Jennie
04-26-2003, 11:15 AM
OK, I know I have more questions than a 3-year-old, but I'm really trying to do everything as right as I can, knowing I will screw some things up. But, since I live alone, and it's just me and the pup, this is where I go for help and advice. Hope you don't mind too much!
Here's my spoiling question.....Baxter has gotten really fond of sleeping in my lap if I am home and around. He'll just curl up and fall right asleep. He will sleep in a pet bed if it is available and I'm not, and will sleep in a wire crate at night. But during the day, he much prefers my lap. I don't much mind, except it's not always convenient. So, my question is kinda two-fold. First, is it bad to be spoiling him like this? Will there be any side effects such as him becoming too used to this or anything like this? I would like to get him to sleep in his crate during the day, but there is a bit of a logistical issue. I have four rooms that the crate could/should be in. First, the living room where I spend some time, and where I eat. Second, the bathroom where he goes when I'm not home. Third, my "hobby room" where I spend much of my time, and finally, the bedroom where we sleep. Is it practical to carry the crate from room to room so he'll sleep in it? I currently have it in the bedroom only, (actually just got the wire one yesterday) but am thinking that I'll put it in the bathroom when I'm not home. If he sleeps in it at night and while I'm gone, will he come to prefer it when I'm around? Should I keep moving it around? Don't want to buy too many, as I'm going to have to do this all over again in a few weeks when the second pup arrives.
Secondly, I do have two small pet beds for him, one for upstairs (hobby room), and one for downstairs (living room). He really does seem to like them, and will curl right up. I also have two beds purchased for Bailey that Baxter had as of yet not discovered. Well, he did just a few minutes ago, and curled right up in one of them. Didn't really want to tell him no, as he'll never understand that one is his and one is Bailey's until after Bailey arrives. So I thought about taking Bailey's up until his arrival. But then I thought, what if they have four collectively (one in each room perhaps) that they share? Will they do this? Any problems with this? They are certainly big enough for both right now, and are never used unsupervised. I had two dachsies before who shared a bed and it seemed to be fine.
Finally, do any of you use a crate and a bed? I wonder if I'm confusing him or making it harder to train by giving him so many choices?
Thanks for reading this far (I can be long-winded), and any advice is greatly appreciated!
Jennie
Here's my spoiling question.....Baxter has gotten really fond of sleeping in my lap if I am home and around. He'll just curl up and fall right asleep. He will sleep in a pet bed if it is available and I'm not, and will sleep in a wire crate at night. But during the day, he much prefers my lap. I don't much mind, except it's not always convenient. So, my question is kinda two-fold. First, is it bad to be spoiling him like this? Will there be any side effects such as him becoming too used to this or anything like this? I would like to get him to sleep in his crate during the day, but there is a bit of a logistical issue. I have four rooms that the crate could/should be in. First, the living room where I spend some time, and where I eat. Second, the bathroom where he goes when I'm not home. Third, my "hobby room" where I spend much of my time, and finally, the bedroom where we sleep. Is it practical to carry the crate from room to room so he'll sleep in it? I currently have it in the bedroom only, (actually just got the wire one yesterday) but am thinking that I'll put it in the bathroom when I'm not home. If he sleeps in it at night and while I'm gone, will he come to prefer it when I'm around? Should I keep moving it around? Don't want to buy too many, as I'm going to have to do this all over again in a few weeks when the second pup arrives.
Secondly, I do have two small pet beds for him, one for upstairs (hobby room), and one for downstairs (living room). He really does seem to like them, and will curl right up. I also have two beds purchased for Bailey that Baxter had as of yet not discovered. Well, he did just a few minutes ago, and curled right up in one of them. Didn't really want to tell him no, as he'll never understand that one is his and one is Bailey's until after Bailey arrives. So I thought about taking Bailey's up until his arrival. But then I thought, what if they have four collectively (one in each room perhaps) that they share? Will they do this? Any problems with this? They are certainly big enough for both right now, and are never used unsupervised. I had two dachsies before who shared a bed and it seemed to be fine.
Finally, do any of you use a crate and a bed? I wonder if I'm confusing him or making it harder to train by giving him so many choices?
Thanks for reading this far (I can be long-winded), and any advice is greatly appreciated!
Jennie