Crates for bedtime should be in the same room you sleep in… especially with a puppy... if you are rooms away, how would you have any idea that he/she is having a problem? And if you are home, the pup should be with you... and you should be watching him/her.... every minute... the crate is not for your pleasure, so you can do other things... .... or you are bored with watching them every minute.. Certainly if you have to crate when you are out of the house.. that is one thing... but if you are home, they are totally tuned into you being there. If they fall asleep as puppies will do, you can pick them up and put them in the crate... just leave the door open.. and go about your business... but check on the very often.... I have raised many a litter that they are in our family room crashed out or on the back porch for hours sleeping... I can get stuff done while they sleep.. but I keep the eagle eye on them all the time..
Crating Question
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At some point in the not too distant future I plan on getting a b puppy to show. Presently both Ruby & Brando are out at night and sleep with me.
My question is relative to when a new pup arrives at the house. Should all the kids start being crated again, or is it ok to crate just the little one and let the adult basenjis still sleep in the bed.
Another thought was to possibly crate the little one with Ruby at night…but is crating a new pup with an older b a bad idea?
I figured I could get some advice to think about in advance. Thx!
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Myself, I think all b's need to be on the bed with their owners.
But that is just me.
I know you will get lots of help with this subject. -
I crate my puppies by the bed so I can hear them when they cry to go out in the middle of the night. The adults are in the bed. The pup gets to sleep in the bed for the last hour or so after they have been out to pee. Once they are crate trained and house broken they usually start sleeping in bed.
This year we my mom got a Snuggle Puppy for each pup. These are great! Clark is currently staying with us until his owners come to pick him up this weekend. He curls right up with his Snuggle Puppy. It has a pouch you can fill with rice that you can microwave so it is warm and then put in a velcro opening. It also has a heart that you can put in there too that provides a heartbeat. Clark did really well with just the warmth so we didn't put the heart in last night.
Also by buying a Snuggle Puppy you can help Dr Jo's importation efforts.
If you would like to help, purchase any item from http://www.ChoicePetProducts.com website. Get a 10% discount (use coupon code: basenji at checkout) and they will also donate 10% to Jo and her importation efforts.
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I always crate the babies at night until they are crate and house broken and are old enough to hold it through the night. The adults still keep bed priviledges, although crating the adult with the pup can help ease the transition for the baby. It's worth a try if you think Ruby won't mind a youngster's antics. But you don't want to stress the adults too much with a change in routine as you'll already have a stressed puppy. They get to join us in the bed when they have settled into a good nightly routine and can hold it consistently for about 5-6 hours. I am a pretty good sleeper so I don't take the chance that they will wake up and either go to the bathroom all over the place or start getting into something that they shouldn't. Also if I let them sleep in the bed so early, they have a hard time settling down for any of us to actually get some rest. They get wound up and get to playing and don't really relax. Of course I usually have more than one youngster at a time and they feed off each other. lol
The bed after all is a priviledge, so I prefer to establish some routine and training and maturity of the babies before having at it. It doesn't take long. But those first couple weeks are usually torture. lol Also since my dogs are show and performance dogs it's paramount that they learn to accept being crated whenever needed and at all different times of the day or night.
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Great info Lisa & Kelli…thanks for that!
Lisa, thanks for that link...I'll definitely shop at that site to support Dr. Jo's work with the Lukuru imports! I was watching the 2008 BCOA Specialty African Exhibition on video this past weekend, and I loved Amisi (I'd only ever seen pics of him in the BCOA stock update prior)...beautiful dog.
BTW, does Dr. Jo have a website, or is the only info about the Lukuru project at HiCotn/Carol Worsham. Thx.
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I guess I'm a bit backwards from everyone! I'm a very light sleeper, I usually don't sleep very much at all. The puppies sleep with me for a few weeks, then they go out into a crate in the bedroom, then in the living room. That will usually last a few years until I can figure out if they are trustworthy to be left out on their own. Then, they usually loaf around on the couch all night. I haven't had very many problems in the housetraining dept. None of my adults sleep with me overnight-they are bed hogs when they are allowed on the bed for a few hours-I can't imagine sleeping with them all night!
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For more information about the Lukurus you can check out this website.
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Myself, I think all b's need to be on the bed with their owners.
But that is just me.
I know you will get lots of help with this subject.I feel the same way. Every time I open my bedroom door and my B races to my bed and lays down next to my pillow, I get the feeling that I'm doing "what he would want me to do". He won't even get up during the night. He wants to be next to me while he sleeps.
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The only reasons I would not crate little bs with big bs is
(1) I don't want any fighting so you would have to play that one by ear
(2) If the little one potties in the crate accidentally the big b has to suffer too.But I only have 1 so thats all I could think of
