Washing Snuggle Puppy?

[Jess & Stewart]

Stew peed on his Snuggle Puppy in the crate. I'm REALLY upset as he loved it & it had the littermates & mom's scent on it. I soaked it in Nature's Miracle, but I'm wondering if I should wash it?

I don't want to mess up the mom/litter smell on it though. He peed in the crate & got a little on the paw & most of one ear.

I came home & heard his barking downstairs on the first floor of my building. I'm distraught thinking I'm going to have an anxious dog. I hope it's just because I've been at work, hopefully he'll realize I DO come home for lunch & he gets fed, walked & played with!

[Stephanie and Ragley]

I feel for you Jess- you are working so hard to help little Stewart adjust! I applaud your efforts. My experiences with Ragley would lead me to say go ahead and wash it. Ragley came with a little pillow that smelled like mom and the litter to help her adjust, but she really couldn't have cared less about it. She laid her head on it to use it as a pillow a couple of times, but I really think it was just because that's what happened to be laying on the floor, not because it smelled "familiar". Maybe Stewart is different, but it seems to me you could create a worse problem by leaving a urine smell in the crate than by removing the old litter smell after having him for a few weeks.

[Ginny Nightingale]

At this point, the mom/litter is a distant memory--they live in the present---that was only important for the first day or so--wash it! He was probably barking today because he had to go potty--that will get better as he gets older. 

[K and Racey]

I would put one of your shirts in his kennel instead. Something that smells like you. 

[Jess & Stewart]

I've had a shirt of mine & the puppy in the crate from the 2nd night. My mom suggested that once the puppy is washed & dried, that I snuggle it tonight until we go to bed, so that it smells like me.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

That's what I was going to suggest! Get your scent all over the snuggle puppy. You're his pack now.

[Jess & Stewart]

I brought a Stew with me when I got my laundry out of the dryer. I wish I had it on video, as SOON as pulled the puppy from the dryer, he barked & jumped for me to give it to him! He then carried it up all 4 flights of stairs back to my apt, then chewed & chased it, until he settled down & laid on it.

It did still smell like him, I didn't smell any urine which is good. I saturated it in Nature's Miracle before washing it. He fell asleep on my couch on top of my top layer pajama shirt for cold trips outside! I put both pieces in the crate, he's fast asleep laying on both the tshirt & puppy. Is it ok that I put it back in the crate? I wasn't sure if he'd go on it again. I also wiped down the crate pan, sides & the surrounding floor with Natures Miracle just to be sure there was no urine smell.

[K and Racey]

It should be fine. Dogs don't like to go in their crates. If his puppy smelled like pee I doubt he would have wanted to play and chew it.

[Kris and Sawyer]

Well if you do, be careful... Let it air dry. I tossed ours in the dryer and it didn't come out well! Sawyer still loved it until he tore it apart when he was older.. But it sure was cuter before I washed and dried it. :-)

[Jess & Stewart]

I washed and dried it in the dryer. It came out fine, no tears or rips. He freaked when he saw me pull it out of the dryer too!

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

I've washed snuggle puppy a couple to time (gentle cycles) and he came out fine.  Once we got Cody, he became Casey's "snuggle puppy" and they ignored Snuggle Puppy.  Our next door neighbor has a new labradoodle, so we donated Snuggle Puppy to her.