Mary Allen
When you have brought home a puppy, the question immediately arises – where should the puppy sleep? It should do that from the first night. In the beginning, it is just as if any baby has moved home to one, and the puppy also usually comes from an environment with many siblings that it has been able to cuddle and sleep with. To now have to sleep all alone for the first time is of course not a matter of course.
So, how do you do it? Should you let the puppy lie in your own bed? Or do you drag the puppy’s bed to his bedroom? And maybe you have a puppy that needs to change bed or basket because it gets bigger – how do you do that?
Start Together
Many start with the puppy’s bed by their own bed. Christine Olsson has bred several puppy litters and is used to giving new dog owners advice on where the puppy should sleep. She has a good tip:
– Have the puppy in a tall box that you can take into the bedroom for the first time. Master or mistress can put a hand in the puppy’s drawer, which usually does the trick. It feels safe and sleeps well. The high edges of the box mean that the puppy does not see where it is, and in the morning you lift the box out to the room where the puppy should be. Then the puppy does not see where it is and does not imagine that it should be in the bedroom if you do not want it.
The most important thing, according to Christine Olsson, is that before you take a puppy home, you have decided whether it should be allowed to sleep in the bedroom or maybe even in bed.
A good start is for the puppy to sleep in the same room as his new master and mistress. Most dogs quickly learn where to sleep, eat, and urinate – and then do not mix up those places.
Growing Puppy
If you have a puppy that will be significantly larger, you can make it easy for yourself and buy the large bed directly, but make a little bed in it so that it becomes “small” and cozy for the small puppy. As the puppy grows, blankets, cushions, and pillows are then removed.
Sometimes it happens that there is not much left of the bed the puppy started with because it has chewed on it. The puppy also usually wants to gnaw a little on a basket. Difficult to plan for and fairly common puppy behavior. You have to be prepared for a little of each. Sometimes you notice that the puppy does not thrive in the bed you have chosen but prefers to sleep in other places. Then you have to try your hand at a new one.
Own Bed, Please
It is quite clear that all dogs feel best having a bed that is clearly their own. No matter how often it sleeps right there. If you have several dogs, you should have a bed for each dog. Sometimes the dogs alternate between the beds, sometimes not. Either way, they know exactly whose bed is whose. If you have created a safe sleeping place for the puppy from the beginning, the continued life with the dog will be so much more comfortable, for everyone in the home.
Okay With the Cage?
Having the puppy in a cage is disputed and it is also illegal to lock the dog in a cage. However, many dogs like a roof over their heads and the cozy feeling a cozily decorated cage can give. Keep in mind that an open door is not enough, but the door must be removed completely.