Now you have decided and finally brought home a new puppy. Everybody is very excited waiting for the puppy’s reactions and as such thinking that it would be quite a pleasant experience. Well, it definitely is, but not necessarily from the first night your puppy spends in your house. Just think of the fact that your puppy was recently used with the company of his mother and siblings. All of a sudden everything is different to him and you should give him time to adjust.
First of all you should decide whether you want the puppy (and pretty soon an adult dog) to sleep in the same bed with you or sleep in a separate bed or crate. It is up to you to know which is the best for your and your pet dog.
Dogs are leading their lives mostly on routine and consistent habits, therefore it is the best to settle the rules from the beginning and keeping them in that way. Otherwise your puppy will grow into a confused dog not knowing which are the boundaries and thus not being responsive to some commands.
Some steps should be taken before bedtime, these ones leading to a good night’s sleep. Make sure that you take the bowls with food and water long before he will go to bed. Apart from this, try to wear him out playing as much as you can with him.
Also take him out for his physiological needs before getting into bed. Planning to train your puppy into sleeping in a crate is the best bed for him. This one can be put in your room in order to reduce his crying moments. Showing your puppy the limits of his crate would help into the housebreaking as well, since dogs will not ever soil the areas they use for sleeping.
It is a known fact that puppies tend to whine the first night-s of being in a new house. The way you will react to his whining will set the background for his behavior in the future. The good thing here is for you to react in an appropriate way whenever you hear him crying. First check whether he wants to use the bathroom.
For instance, a good clue would be that he is quiet and starts all of a sudden to cry. Puppies at 2 months of age will normally use the bathroom every 3 hours; therefore you are prone to take your puppy out more than one time per night in the early months. Make sure that you pick him up and carry to the specific spot before reaching to urinate in the house.
If otherwise, do not attempt to pet him and soothing him when crying as he will speculate this in the future to grab your attention. Try to be very firm when telling him “quite” or a simple “no”, many times puppies understand what they are supposed to do. But by no means shout or yell at him as this thing might leave dark marks on his little scared mind.
Awesome post, I have three Afgan Hounds myself.