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Comment by Dawn on May 16, 2008 at 11:04pm

No, she doesn't go out at night. I was a little worried at first thinking she wasn't drinking enough but the water is left out all day for her and I checked her bed to see if she was peeing in it and nope. She REALLY has to pee in the morning though! My other dog was like this too. I wonder if she's tried to get me up and I just don't hear her so she's given up (bad mommy!) Either way, I have no complaints about Bella. She is above and beyond what I wanted and I am so pleased. And, it sounds like you have a good plan for Lucy's first night in the crate. We have her in our room where we can see each other from bed so I actually left a lamp on the first two nights! The things we do for our babies:)

Comment by Bridget on May 16, 2008 at 5:32pm

Oh how encouraging! Lucy will be 9 weeks when we pick her up on Monday evening. We'll introduce her crate as soon as we can that evening and do a few treats in it so she's at least seen it before bedtime. She'll be sleeping in it in our bedroom beside my bed so she'll at least hear us breathing and I can get up to take her out in the night. I will take a towel with her momma's smell and siblings too and put it in the crate with her. Maybe that will help? Plus we'll do another one with our smells too.

Do you mean she doesn't get you up to go potty in the night at 11 weeks? What hope! I am sadly not looking forward to midnight jaunts outside.

Comment by Dawn on May 16, 2008 at 9:16am

Hi Bridget. Bella is 11 weeks old right now, got her at 8 weeks. The first night was the worst and she never cried again. Are you crating her at night? If you do, I would suggest showing her the crate the day you get her (I didn't do this) that way you're not caging her up in this foreign place all night. Give her an old shirt, I gave Bella a stuffed dog that kinda looks like her (still in there) and just plan to not sleep much the first night! I'd say it took her a week and now she holds in all night (yeah!!) Good luck with your new baby.

Comment by Bridget on May 16, 2008 at 6:52am

She is so cute! How old is she? we pick up our baby girl, Lucy, on Monday and I am really wondering what our first few nights will be like. Good luck!

Comment by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on April 21, 2008 at 9:59am

That is awesome.

Comment by Dawn on April 21, 2008 at 9:53am

Ok, so last night was wonderful! I put an old shirt in with her and she went right to sleep without a complaint. She actually slept for 4 hours before she needed to pee. She woke me with a little bark so we went out, played for a couple minutes and she went back to sleep for almost 5 hours! Woo hoo!

Comment by Charlie on April 20, 2008 at 3:58pm

She'll probably settle in just fine within a few days. You might try not using the heater tonight, if it is waking her up. She has a fur coat. : - ) Putting an old T-Shirt or sock with your scent is a good idea too.

I like to have my dog sleep in my bedroom its entire life. They feel more secure sleeping in the "den" with their Master. You'll also be able to hear her when she does wake up needing to go potty. If she whines right after pottying and going back to her crate, you can move her crate close enough to put your hand down for her to sniff (without you having to get out of bed). If you're sure she's not needing to potty, then do not coddle her with "There, there", or "It's ok". That will only make her think she does have something to whine or worry about. You can let her sniff your fingers, but don't say anything to her.

She may need to potty every three or four hours right now, but she should be able to wait a little longer with almost every day that passes. By around 3-4 months old, she should be able to sleep 8 hours most or all nights.

Comment by Carmen on April 20, 2008 at 12:31pm

First, Bella is a little doll. I love corgi puppies!!

Second, the crate training. Pan hated her crate for the first few days. The puppy crying and howling was heart breaking. She eventually got over it. I think it only took a couple of nights.

The best thing is to put her in the crate and ignore her until she goes to sleep. Take her out when she cries, but promptly put her back in the crate and go back to bed. Only leave her out when it is time to get up.

It sounds like her pen is in your bedroom. I would put it out in another room until she is crate broken. Sounds mean, I know, but from my experience, that really helped when crate breaking Pan. For Trunks, we had to have him in our room because our apartment was too small. His crate training took longer.

As for having things in her crate, find an old T-shirt and wear it for a day, then put it in her crate. This will give her your scent and make her more comfortable. This shirt will probably be ruined by the time she is crate trained, so make sure it isn't one you love. If she seemed to respond to the stuffed animal, that would probably work too.

Keep your chin up. I know it will all work out.