Sleep issues

New puppies are like infants except that instead of changing a diaper, you are constantly mopping the floor.

As a result, I'm seeing DH revert to his new fatherhood personality. Whereas he used to announce that no way were we getting a dog, he now spends hours cuddling with the little critter. Enjoy that while you can. She won't be little for long.

I'm not one for crates. I understand the whole concept that crate simulates a den, but where in the wild would a dog choose to be alone in their den? So our house is her den and we are providing safe places within this den. It makes things harder until she has learned basic commands like lie down stay and come, but I feel it is worth my investment. Anyone have any ideas on how to express this to my neighbor-cum-former-dog-breeder who has been lecturing me on how I should use a crate and how evil I am for adopting this dog before she was 10 weeks? Avoidance is my plan for now, but it would be nice to be able to speak to my neighbor in the future without fear of further lectures. :-)

So anyway, the sleep issue came up her first night. Of course, she was missing her siblings and her mother and we were of course the indulgent parents. So I stayed up most of the night cuddling and helping her comfort herself and then putting her in her enclosure in the kitchen. She would wake every hour and I would take her out to pee and start the whole process again. On Saturday, I was a zombie, but still determined to get her to sleep on her own.

By Saturday night, my resolve was gone. She slept on my stomach on the couch for the night. And slept well, I might add. The two of us got 6 hours of blissful sleep before her first necessary potty break and then she went right back to sleep on my stomach when we returned. Well, I must clarify. She got a blissful night of sleep. I got 6 hours of somewhat restful-you-can't-roll-over-even-if-you-want-to sleep. But it was better than an hour at a time.

So the same happened Sunday and Monday night. In a way, this is attachment parenting for dogs. Now that I proved her bladder is stronger than one hour, it's time to wean her a bit. So I got a cardboard moving box (small, book size) and placed a towel in the bottom. Once she calmed down, I placed her in the box awake. She slept next to the couch with me right there for 4 hours. I calmed her and she went back down for another 2 and then I took her out for a pee. Back in for a calming and into the box for until 6am. I'm feeling a bit more human again.

Wednesday night the same. I find that as long as I cuddle and let her warm up after the pee break, she goes right down.

So today, I have to get a bit of work done for my new freelance editing job. She is rambunctious because she got so much sleep last night and she doesn't like to wake alone in the kitchen. So after our 9:00 walk, I calmed her and placed her in the box for her nap. She is in the office with me, next to my desk. Sleeping soundly. She loves the box. It's like the crate, but I can't expect that she will stay in it, so I have to be with her. Right now, she can't jump out. I should start a pool on how many days until she can jump out.

Gotta get back to work now.