Should my puppy sleep in my bed or crate? Will it cause problems?

Hi there. It's fine to let him sleep in bed with you if you don't mind, and if you're a light enough sleeper to wake up during the night if he needs a potty break (which is likely!). It's normal for young puppies to be frightened or unsure about sleeping alone at first. Until today, he always slept with his littermates in a warm snuggly pile, with his mom nearby. So being by himself in a cold bed is scary, and not natural.

It is better not to let Doobie do that as he will get used to sleep with you and will prefer that rather than sleeping in his own place. This behaviour can then predispose to development of separation anxiety as well.

That all depends on the puppy. Crating tends to be safer because the puppy cannot get into potential harmful things. It also tends to help with house breaking. Here is an article which may provide some help: https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-crate-train-your-puppy-or-older-dog/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/new-puppies-sleep-tips-for-bedtime/ Please feel free to post any additional questions.

I would crate him at night since you cannot watch him and he is so young. Once you know that you can completely trust him (potty and getting into stuff) then I would say you can let him out of the carte and sleep with you. My concern is more that he can do something that can cause harm to himself. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

A leash would not be recommended overnight or without supervision since it poses a risk of strangulation. It will likely urinate on your bed if you don't get up to take it outside. There is also a risk that you may injure the pup if you roll onto it while you are asleep. Use a large box or gate off a section of the room for him/her to sleep until you get an appropriately sized crate. It only needs to be big enough for the pup to stand, turn around and lie down. A pup shouldn't be crated for extended periods of time anyway.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Congrats on your new puppy! There is no one best answer here. If you ask 10 people you'll likely get 10 different answers. I always recommend going with your gut but being open to modifying your plan based on the puppies personality. When I got my rescue dog at 9 months, my plan was to crate him downstairs but he barked and I couldn't sleep. So I brought him upstairs and he has slept on a dog bed on the floor ever since. I think you should list out what is acceptable and what isn't (allowed on the bed/furniture or isn't, crated or not crated) and then make that the goal and stick to it. Whether you have the crate in your room temporarily and then move it somewhere else can depend on how needy Samson is in the beginning. Are you willing to let him "cry it out" or not. I am a fan of trying to set up a routine early so they get used to that. He will be needy the first several days but then should start to adjust and you can get stricter. I hope this helps and I wish you and Samson the very best

Unless you need them to have a different sleeping arrangement for some reason, what they're doing is fine. You are not doing anything wrong, and they wont be spoiled. If, however, they must for some reason keep to the routine you started them off with, it would be best to break their new habit right away. I hope that, with everyone sleeping quietly, you can leave them as they are. Everyone in the household will be happy!