[Martini's Mommy]

On 3/29 I brought home my very first chihuahua, a chocolate/tan male named Martini. He's actually my first dog too, but not by design. My parents never let me have one but I surrounded myself with dogs belonging to friends and neighbors.. and now I'm a professional petsitter!

I just have a question about what's been going on around here the past 2 nights. I feel good about the way things are going, but if I'm doing anything that will lead to issues in the future, please bring this to my attention.

I try to keep Martini up and about as much as possible in the evening so that eventually he'll crash and sleep for a few hours. When MY bedtime neared, I brought him up onto my lap and let him fall asleep. Once he was completely zonked out, I put him in his crate where he continued to sleep. He slept for a solid 4 hours before deciding he had to go potty, so I woke up and took him. He was less tired at that point and wanted to play. I laid down on the bed and put him next to me, and when he fell back asleep I put him back in the crate.

Now my question is, should I just be putting him in his crate when he is awake, and teach him to fall asleep on his own? He already regards the crate as his bed and "safe place" so I don't think it's that scary for him to fall asleep with me and wake up locked in the crate. And also, when he wakes up for a potty break, should I put him back in the crate right after or is it okay that I let him fall asleep with me first? The main reason I do it is because my boyfriend has to get up really early in the morning, so every moment of sleep is valuable.. but when the puppy is crying, it's enough to repeatedly wake him up. Is Martini learning bad habits from this?

Thanks for any help! Pictures soon!
Amy

 

[Tinker]

I don't think it hurts a thing to do it like you are. Martini knows he's loved and safe and the only thing that will happen is that he gets put in his crate. Can't wait to see pictures of him.

 

[fizzy n kirbys mum]

I do just the same with my puppy , he is now 7 months old and we still do the same sleep routine every night , him & me are happy and
he is totally house trained and a precious boy , I'm sure your lad will be just perfect too

 

[Martini's Mommy]

I feel so much better.. I don't want to spoil him (much) but I need my sleep! I'm lucky to have a job where I work 2-3 hours at a time and then come home between shifts. A 9-to-5 job would make me miserable, not being able to see my baby during the day. But once he's used to keeping himself amused in his crate for a couple of hours, I think he'll be just fine. He whines a little bit when I leave, so I try to tucker him out before I leave so he'll take a nap. And I put on the radio for him too. Yesterday morning he was completely fixated on Howard Stern to the point that he didn't even look up when I headed to the door!

He's my first puppy, but after reading the horror stories, I can already tell he's going to be a stellar little dog.

He's the one on the far right, the fattest one. I took that as a sign that he was a good eater. Boy was I right!

 

[Frasier's Mommy]

omgosh he's an absolute doll

Sounds to me like you're doing a great job with him too.

Only thing is - Howard Stern?? :shock: He's way to young and impressionable to hear such things!


LOL

Welcome and best wishes with your new pup.

 

[fizzy n kirbys mum]

what a sweetheart , he looks wonderful I'm sure he is just gonna be your best friend ever

Sara xx

 

[xx-nathalie-xx]

sweet

aaaw he looks so sweet!!! looks like you're doing great

kisses nat

 

[MissMolly]

He's adorable!

 

[Auggies Mom]

He is an absolute cutie. Sounds like you are doing great to me

 

[blossom]

Wow. He's so cute!!

 

[KB]

You should TRY and put him back if you want things to go right!! I have one I cant crate although once she is spayed etc I may try again.....its so much easier if they just "get it" form the beginning. I dont think you will have problems when you do and you can always give him one of your t-shirts etc so he can smell you

 

[Gadget's Mom]

Martini is adorable. You are doing a good job mommy...

I haven't used a crate with Gadget but he does have his bed (a pin next to my bed, it has steps so he can go between his bed and my bed) he loves sleeping with mommy... I have had him since he was 3 weeks old... So I kinda of spoiled the crate training thing... He does have a soft sided carrier that is in the livingroom and open so that he can go in it anytime.. we do use it when we go byebye... he doesn't like to be in it in the car so I made him a carseat he seems to like that...

good luck and god bless.

 

[Martini's Mommy]

Just wanted to give everyone an update on Martini. He turned 8 weeks old today (yeah, I got him a little early.. his owners were letting him go at 6.5 weeks but I figured he was better off with me than with someone who had not done the research) and is going to the vet for his check-up and first round of vaccinations. He's not aware of this yet.

The crate-training has been a huge success! We keep his crate in the bedroom, and from the day he came home, we have been attempting to litterbox train him. We put the litterbox on the balcony (don't worry, it's a solid wall that is far too high for him to jump) with a puppy pad in the bottom (he hasn't graduated to actual litter yet). After his afternoon nap, I open his crate and he hops out and runs onto the balcony to go potty, totally on his own. All he needs is for the door to be open! When he's playing in the other room, sometimes he needs a reminder where to go potty. We'll see him sniffing around.. we just call his name and motion toward the bedroom, and he gets the hint and makes a beeline for the balcony. During the night he sleeps in his crate with no backtalk whatsoever. The only time he cries is when he needs to go potty, and this now occurs only one time every night, with no accidents in his crate either. For a while, he'd cry to go potty and he'd pee. And then 15 minutes later he'd cry and have to go poop. He kind of realized that it was in his best interest to get everything done in one trip because, even though this is Southern California, it's pretty cold out there at 2 am!

He also learned to sit yesterday, and will do it on command. I didn't know chihuahuas were so food-oriented.. he'll follow commands in return for plain old kibble! I'm quite taken with him, he's so smart!

 

[ilovesadie]

Aww...sounds like you two are best friends already!! And he sounds like such a good boy!! I'm so happy for ya!

 

[Martini's Mommy]

Well Martini had his very first vet visit this afternoon. The vet says he's a very healthy boy, weighing in at 2 pounds. No heart problems, no leg/joint problems. He goes potty regularly with no poop issues, and eats like a little pig.

I didn't ask the vet because she didn't seem concerned, but is Martini huge for an 8 week old? 2 pounds? He's not fat.. you can see his waist when looking down on him.. his belly doesn't sag.. is this normal?

 

[Gadget's Mom]

some puppies are just bigger than others. Gadget is 4 months and he weighs 2 lbs 8.5 oz. but he only weighed 13 oz at 4 weeks. but he was a tiny baby and I have had him since he was 3 weeks and I think the first few days we had him he lost some weight because it took us a few days to figure out how he was going to eat.. he fought us with the surege we started with and then we moved to a bottle and he didn't like it at first either but the we got it andhe started chowin and hasn't stopped...

I am glad you are having a good potty training time with him... I hope he keeps up the good work.. Gadget was really good there for a long time but he started pooing on the floor again.. I brought my big vacuum home so I can get some cleaner and clean the rugs.. the spot remover is working good on the spots that I can visiaully<SP> seee but the ones that he put there before that I cleaned up but didn't the smell out I cann't see so I am going to clean the whole house...


good luck.. sounds to me your family is having a good time with him...

 

[janiebabes]

sounds like you are doing a great job but.. if you are putting him in ya bed to stop him from crying because he is crated thats a whole different paint job lol. if that is the reason let him cry it will last a few days and he will know that is HIS bed and his time in your bed is at your discretion. my furbabies know when its bed time lol i say c'mon bed time kitchen or bed. Daytona is reluctant he rolls on his back and wags his tail but i put him on the floor and say bed and he goes. when i want them on my bed i say c'mon nappy time so nappy time to them is my bed. keep up the good work

 

[princess'momma]

WoW! He is soo cute! All these puppy pis are starting to make me want another one and Princess is still only 4 1/2 months.
It sounds like what you are doing is ok, that way he knows that you are there when he goes to sleep and doesnt feel like he's been shut out. Atleast till he figures out that the crate is his place. Before you know it he'll be beggin to get into his private little spot

 

[Martini's Mommy]

I only put him in my bed for the first couple of nights. He was bummed out about not having his brothers to crash with. But he sleeps in his crate willingly now. When he needs a nap during the day, he'll hop in on his own and sleep. When it's bedtime, Martini follows me and my boyfriend into the bedroom. We get in bed and he gets in his crate. He's not allowed on the bed except for early in the morning. My boyfriend leaves for work at 6 am and puts Martini in the bed with me before he leaves. I get up at 7 am so Martini sleeps with me for just a little while every day. And it hasn't spoiled him.. he knows his place.

 

[chimom]

Don't want to spoil him? Gee, and here I thought everyone spoiled their furbabies! LOL - I agree - you are doing fine. My Jasmine actually sleeps with me most of the night. She goes to sleep in her own bed, but sometime during the night, she jumps up into bed with me and I usually wake up in the mornings with her licking my face, ready to go outside! :lol: