Where does your doodle sleep?

[Stephanie]

Hello,

 

We brought our precious 8 week goldendoodle home last night! She did fabulous through the night! I was pleasantly surprised, and no accidents!!   She's also done fabulously on pottytraining!!  I know this is "technically" a puppy issue - but I know the adult doodle parents would probably have great advice as well.

I would love some honest opinions about where your doodle sleeps.  We set up her crate last night, and since she's going to get quite big, I got the lifestages w/ divider.  Here's my predicament....  our bedroom is TINY. After setting up the crate we realized the one walking path to the bathroom isn't quite so clear.  I know from what i've read these are really social animals, and I'm not looking to scar her in ANY way!  But....  I'd love to hear other's expereinces if you crate you doodle in another room? I was wondering if setting her up her own room , in my sewing room would be good?  its right in the hub of our house, and in fact, if  she was sleeping there during the day, she'd be with us more than if the crate was in the bedroom... plus on occasion when I do have help cleaning the house, she'd be undisturbed.  Feeling a little guilty,,, but I am thinking that making this adjustemnt NOW,  would be better than later??  Or would giving her a week or too after she's adjsted  , then move her?   I guess s smaller crate would work now, but that's only a temporary solution that won't fit as she grows...  ideas please!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Your puppy is adorable!  Our guys were crated in the bedroom with us as puppies, but I think that's mostly because I really wanted them near me.  I think they can definitely get used to being crated in a different room.  It's all about what they get used to.

[Stephanie]

THANKS SOOOOOOOOO MUCH EVERYONE!  I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!   We have done the poodles in the bed route years ago, and knew that a 50 lb'er might not be a good idea, plus we are hoping when she graduates from her crate, she'll prefer to bunk in my sons room, in a bed of her own! She did fine last night, just go to work on no crate accidents...  over to the puppy boards I go!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

I slept in the living room with Sophie for the first three or four weeks because I couldn't imagine having that huge crate in the bedroom but I didn't want to leave her alone (mostly because it was hard for me not her lol). I eventually moved it there anyway and delt with it (I turned her crate into my bed side table). She started sleeping in my bed around 5 months ;-) I couldn't justify having her crated during the day and at night. Now it's back out in the living room again and she basically just uses the crate for eating. They grow up fast. Enjoy that little cutie pie!!

[Pat and Traveler]

For reasons I won't go into right now, I wasn't able to get a crate for 8 wk. old Trav until the third day he was home.  By that time, he had an established towel bed by the side of my bed, which is where he stayed until he was big enough to jump up onto the bed.  I never really used a crate, though I did get one.  For times when I wanted to confine him, he went into an X-pen or puppy pen, or was occasionally shut into the bathroom.  He was very easy to potty train.

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

Parker's crate was in the living room because the bedroom was too small for it, so the first night, he ended up sleeping in the bed with us (on top of a weewee pad just incase!) because he refused to sleep alone in the living room! Once he started moving around more in his sleep, I bought a smaller crate that fit into our closet so he could sleep in the bedroom with us but I didn't have to worry about him getting up in the night to do naughty things. Once he got to big for that and his potty training had improved, we just gated him into our room so he couldn't roam the house all night. Now he sleeps anywhere in the bedroom he wants to, which usually means on top of me!

[Sabrina and Bentley]

Bentley slept in our room for the first couple of nights.  Once we saw that he was sleeping through the night, we transitioned him to the kitchen.  We never crate trained him.  We just had a big fluffy blanket that we put down until we got him a bed.  he whined the first night, but after that he was good.  We've had him for seven months now and he enjoys sleeping in the kitchen.  Every once in awhile we'll invite him to sleep with us, but he never complains about going back to the kitchen.  Good luck!  You're dood is so cute!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

both of our doods are in our bedroom and if i have to get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night I have to be very careful not to step on either one.  Our bedroom is basically a king sized bed and 2 doggie beds with not much floor space left.  If you don't want her in there (which is totally fine) make the change now.  Had I known we would end up with 2 dogs, I may have done things differently with Cubbie but oh well.  :)

[Moe]

I have a thing about dogs in the bedroom, I would never allow a dog on the bed. I am an admitted germaphobe so having her sleep in our room was not an option. I never knew that people let their dogs sleep in their rooms or beds until we got the dog. I worried because you read that they should be near you at night. We crate trained her at night for about 4 months, she was so good we folded the crate up. Now at 6 months she has free reign of the downstairs. She has a dog bed and will sleep on it sometimes, other times she just lays on the floor. She is very bonded with everyone in the family and I think she is happy sleeping downstairs. I'm over my guilt about not having her sleep with us. :)

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

Cocoa is 16 weeks old now, We got her at 8 weeks.

The first night I slept on the floor outside of her cage down in the family room... that lasted about 3 hours because I was 6 months pregnant and it made me sick sleeping on the hard floor.  So I went and woke up DH and made him do it.  He made it until the first potty break and then she cried back in her cage so he slept with her on the couch.  Second night he did 1st half of the night in cage 2nd half he gave up and put her on the couch with him.  He is such a light sleeper she had jumped down and pottied though..grrrr.

Well 3rd night he had to work the next morning and it was my turn again with the puppy. So I brough a smaller plastic cage into our room and at the suggestion of some people here put it up so she could see us.  After an hour of her barking and crying I brought her into bed with us.

She would not let me know when she had to potty when in bed with us and would just walk to the end of the bed and pee or poo... and she had the runs so this was no fun. 

So after 4 nights of chaging the sheets and bed spread 2-3 times a night I knew something had to change. DH was going to be gone all weekend so I stuck her in the cage in the living room and just went to bed upstairs. She creid maybe 5 minutes. I set my alarm for every 3 hours to go let her potty. Each potty trip the crying got better.  By the time DH was back home 2 nights later she would just cry maybe 1-2 minutes.

Now 8 weeks later she does not make a peep in her cage unless she is playing with her toys.  Some nights if we stay up late to watch a movie she will get up and go in her cage and look at us until we close the door because she is ready for bed and we must be bothering her sleep..lol

 

I think your puppy will be just fine in another room.  Mine seems to do better down here by herself than she did in our room where she could see us.

[Richard Crowe]

Holly sleeps wherever she wants.  Usually she sleeps on our bed but she can get hot and jumps down to either sleep on the cool tile or her own bed.

 

[Jody Lambright]

When Gus first came home he was kept in my son's room with a kiddie gate so he would get my son up if he had to do his business. Now, he sleeps on one of the 4 dog beds in my bedroom, or in the kitchen on the tile floor if it's too warm for him. He was never crate kept at night.

[GBK]

Both of mine as puppies stayed in their crate in the living room outside our bedroom.  I could hear if they fussed and Buddy always made sure I heard him when he had to go potty.  Kona was a little fussy when she first came home and I would spend the half hour news time laying on the floor with my hand touching her through the gate.  She just needed a little comfort for a week or so.  Buddy was fine from day one, but his wakeup time was 4:00am :)  They both now sleep with us in the bed, or if they decide it's too hot next to the bed.  Good luck and let us know how she does!