept better in pjs, maybe warmer? But it did help on two fronts - she was warmer and she had a bedtime routine. Over time we did put a pen out in the kitchen area with a soft throw rug, a dog bed, and her food and water. When we are away she stays in there. We trained her with treats to go in and when we returned she had to be quiet to get taken out. We carefully trained her not to bark at any time - mostly (she is a dog). We tried leaving a pee pad in the pen but she did not like that and would rather wait to go until she comes out.