My first puppy , 1 week to go!

Little Radar will be coming home next sunday , i can see this time next week im not going to sleep , like a kid at christmas!

I just wanted to ask abit of advice re crate training . I have never had a puppy before , we had ziggy at 18 months old and he was already crate trained brilliantly when we had him . He sleeps in the dining room in his crate with the door shut and goes in there by himself after his last wee at night . I planned to have radars crate in the same room , kinda next to each other but with a bookcase between the two . I was wondering if we should try her in it there on the first night or bring the crate upstairs with us ? (worried about pushing zigdogs nose out of joint though by doing this?)
Mt next question is , how will i know the difference between crying for a wee in the middle of the night , or crying because she wants to come out and be close to us ?

Any help , advice or tips would be brilliant as we are nervous and excited her being our first pup
Thanks
LAw

I don't use a crate but have a read of this  

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/crate_training

You will get lots of advice from the good people on this forum. Bacchus is the first dog I have crate trained and I have to say I wish I'd known about crates with my previous dogs.
A couple of things: It is VERY important that the crate is NEVER used for punishment. It must always be regarded as a pleasant place to be. From his very first night onwards I hid some high value treats amongst the bedding which Bacchus could discover all by himself. From that moment on he has always been keen to go to his crate at bed time. Even now at 17 months, although he sleeps on the sofa at night, he still goes to his crate to get his treat filled kong which he finishes before going to his sofa.
If you are happy to have him in your room at night by all means have the crate there. (We choose not to but it is very much a personal choice).
If she cries during the night assume that she needs to go. Let her out of her crate and take her out but NO interaction, apart from lots of praise when she does her business, then straight back to the crate. Do not make a fuss when putting her back in the crate, just put her in and go back to bed. If you make any fuss she will se this as a sign that crying = getting made a fuss of.
Someone else will be along shortly I'm sure with more great advice.

Good Luck.

Thanks for the link sazzle , i tried to click on one of the sticky links but it wouldnt load

Reuben thanks for the advice , it sounds stupid but i dont feel liked much on this forum , i dont know why , i dont think i have done anything , but i just feel that way ?

Getting super excited now , and just want her to be here . Have decided not to put the crate in the bedroom , we are hoping that having zig in his crate will help her realise its not so bad and wont plan to use it as a punishment , we dont use ziggys for that and he loves his and goes in there on his own and loves it .

Laws wrote:Thanks for the link sazzle , i tried to click on one of the sticky links but it wouldnt load

Reuben thanks for the advice , it sounds stupid but i dont feel liked much on this forum , i dont know why , i dont think i have done anything , but i just feel that way ?

Getting super excited now , and just want her to be here . Have decided not to put the crate in the bedroom , we are hoping that having zig in his crate will help her realise its not so bad and wont plan to use it as a punishment , we dont use ziggys for that and he loves his and goes in there on his own and loves it .

Don't know why you would think that. I certainly wasn't being judgemental and am truly sorry if I came across that way. I'm a first time staffy owner and was just passing on my experiences so far. Most of my successes with Bacchus have come from taking advice on this forum and while I know some posts can come across as a bit abrupt this only stems from a passion for our breed. We all just want to help with your pup's welfare and by doing so enhance the relationship you have with her.
I didn't realise you had used a crate before so apologies if I was teaching granny to suck eggs. Please keep in touch with this forum as you will get some invaluable advice based on a wealth of experiences.
P.S.
Remember the pics when baby comes home:D 

Laws wrote:
Reuben thanks for the advice , it sounds stupid but i dont feel liked much on this forum , i dont know why , i dont think i have done anything , but i just feel that way ?

Please don't think that! Of course you're liked! 

Reuben I didn't mean you at all don't be silly I'm just after all the support I can get having never had a puppy .
I just meant that I don't feel liked at times as no one really responds to my posts etc ; but it's ok it definately isn't you and I didn't take any offense with your post I have never had to train a pup to use a crate you see so it will be totally different to how ziggy currently is with his crate xxx

How exciting, all great advice above I crated trained from day one and must say its been a godsend  

What's your tips for crate training Hun ? Ziggy is so good with his that I hope I can get radar there too with it ?

I'm sure you are very well liked People can come across rude yes, but I just take away what I want and leave the rest behind. I never used a crate but I would put it where you want it in the long run. Very exciting times for you and your lot with the crying for the toilet at because he wants to come out, in the first 3-5 days he would cry at night. He slept in the laundry. I would walk in ince at night give him a hug make sure all was fine than ignore him. It sounds harsh but the pup is missing their mum and lthe rest of the litter of course there will be crying. As much as I wanted to help him I don't believe I could. He was safe, warm and was going to be ok. After a few days that stopped so if he whinged I would take him outside to go to the loo.

Laws wrote:Reuben I didn't mean you at all don't be silly :)I'm just after all the support I can get having never had a puppy .
I just meant that I don't feel liked at times as no one really responds to my posts etc ; but it's ok :)it definately isn't you and I didn't take any offense with your post :)I have never had to train a pup to use a crate you see so it will be totally different to how ziggy currently is with his crate xxx

No problem Laws. Just remember, don't be afraid to ask. Someone on here will nearly always have an answer.

BTW. I was exhausted the first couple of weeks because I was getting up at 3am every day to take him into the garden. Again no interaction just out to the toilet, lots of praise when he performed, then straight back in to his crate then back to bed for me until 6am. I didn't even look back. Within 3 weeks I was getting no accidents, apart from once when he had an upset tummy. That was fun, cleaning up s**t at 3am. 

Darcy was crate trained from day one, we just put some toys in there and made it really cosy, plus a few treats in there helped to coax Darcy in we had 3/4 nights of crying then nothing ever since, we never went to her if she was crying, even if the was only a 2 second gap we'd go in then so she didn't associate crying with getting our attention. We also got up and took her out for a wee in the night, no fuss or talking just quick wee and back to bed, luck forward to the pics

Rocky has always had his crate in the hall with the door just left open, he can then come and go as he pleases.

I bet you are getting very excited now, not long to go  

Same here. I got up in the early hours ( ) to let Dempsey out, and then he went straight back in until the morning.

I'd also cover the crate with an old curtain or such like so that only the door side is clear. That way it becomes their cosy & private den where they feel safe and at peace. 

See. We do like you:lol:  

Oh yes for the crates! Use them all the time. Our dogs love them. Can’t wait to see pics of your new baby! Be prepared to be a bit tired, but it is all worth it.

hey thank you for all the replies

Sadly ziggy our current dog can travel in the car for about 30 mins max before he starts to get very fed up so we thought it best for us to leave him at home with the 6 hour round trip .

I think we now have all we need , i picked up a baby gate for the kitchen and also this one may make you laugh , but as i dont really want her crate to be upstairs in our room as i dont want to make it difficult to get her back downstairs and also because i dont think it would be fair on ziggy . I got a baby monitor to put by the bed , then i wont set an alarm to wake up to take her out incase she sleeps straight through , but will hear if she starts to cry to go for a pee , how does this sound ?

Im very excited but as i say ive never had a puppy and ziggy is now well behaved and trained so will be interesting to see an unruly pup tearing around ,
I will post some nice piccies when she comes , i fear we wont get much sleep the night before!

Has anyone else got any tips ready for us ?
thanks
Law

I'm sure she will be fine a lot of it is common sense. Lily slept in her crate from the second night. You can a blanket over the crate to make her feel more secure. Ziggy will love the company  

Aww it sounds all very exciting. Sorry I can't help as Oz want a pup when we got him , hated a crate but very happy with his comfy bed good luck and we do all like you, you silly billy

How exciting! You will do great, the fact you care so much is a great start. Enjoy every minute!

How exciting! You will do great, the fact you care so much is a great start. Enjoy every minute!

Awww its so exciting, I thing the baby monitor is a great idea  I've never had a puppy either, sounds like you've done lots of prep though so will be fine  Din't forget to keep us updated and lots of pics please  

THe baby monitor is a great idea. Sounds like you're well organised.

Love the baby monitor idea it's awesome sounds like all you need is your new fur baby and remember we expect (demand) lots of updates and pics

Thanks guys , feeling stupidly excited but also slightly nervous as not had a pup before and have the introduction with ziggy to do , but only 2 sleeps! baby gate will go up tomorrow , and baby monitors set up ! I had to explain that i wasnt infact expecting a human child , that i was getting a puppy, i bet they thought i was mad!

And here she is in her chrimbo jumper , she looks like she has grown since three weeks ago , but will still be tiny next to the heffalump that is zigster!







I dont know how i am going to sleep on saturday night , and we have to be up at half 5 to go get her! eeeek!

roll on for next week laws ive had my pup for a week now and shes getting use to her cage now and im loving every minute of it  

Aww she's a beautiful girl