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Originally Posted by P-did We don't let our puppy (CoCo) sleep in our bed mainly because I'm afraid of crushing her.
Since the first few nights, she sleeps in her pen quietly every night (knock on wood). I usually pass out on the couch in front of the TV, so she usually ends up only going 4 to 5 hours in the pen at night by herself. In the morning she is groggy, so I assume she's been sleeping well.
The key is not to spoil them. If you let them into bed on the first day, you're screwed for life. A dog that belongs to people with jobs needs to learn to be somewhat independant; and given enough exercise and play time, they can go several hours in their pen and just sleep most of the time.
I had to train my girl friend not to come running to, or even look at, the dog when she cried. After a couple of days of completely ignoring crying, and rewarding quiet and calm, she quickly learned that being quiet and calm is much more rewarding. |
Hey P-did, THanks for the post, it is reassuring to know that I am not some uber biatch who is insisting on having my baby learn to sleep in her pen (I feel like that sometimes). I do feel bad sometimes, but I work full time and I want her to be independent and o.k. being alone. She has been doing great so far and the ignoring principle seems to work. I would like to have her out of her pen eventually, but realistically I don't see this happening untill after 6months to a year.
I think there are many different styles of training out there that work differently based on lifestyle and the puppy's personality. I think we have found what works best for us
