ElizabethHaynes

Hello! Our new puppy is here! Two nights in we have been lucky. Generally- she is doing very well with crating. She goes in easily at bedtime, whimpers for a few minutes and sleeps from about 11:30 to 5:30. When she wakes up (and wakes us up) we try to wait for her to fall quiet before getting her out then quickly take her to the bathroom keeping lights off and praise brief. After coming back inside, she does NOT want to go back in her crate and puts up a big scene. She is ready to play! I know it will take some time but we want to gradually work towards a final wake time of 6:30 or 7. I have no problem at all taking her out in the night... but can we teach her that we sleep again afterwards?? I want to make sure we do not create negative feelings about the crate while we are still working on making positive associations. This morning- I let her fuss for about 5 mins but she seemed to be escalating. I waited for a period of quiet and then went and laid on the floor by her crate in hopes that having a human near would be enough for her to settle (and not wake my toddler). She stopped crying but continued to be wide awake and staring at me for 30 minutes. I decided to go ahead and let her eat and play. Breeder tells me that 5:30 was wake up time in his home. She is 7.5 weeks- came home a bit earlier than expected due to her breeder falling ill. Thanks!

Hello! We will be bringing home our new mini schanuzer puppy in just over 2 weeks. She will be 8 weeks old. I know the basics that we will need- clicker, crate, food, bed, leads, harness, etc. What are some out of the box things that we should consider buying to ease our transition and get a jump on training? I have contemplated a heartbeat toy, "calming" treats or sprays, and best toy/chew options for new puppies. I think that our initial priorities will be establishing positive association with the crate and getting a positive start on potty training. I have read through the "puppy" section but are there specific articles or info from the archives that are most helpful to read before bringing puppy home that focus on those first few days?