Caring for a newborn baby can be a daunting task…
And the same often holds true when caring for a brand new puppy…
It’s natural to feel worried and nervous about your fur baby, especially when they’re so little, and new dog parents often have loads of questions about how best to take care of their puppy…
Take crate training for example. Crate training is actually a hotly debated topic in the dog community…
Dog parents disagree about things like how crate training should be done and how long it should continue…
On top of that, when to move your puppy crate out of the bedroom is also an issue that a lot of dog parents have questions about…
So today, in this article, we’ll be focussing on how long a puppy should sleep in your room, and we’ll be covering the topic in-depth by going over the following information…
- Why Keep Your Puppy’s Crate in Your Bedroom in the First Place?
- When To Move The Puppy Crate Out Of The Bedroom – The 2 Schools Of Thought
- How To Make Moving The Puppy Crate Out Of Your Bedroom Faster And Easier
In the end, you’ll know why your puppy’s crate should be kept in your bedroom early on, and you’ll know when and how to successfully move your puppy’s crate out of your bedroom…
Let’s begin by discussing why your puppy’s crate should be kept in your room early on…
Why Keep Your Puppy’s Crate in Your Bedroom in the First Place?
You may be wondering if it’s a good idea to keep your puppy’s crate in your bedroom in the first place. After all, is your bedroom that much different from the living room for your little pup?
Well, the experts say that it does matter where you keep your puppy’s crate in the first few weeks of his or her life…
They recommend that the crate be kept in your bedroom, in the beginning, to give your puppy time to get used to his (or her) new environment…
On top of that, keeping your young puppy in your bedroom at night helps the puppy to develop feelings of safety and security…
You see, when a puppy first comes to your home, he or she is disconnected from his original family and environment…
You, of course, know that your puppy is your new fur baby and will be treated well, but your puppy is just starting a brand new phase of his or her life…
Just think about it… Your puppy can no longer see his mother and siblings, and that’s obviously a difficult adjustment to have to make…
In addition to being disconnected from his original family, your puppy might find you and your home to be a scary and unfamiliar place…
So to allow your puppy to get used to you and your home, the experts recommend that you keep him close to you as much as possible, and that includes sleeping near you at night…
In fact, the Humane Society of the United States recommends that you bring your puppy home during a time when you can guarantee that you’ll be free to spend a few days with him…
By doing this, your puppy will soon realize that you are his new parent, and he’ll feel more secure whenever you’re around…
And when it’s time to go to sleep, just hearing the sound of your breathing will help your puppy feel comforted and reassure him that he is not alone…
In addition to that, it’s also recommended that you start establishing routines for your puppy early…
These routines will provide your puppy with structure and will help him learn what to expect which will help him feel more secure…
And of course, keeping your puppy’s crate in your room at night is one of the ways you can introduce the new sleeping routine.
When To Move The Puppy Crate Out Of The Bedroom – The 2 Schools Of Thought…
There are really two schools of thought when it comes to the issue of when your puppy can sleep in another room…
Some say that you should keep the puppy crate in your bedroom for one to two weeks, and gradually move the crate out within that time…
Others say that you should keep the puppy crate in your room for as long as is needed to ensure that your puppy doesn’t become too anxious as you gradually move his crate further away…
Both methods have advantages and disadvantages, but let’s start by going over the one to two-week method…
The One To Two-Week Method…
The first school of thought is to keep your puppy’s crate in your bedroom for one to two weeks…
The way this method works is that for the first few days, you position your puppy’s crate as close to your bed as you can…
For example, if you have a chair or nightstand near your bed, you can set your puppy’s crate on top, or you can just put the crate on the floor right next to your bed…
Keep in mind that because your puppy is small, you need to choose a properly sized crate, which in this case will also be relatively small…
A small crate will help your puppy feel a sense of security, and it will eventually prevent him or her from using an area within the crate as a space to go potty…
All your puppy really needs is space enough to stand up, turn around and lie down, and really, that’s how you should size your dog crate even as your pup grows and gets older too…
After a few days of your puppy sleeping in his crate right beside your bed, you should start to move the crate further away (for example to the far corner of your room)…
The idea here is that your puppy will be more comfortable sleeping in the far corner of your room before you move the crate into another room in your house…
After another few days have passed, you should move your puppy’s crate out of your bedroom, and place it in a room or space close to your bedroom…
Again, this will allow your puppy to still feel relatively close to you without being directly in your room…
Let your puppy sleep in this different room for another one to two weeks, and then you can move the crate to its designated place in the house…
The benefits of the one to two-week method are that it’s a gradual process that still allows you to move your puppy’s crate out of the bedroom fairly quickly…
The drawback is that your pup might feel a little anxious as he is moved further and further away.
The Signs Of Readiness Method…
The other school of thought is that you should move your puppy’s crate out of your bedroom when he or she is showing signs of readiness…
If you choose to follow this method, you really don’t have to adhere to any timelines. All you need to do is watch for your fur baby’s cues…
For example, if your puppy shows that he or she can be away from you without being anxious, then you can move the crate out of the bedroom…
Now, to get your puppy used to being away from you, you will still want to gradually move your puppy’s crate further and further away from you at night…
So again, start by keeping your puppy right next to your bed, and then move his crate to the far corner of the room, and so on…
But because this school of thought is a little more relaxed, there is room to adjust when you move your puppy further away if he shows signs that he’s not quite ready to be too far away from you…
This method also allows you to move your puppy back closer to you if you move him further away and notice that he still needs to be close to you…
The benefits of this method are that you can gradually move your puppy’s crate out of your bedroom without causing him much anxiety…
But the drawback is that it may be a long time until your puppy shows that he’s ready to move outside of your bedroom (perhaps a month or even much longer).
How To Make Moving The Puppy Crate Out Of Your Bedroom Faster And Easier…
Regardless of the school of thought that you favor, the whole process can be made much easier by properly training your puppy…
Now there are a lot of training programs out there, but the one I recommend is Brain Training For Dogs…
I like it because it’s simple, it works, and you can access the program from the comfort of your own home…
If you’d like to learn more about how Brain Training For Dogs can help you move your puppy’s crate out of your bedroom, click the link below…
Final Thoughts…
The school of thought that you choose to follow concerning when to move your puppy crate out of your bedroom will depend on what is comfortable for you…
Like I said, both methods have benefits and drawbacks, but if you really want to speed up the process I highly recommend you check out the Brain Training For Dogs program…
That being said, the bottom line is to keep your puppy’s crate close by early on, and then gradually move it away as your puppy gets more comfortable with you and your house.