[boo3792]

Two days ago, I got my very first beagle puppy, who will be 10 weeks on Wednesday. Her name is Beanie and I already love her to death!

I do have a few questions though, and I really hope you guys can help me out!

First off, what would be the best sleeping arrangements for the little pup? For the past 2 nights, I have not had a crate yet, so she has been sleeping in my bed with me. I had put her on her bed on the floor near mine, but she would whine and jump in with me. However, I WILL have a crate later tonight, but I was wondering where I should place it. Should it be in the room with me, or somewhere where she can be alone and in quiet?

Also, I was wondering if she should be crated while I am at school tomorrow. I will be out for about 5 hours, and it is the first time I will leave her at home alone. I know it's not very good to crate such a young puppy by herself, but I really have no choice. Should I crate her? Or place her in a small room to give her more space?

Anyway, I hope to chat with you guys sometime in the future!

 

[Tucker]

Haven't had a puppy since about 1979 so don't have any answers for you. But welcome. Someone will have all the answers and more for you I'm sure.

 

[beagletails]

Absolutely crate her at night and while you are gone with her being so young. Once she is house broken and can be trusted in the house without destroying your belongings (pillows, furniture, remote controls, etc) then you are okay to start allowing her freedom to roam. It is for their own safety as well as for your sanity.

As for sleeping in a crate at night...by putting Beanie in bed with you, you are telling Beanie that she is the top dog in the house. That is something you need to work on from day one. YOU are the top dog. Don't feed Beanie before you eat and don't let her sleep in the best bed in the house. You will have problems later if you do.

The crate can be anywhere really. We have ours in the kitchen area so that during the day they have their safety zone (when and if they want it) in the common area of the house. Ours do well sleeping in another room and when you know that all is well and you just can't take another minute of whining you can shut your bedroom door and still maintain your own well being.

I hope that helps. I am sure you will receive a lot of response to this set of questions.

 

[boo3792]

Thanks!

Hopefully she will be able to sleep at least a few hours tonight, but I'm not so sure how she will like the crate.

 

[Brien]

Welcome to you and Beanie!

Crate training is very important for a puppy. I would also strongly suggest getting a puppy book to help with many of the questions you're going to have. There is simply too much info you need to know about crate training and general puppy development to cover here. I'll give you the name of two books when I get home tonight.

 

[Murphys Dad]

to BW! I adopted an adult beagle so won't be much help in the puppy department but here is a link to an excellent article about crate training:

Crate Training

The article is from the Nothing in Life is Free website -- there are several articles about puppy training:

Nothing in Life is Free

Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures with Beanie and we love pictures!

 

[Murphys Dad]

 

[mrsjenlester]

Welcome!!

 

[Overland Hound]

Congrats on Beanie and welcome to BW.

 

[boo3792]

Thanks!

Here are pictures of her moments after coming home for the first time:

 

[Brien]

Per my previous post here are the two puppy books I'd recommend. They both cover crate training. My Smart Puppy and Guide to Raising a Puppy. Good luck!

 

[vkschoch]

Congrats! Beanie is a cutie! We started out trying to put ours in the crate at night and thought that keeping him in our bedroom would make him feel more secure. What a disaster!!! He cried and howled for way longer than I thought possible. We ended up falling asleep on the floor with him after taking him out to go potty. Needless to say, we were big wimps and let him start sleeping in the bed after that frustrating experience. I suggest putting the crate in the other room if you intend to crate him at night! Also, don't forget to read up on tips re: getting the puppy used to the crate. We had to go to work the next day after getting him and didn't have enough time to do slow conditioning and really help him feel like the crate is a good place. Consequently, he really hates his crate so it breaks my heart to leave him in there. Good luck... Beagle puppies are challenging but they're worth it!

 

[Brisen]

Welcome to you and Beanie...she's absolutely adorable! I'm one that let's my dog sleep with me, and have since the night I brought her home. I think you need to do whatever you're most comfortable with as far as the night time sleeping arrangements, but whatever you decide, be sure and be consistant and patient. As far as leaving her alone during the day while you are in school for 5 hours, I agree that crating would be best...it will definitely keep her out of danger and trouble. It's always better to start them off in the crate for a small amount of time and slowly increase, but again, if you're patient and consistant, she'll get used to it in no time. Good luck!

 

[jassy]

Welcome to Beagle World. I would definitely crate your pup when you are gone during the day. I think sleeping arrangements are a matter of choice. We had to crate Maggie because she got up and wandered at night.

 

[Beagle Eyes]

Welcome Beanie is adorable.

 

[RosCole]

Welcome! What an adorable beagle

We did something different with our second beagle, Cole. We bought one of those pen enclosures from the pet store and set it up in our bedroom. In the pen we put Cole's first little crate, all his toys and a wee wee pad on the other side of the pen. Oh, and we put the pen on a large, tight woven carpet ($20 at most home supply stores)in case of accidents. He got the wee wee pad thing pretty quickly and I felt better leaving him during the day b/c he wasn't in a crate.

Just a personal preference that worked for us! Good luck.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Welcome to the BW pack!

Our beagles sleep with us. Many say this is a bad thing to start. We find it comforting. Their is nothing like waking up to a beagles face staring at you (usually while sharing your pillow).

 

[angelaH]

Welcome to BW. Our two are rescue beagles and we got them aged 6. We have their baskets in our bedroom. They did end up in our bed in the early days, but now choose to sleep in their beds, as often as not curled up together in one bed.
Alone at home during the day is a bit more difficult. We have never crate trained because one of us was always here.

 

[Murphys Dad]

I'm trying to catch up, and want to say

 

[Sephly]

welcome welcome!