How To Look After First Night Puppies

October 1, 2008 by Richard Cross

Having a first night puppy is one of the most exciting things. There isn’t many things more adorable than a puppy in those first few weeks! The first night can often be the hardest though, and it is good to know what to expect and how to act to make it as easy as possible for you and your new dog.

It is quite likely on the first night that you or the puppy won’t get any sleep at all. This is normal, but it is important that if the puppy tries to get your attention by whining or crying that you don’t go to comfort it. If you do this for even just a few nights it could form a habit. The puppy will learn it is how to get your attention and will continue to do it.

Telling off or reprimanding the puppy for crying isn’t going to do any dog either. Think of your puppy like a new born baby. It has little control over what it feels and its actions, and if it gets shouted at it is only going to become more confused.

It’s completely natural that first night puppies feel scared and alone. Dogs love to have a routine, and if suddenly everything they’ve known the whole of their short life – their home, mother and siblings – is taken away it is no doubt they get upset.

So what can you do to help your puppy? First of all, make sure you have a safe place for your puppy set up. This could be in the form of a crate (which will be very useful later on in the puppies life) or a fenced off area of the house. I would recommend a crate as a puppy feels safer when enclosed and it will help when you start to house train the dog.

You might also find that covering the crate with a sheet or cloth (with adequate breathing holes) helps to keep the puppy calm. It will also teach him that when the blanket is put over the crate it is sleep time.

It can be difficult to know what to do if your puppy is continues to cry every night. You can’t go to it to stop it crying, but you don’t feel you can leave it either. If this is the case, as a last resort you could try having the crate in your bedroom when the puppy sleeps. This way the puppy knows it is not alone as you’re near.

The first few nights of having a puppy are often the hardest, and they usually set the ground rules for a long time to come. If you come to your dog when it cries, or allow your dog to sleep in your bed this could quickly become a routine that is difficult to break. It is fairer on the dog to treat the first night puppies as you will treat them for the rest of their life. This will also help in the future with general puppy training.