Crate training + new to our house - sleep in with dog or not?

[remini]

I've read conflicting advice regarding sleeping in the same room as the pup and crate when they first arrive. Most advice is night-time crying stops within 5 days but other sources note it's cruel to ignore them during the night, so sleep in with them i.e same room. After that first adjustment period, it appears it the 'ignore crate' protocol e.g ignore crying if recently taken out for a pee?

We have a 12 week old pup, so doing regular toilet breaks outside but still trying to figure this aspect. It is only day 2 ha!

 

[sallama]

@remini Following research that indicates leaving a dog in distress crated and unattended can result in significant stress responses and learned helplessness, we don't recommend leaving a dog to cry it out.

Young puppies can experience isolation distress in confinement and it can take time for a puppy to be conditioned to a crate.

So there's a few options to help your puppy... You may consider using an xpen rather than a crate at night time until your puppy is further along in crate training and can sleep comfortably in the crate without distress. Some folks can help their pup settle and soothe them by setting the crate at your bed level to be able to talk and sooth the pup back to sleep. Take note of the times your pup is waking to potty, set an alarm just before this time... gently and very quietly, remove the pup from the crate with the goal of not really waking them up fully, have them potty and then move them back to the crate to get back to sleeping. This takes a very delicate touch - the point being we can go potty without fully being alert and awake.

Some folks will lay on the floor to help soothe the pup until they fall back asleep.

Sleep deprivation can be really challenging to go through in these early weeks - but generally once the pup is grown enough to sleep through the night, it is less of an issue.

I kept chews on hand that could be used to help calm down my pup during night time.

 

[remini]

@sallama Thanks for the advice.