The one where I talk about Pike's first 24 hours in our house.
Oh, what a night,
Late September back in twenty-one.
Why did I think it would be so fun?
Because I remember: it was a night.
Granted, those lyrics aren't nearly as catchy as Frankie Valli's original ones, but they certainly capture the spirit of Pike's first night with us. Picture it: I'd had about a month to plan for our new family member's arrival. While I wasn't familiar with this breed and its needs, I wasn't a stranger to raising a puppy. I'd done it twice before. How different could this be? Answer: Bigly. It was going to be bigly different.
With my other two puppies, I had an incredibly elaborate setup for them. Based on tips and tricks I'd found on blogs written by other dog owners, I purchased a large x-pen that I used to encircle a two-door crate. I placed the entire system on top of some waterproof, interlocking foam mat squares, and then added a potty training system called the Piddle Place in the corner opposite from the crate. They basically had their own little doggy condo going on, and it worked brilliantly.
But this guy wasn't like my other two. Nope. He was going to make me work hard for any little bit of success.
The biggest change I had to make was with the configuration of his area. Because his crate is so much larger than those of my other two, I didn't have a way to completely enclose the crate and include the potty training system. So I used some zip ties to attach the x-pen panels to the sides of the crate. It looked a little goofy and created a gap of about a foot between the roof of his crate and the top of the panels, but aesthetics were the last thing on my mind. I was more concerned with providing a safe, functional space for our new family member. You can see the setup in the photo to the right. Pretty swanky digs for a puppy, if you ask me. Let the games begin!
I knew that crate training wasn't going to be a walk in the park. But I also knew it was going to be critical to Pike's mental and physical well-being. Studies show that dogs crave their own space and giving them a den-like area that belongs only to them helps to ensure they feel safe and protected and can help prevent anxiety issues from developing. I'd also just read an article written by a person associated with an animal rescue who explained how challenging it can be to save pets during emergency situations. Pets that will willingly go into a crate on their own are much more likely to be rescued than those who won't. So, for me, it wasn't even up for debate.
When it was time for bed, we took Pike out to potty and placed him inside his area, along with his new Snuggle Pet (the little stuffed lamb on top of the crate in the photo above). What's a Snuggle Pet? Why, it's the greatest thing to ever be invented. It's a stuffed animal that's got a little battery-powered "heartbeat" device inside. It takes the place of the old hot water bottle and towel-wrapped clock. I used one with my other two and am convinced that it helped calm and soothe them, making the training process that much easier.
He actually did pretty well. Yes, he yowled and howled for a bit, but we held our ground. We knew that a few rough nights would be worth it in the long run. And after about 15 minutes, he seemed to settle in and get quiet. Maybe a little too quiet. Like, I was on edge because it was so quiet. THAT'S how quiet it was. And then I heard a thump. Huh. That didn't sound right. A minute later, there was a second thump. That DEFINITELY didn't sound right. So I decided to get out of bed and investigate. Our house has two floors, with a staircase that's broken into two sections: a small section of three steps which lead to a landing, and then the main section of about twelve steps leading to the first floor. I made it to the landing and looked down towards the first floor area, and there was Pike! Outside of his area! Having made it about halfway up the main section of stairs! I immediately grabbed him so that he didn't fall and hurt himself and went over to his area to see how he could have gotten out. Did we leave the door open? Was there a hole somewhere? Without a baby camera to provide footage, I can only speculate on what happened. I think he was somehow able to climb onto the top of his crate, and I think that the thumping I heard was him jumping off of the crate and onto the floor, where he was just able to roam free. I shudder to think what could possibly have happened had I not been on alert for suspicious sounds. It never occurred to me that he would be large enough and nimble enough to climb the walls of his crate. My other two were small enough for long enough that I never had to worry about that. But this kid, at just eight weeks old, was already the size of my two adult dogs. He was going to keep me hopping! I wound up sleeping with him on the couch downstairs. It wasn't the original plan and wasn't ideal, but I couldn't put him back in a space that wasn't safe or secure. The next day, we reconfigured his area to completely enclose the crate inside the pen. We were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves and decided to test it out. It did not go well. He's smart enough that he figured out how to climb on his crate door, and then launch himself onto the x-pen wall. We basically had ourselves the dog version of Alex Honnold. He was Spider-Dog™! Yeah, I'm trademarking that right now, so don't go getting any movie ideas without contacting me, Marvel. Eventually, we eliminated the x-pen from the equation and just wrapped the pen's walls around the dining room table to preemptively save it from the eventual chewing phase, and now the crate stands on its own. We get up during the night to let him out if he cries, which isn't ideal, but it's worth the short-term sacrifice of sleep. We know we're doing the right thing by him. And most of the time, he sleeps through the night without making a sound. Good job, Pike! When we first met with the breeder to pick out our Pike, she told us a story about how a shelter called her to say they had one of her pups. They scanned the microchip and got her name as the contact. The couple that bought the puppy turned it in within the first 24 hours of bringing it home. I assume because it was more work than they'd expected. So, with that, I implore you to do your research before bringing any pet into your home. And when you think you've done enough research, do some more. Join Facebook groups that are dedicated to the breed you're interested in. Ask people what they don't like about the breed. Ask what their biggest challenge has been. Puppies are a ton of work. Energetic breeds are even more work. And a cute face isn't enough when you're sleep deprived and stressed out.
Don't get a pet unless you're completely and totally committed to seeing it through to the end. It's not a pair of shoes you can easily discard. Do you have a crazy pet story? Message me or comment below. I'd love to hear it. Take care, peace out, and get some sleep until next time.
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