# First night - overwhelmed - puppy blues!



## Kazd (Apr 21, 2013)

So the first night didn't go as well as I had hoped. Louis cried all night and I mean all night, I think I may have got an hour or 2 when I eventually wrapped my pillow around my already plugged ears, that was about 3:30/4:00am

Got up at 5:45, went down to find that he had made a considerable mess in his crate but it did appear to be on the puppy pad but had managed to get poo on the bars and outside his crate. 

Gave him a mini bath in utility sink but may have to give him a proper bath later where he can't climb out. 

We have put the pen up now and he did go out and do a big poo, little bit of blood in it which we were told to expect as he was wormed yesterday. Had two wee accidents in the kitchen and one where he was feeding and stopped and moved onto puppy pad but that may have been more by accident than design.

I feeling quite tearful, depressed and sick due to lack of sleep.

Thinking of buying an adaptil plug to see if that helps.

He has now crashed in his crate but will be getting him up soon to take to vets for his first jab.

So tired!


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## Lottierachel (Mar 3, 2013)

Oh I completely sympathize, and so will so many others on here. Wen you're going through it, you can't imagine it ever ending, but in reality it gets much better so quickly.

It's scary for a little pup being away from his mum and litter mates, but within a few nights his crying will reduce, the pooing will get better and you will start to feel better.

The toilet training will come, I wish I had been more laid back about it and not got so disheartened by the accidents - they happen, and will continue to for a good few weeks!

Give little Louis love and cuddles and try to have a nap when he does. I had to tell myself quite a few times to remember how much I wanted the puppy and how excited I had been. 

This it what the forum is all about - we've all been there and you will come out of the other end 

X


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## KGr (Mar 11, 2013)

Try not to be too down. it's really tough but it does get better! Try putting Louis in his crate during the day when he falls asleep but leave the door open & praise him loads when he wakes up. 
Pip has been with us for a week now & she's come on loads with her sleeping & getting better with accidents in house. That said she just did a massive poo on my living room rug.....Grrr! 
Pip was very sleepy after her first jab so hopefully Louis will be the same & you can get some sleep.


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## arlo (Mar 11, 2013)

Things always seem worse and over whelming with lack of sleep. The fact Louis is napping in the crate is a good sign. Was he crated with his litter? Arlo wasn't and we gave up in the middle of the first night, so you have done brilliant, Savannah sleeps in her crate no problems but it is because she was used to it. You have a long journey ahead but the love and laughs Louis will give you will make up for all the bad bits. Good luck!


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Poor you 'Oh my goodness, what have I done!' is a really common feeling in the first few days/weeks. Even when you think you are totally prepared for your new puppy the reality can hit hard. You will get through it, it does get better and Louis will most certainly be worth every moment of missed sleep and bottle of detergent!
You will find what works for you - tough love, if you have good enough ear plugs (!) moving him and his crate into your room or sleeping on a campbed next to his crate until he is more settled - or something imbetween. Kiki was lovely the first night, but the second night she was so noisy my ears felt as if they were bleeding. In the end I went and sat on the floor with her on my knee until she was deeply asleep and then tipped her back into bed and she slept from them until about 6, about 4 hours... Cuddles before bed worked for me.
I have to say that if possible it really helps to make sure your pup has regular sleep times during the day too. We would shut Kiki in the kitchen (she was not in a crate) and she would go to sleep for a couple of hours if left alone. It gets them used to being by themselves and also ensures that they get the rest that they need.
It will be ok, honestly


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## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

Sorry to hear that Louis had a bad night. I know about the puppy blues I had them for about the first 6 weeks when we had Molly. She was a good sleeper had her in her crate beside my bed and she would sleep from 10pm to 4am and would have to go to the bathroom so I would take her out put her on her pee pad and then back in the crate. Then she would sleep til about 8am. Then wake up and be a super crazy puppy nipping and biting and there was no way I could hold her. My mornings seemed endless until her crate time would come. I would crate her for a couple of hours here and there throughout the day cause she would get over tired and get more bitey.

Is Louis's crate big?? Maybe that is why he made a mess in it. I had Molly in a tiny crate with no pad in it and she slept fine. She could stand, sit and turn around in it an that was it. Also no food after 5pm. She has never had an accident in her crate. If there is too much space they use part of it to go potty and sleep at the other end.

It will get better I am totally in love with her now but it took a while for us to get there. Just be patient There is lots of good information on here if you use the "Search engine" .

Know that you are not alone! Hope today is a better day for you and Louis


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## Jayded (Apr 5, 2013)

Oh dear! Here's hoping Louis has a better night. One thing I noticed someone said, sleep when he does. Absolutely! It's just like having a newborn, so if he zonks out, if it is at all possible, you sleep too. That has been a big help for me. 
Also, yes crate size is important if you don't want him toileting in it. 
Good luck! It does get better. 

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## dmgalley (Aug 19, 2012)

He will do better hang in there. I kept the crate in my room so I could just reassure her at night. work wonders. 

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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

If you are brave enough have the puppy in bed with you. Guarantee you will ALL get a wonderful sleep then. Your puppy is used to snuggling with litter mates. He has had company 24/7 since conception really and then along comes the new owners and suddenly he is in a strange place, with strange people and expected to sleep alone......not going to happen really is it? It will get better if you plan to stick with the crate, but not immediately. On the bed with you, then you will sleep tonight!


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Having your new puppy in your room at night may fill you with horror but its often the best thing for all of you at the beginning. Your puppy will be happy not to be alone and you are more likely to get some sleep. Once he is used to being away from his litter mates and in a strange home you will be able to decide where you want his permanent bed to be. The only thing that totally stressed me out with my new puppies was hearing them cry. Tough love is not for me I found it excruciating and upsetting and decided I would rather have them close to me all night that listening to the awful noise a tiny puppy can make!


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## Tecstar (Apr 17, 2013)

It's tough for the first few weeks, but rest assured it gets better. If you can try to relax and be laid back I will help your puppy settle in, and also remember routine, routine, routine. Once they are in it things get better. 

Just remember, we have all been through it! (Some of us still are!)


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## Jensen (Apr 23, 2013)

I agree with the crate size - Jenson was in a huge crate with newspaper and did not sleep for three nights - so I You Tubed crate training a realised that they suggest small crates - so the 4th night I put him into the small crate and he slept all night and no mess, and has mostly continued to sleep.

It is a bit crazy at the beginning but the real puppy blues will most likely kick in around two weeks when you have had loads of wee and poo on your floor! It does get easier, so enjoy your puppy while he is so tiny.


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## Kazd (Apr 21, 2013)

Well despite feeling completely knackered I haven't returned him to Victoria. Took him for his first jab this morning and he was really good, had a thorough check and all fine. He weighed in at 2.7kg which I believe is a nice healthy weight. He has only had two accidents in the house, both wee and in the kitchen, I don't count the wee and poo in the crate because I expected him to go in there but he did do it on the puppy pad, the mess of course was from him walking in it. 

Initially we planned to use half the crate but we had concerns about his ability to hold himself at such a young age and the breeder said when she crate trains its half vet bed and half newspaper. 

He has just had his second bath of the day and immediately went and played amongst the soil and plants on his very expensive and exclusive toilet area. 😀
He has not yet used it for the purpose it was designed and favours running along and poo-ing alongside the fence.

This morning he had a tiny bit of blood in his poo but Victoria told us to expect that as she had wormed him yesterday and also the upset of moving home. His last two meals have been Natures Diet which the breeder gave us in conjunction with Fish4puppies as she knows our intentions are to feed raw. Once that is finished I have a few pouches of Natures Menu which seems a little better than the diet, less preservatives and then I will move him to raw via Natural Instinct.

I have also purchased an Adaptil plug in and am going to leave the radio on and a clock. Also wearing a tee shirt as suggested that we are all going to wear and leave him with it tonight.

So still knackered and just praying for a better night.


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## vickie (Jan 8, 2013)

Don't worry it will get better. I remember those first few days and weeks and did think (many times) that we had made a huge mistake. It does get better and then you realise that it is all worth it. We were very strict with Oscar and left him to cry at night. It took a few sleepless nights but we got there in the end.


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

I can only reiterate what others have said, it's constant hard work for the first few weeks and tiring but he's a baby and will learn. He'll soon know he's supposed to use his exclusive toilet area, just keep talking him to it and giving him a command ie wee wee, whatever then loads of praise when he gets it right, just ignore the mistakes.
Hopefully the play and antics will cheer you up in between...you'll get there honest


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## Debs&Boys (Jan 27, 2013)

I can totally sympathise, we've had Herbie for 5 weeks now and at times I still get moments of 'Oh God what have I done' its usually when the kids are having a mad half hour and the dog is joining in and then one of the boys is crying because Herbie is hanging off his leg, arm, foot, bottom (whichever he managed to grab first). But today I realised (as I was putting boys and dog in time out) that we haven't had any accidents in the house for an entire week!! So slowly we're getting it, just need to conquer the crocodog next, replacing socks is becoming expensive!!

And do you leave a radio on overnight? We do and Herbie had a hot water bottle in the beginning too, he seemed to like the extra heat x x


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## Tinman (Apr 23, 2013)

A couple of things that may help... 
A warm water bottle wrapped in a blanket (especially if you got one that smells of Louis mum)
A ticking clock close by.
When we got Ralph at christmas. I slept on the couch for the first 2 nights next to his crate with the door open. (As I don't want the dogs on our beds - as hard as it is when their pups missing their mums) This seemed to work as i went to bed on night 3 and he was fine on night 3.
We got ruby last week, and I just put her crate right next to Ralph's at night time - although on the first night I thought I had a lost seagull downstairs for the first 40 minutes!!
It won't last for ever - but don't give into the crying, or it will just reinforce little Louis to cry and you will eventually come downstairs.
Good luck & keep us updated x


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## KGr (Mar 11, 2013)

Kazd just wanted to say good luck for a better night tonight x


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## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

I always had a fan on or some white noise and that seemed to soothe her. That way she didn't hear other sounds. If she whimpered I would put my finger in her crate door which was on my nightstand and she would lick it and quiet down right away. I guess she just needed comfort. Also she had her special crate toy this monkey we bought her it's still in her crate now I had slept with it for days before we got her to put my scent on it. Sounds crazy but she loves her monkey!


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## Kazd (Apr 21, 2013)

*2nd Night*

Hubby settled him in his crate after he had done his business and this was about 10pm and we all quickly got into bed to make the most of it. He woke about 12am hubby was asleep but I must been completely overtired and was unable to relax and get off to sleep. Hubby stirred so I asked him if he had taken his collar off which he hadn't so he went down, waited for a lull and then went in. Took him out and he did a wee, took his collar off and put him back in his crate. He cried for a bit and then went back to sleep within about 5 mins. He woke again at 3:20 at least that is when he started to cry but he had already done a poo on his puppy pad, didn't want to go out for a wee settled him back in his crate and again he cried for 5 mins and then slept until 6:20am. No more weeks or poos in crate.

We did leave him with a ticking clock, radio 4 turned low, a t shirt that we all wore yesterday and also a towel that he kept going and sitting on yesterday. We also bought him some nylabones for puppies and left them in his crate. 

So all in all a good night but I am a walking zombie and desperately need some sleep.


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## Buttons (May 13, 2013)

Ooh I have all this to come!! Sounds like you are on track tho and hopefully tonight will be even better! Plenty of coffee today 😃


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## Jensen (Apr 23, 2013)

Just out of interest - what time is his last meal? Perhaps you could bring it forward slightly so his bowels are completely empty?

Like us dogs don't like sleeping next to mess which is probably while he was howling. I know that you mentioned your breeder crate trained in this way but I would really consider making the crate smaller, he will probably howl to go to the loo as they don't like to go in their bedding. It was like a miracle when we put Jenson in a smaller crate he slept all night at 8 weeks and no mess.


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## KGr (Mar 11, 2013)

Sounds like you had a better night. It will improve as each day passes.


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## Sue T (Aug 1, 2012)

Hello. It sounds like you have read up quite a bit on bringing puppy home and settling your pup in so you really are on the right road. I can only say to carry on with what others have said. 

We were very fortunate with Lucy as she was a good sleeper through the night from the word go, but she was raised in a whelping pen which gave her the "crate feeling". At night we put a radio on low, a warm hot water bottle with a fluffy cover and a night light. We crated her in the kitchen and put her to "bed" at the same time each night and each morning we let her out 5 minutes later each day. 

The problem we had was that she hardly ever slept during the day, which was in contrast to what we expected! IShe was full, full on from the moment she woke up, nipping, biting lurching etc. This led me to have awful insomnia during the night as I couldn't relax. So, although our circumstances are different, in a way most of us have been there. I can only say, that yes it certainly does get better but it takes a few weeks for pup and yourself to get used to the new situation. 

Lucy now after her season sleeps on and off for most of the day and its as if she is making up for lost time. We love her to bits.


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## DebsH (Jun 24, 2012)

I know you're tired and it doesn't feel like it but that's a huge improvement on your first night  Keep going xxxx
Two things I'll be keeping in mind when our puppy comes home (both pieces of advice I was given when my kids were babies)
1. This too shall pass 
2. The days (or nights!) are long but the years are short


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## Sam1 (Mar 6, 2012)

We all feel your pain! Sounds like your doing a fab job! Well done. Its all new for you all, being consistant is the key! Do the same of what ever routine you are happy with, i personally didnt get up in the night as i didnt want that to be the norm. Do whatever suits you. If he realised he survived the night before, he will slowly except the next. Im sure in a few days we'll have messages of joy! 

Try tiring him out with walks to see things, this really works even though they are being carried, their little brains are soaking it all in! Which might mean a sleepful night too!

Try and relax and stock up on wine! That has helped loads on here! Ha

Good luck!
Sam x


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## Kazd (Apr 21, 2013)

Have just woken up from a short nap so going to get showered now, youngest in charge downstairs and just shouted up that he has done a poo with a little blood in it. He did one yesterday morning with a drop of blood in it, vet said it may be from worming on Friday but to keep and eye out. Have him completely off kibble now and on the remainder of Natures Diet which the breeder gave me. When that runs out I have Natures menu which is the same thing lightly cooked but less preservatives and then I will move him on to raw. His stools are darker now but still on the soft side but there didn't seem to be any blood in them like the two mentioned earlier.

Vet mentioned boiled chicken and rice but she seemed to think the ND and NM would be ok.


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## Tecstar (Apr 17, 2013)

They sometimes get it due to stress of moving to a new home. I wouldn't worry too much at this stage. I just wonder if you are worrying unnecessarily about too much. Try not to set expectations for both you and your puppy. You both have to get used to new things and adapt your lives. Sometimes we humans can get so worked up over trying to do the right thing that we end up making things more difficult! After a couple of months you will forget about a lot of the things you are experiencing now. One thing to try to do is get the dog to fit in with your family life rather than the other way round. Things will be easier and the puppy will adapt. It's like bringing home a new baby, except you tend to know where you left it and that his happy will contain all the dirty stuff!


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Sounds great. Night two was a vast improvement on night one so onwards and upwards.


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## erinafare (Dec 9, 2012)

Poppy has been sleeping all night since day one she was 10 weeks. This was achieved by having her bed in a corner of our bedroom. Pee pad where she could see it. She would wake about six go to her pad then back to her bed. She would sit up staring at me but I pretended I was asleep she then settled down for another couple of hours. As she got bigger and realised she could jump on our bed that is now where she sleeps solid for about ten hours.
She had blood in her poo as well for a couple of days due to worming.
Before she was able to go out I would carry her to the shops to get the morning paper about 8-30. We would sit on the bench and watch the rush hour traffic and children walking to school. We also took her out in the car for small journeys. Took her to Jolleys to get her Barking Heads. On her first day out walking she took it all in her stride stepped out with confidence. She stopped at the main road and looked at the traffic then walked on.
She was clean by the time she was four months. She is now six months and we have a happy confident sometimes mischievous companion.:ilmc:


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## Kazd (Apr 21, 2013)

*Meal times*

We have bought his meal times forward so he is now eating at 7am, 11am,3pm and 7pm. I think the last of the kibble has left his system as son reported his 10am poo was paler (fish4puppies is very dark kibble) but apart from the 3:20am poo he has only had one more which was at 10am. Yesterday he had at least 5.


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

Jayded said:


> One thing I noticed someone said, sleep when he does. Absolutely! It's just like having a newborn, so if he zonks out, if it is at all possible, you sleep too. That has been a big help for me.
> 
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy S ll using tapatalk


I totally do this. Their nap time is my nap time.


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

One thing I started doing was playing a playlist of slow music on my iPad near their crates whenever I put them to sleep. So every time they slept after putting them in the crate, I would start the playlist at the same song. Now when I play the playlist and they settle down much faster than when I don't.


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## erinafare (Dec 9, 2012)

I play Barry Manilow for Poppy when we leave her in her crate when we go shopping. She soon goes to sleep


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

Sounds like you are doing really well. Think I worried too much about everything when Dudley was a small pup (still do over analyze everything), but luckily he was a really good sleeper (sorry don't want to make you feel worse!). To make you feel better my son was a terrible sleeper but I got through that and you'll get through this stage before you know it.


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## Kkmorgan (Jun 2, 2013)

Hi, our little pup 'Branson' didn't mess on the first 2 nights in the crate but did cry, and we out him in the crate next to us in the bedroom! I just couldn't sleep at all!
When the trainer came to our house on day 3 she said to put the crate where we wanted which was in the kitchen and then put a big heavy blanket over it at night. The first 2 nights of this he pooped bless him,but put this down to big changes in his life. We were going to bed at 11pm and up at six which was killing us, so we changed it to 9.45 and went down at six and he has been fine ever since, no mess and not a peep out of him. He is now nearly 4. Months old and is still as good x 
Good luck it will get better x 

Ps heavy blanket ensures that when it gets light they don't think its wake up time x


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## erinafare (Dec 9, 2012)

Hope you have had a good night xx


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## Estherpatterson (May 15, 2013)

Kazd said:


> We have bought his meal times forward so he is now eating at 7am, 11am,3pm and 7pm. I think the last of the kibble has left his system as son reported his 10am poo was paler (fish4puppies is very dark kibble) but apart from the 3:20am poo he has only had one more which was at 10am. Yesterday he had at least 5.


He sounds exactly like our Milly when we got her 4 years ago....cried at night which I put down to coming from a litter of 7 and being the first to leave. She also had bloody, mucus diarrhoea for the first week, thought it had all settled down and then it reappeared! This really stressed me out and looking back I think it was just all the stress she was under with all the changes of new home. 

We also used a big crate with bed at one end and pee pad at other and for the first 3-4 nights I would come down in the morning and she had done her poo on the pad but the walked all over it. I then read to cover the crate leaving only one side open means they will only go to and climb up the one open side, so don't get poo on all the bars! And they also feel more secure in their 'little den' (dogs originated form the wild and would have found a cave to sleep in for security and safety). Also the end that has the bed in it should be nearest to the door where you come into him, if its the other way he will walk through his poos to get to you! ( I didn't know this until Milly had her first litter and I was researching about starting to paper or toilet train, even though they instinctly do it themselves which is just amazing, at 3 weeks of age these we wobbly pups would go from the end of the whelping box where they sleep to pee at the other end away from their bed!!)

Milly has just had her second litter of pups and I did a lot of research for the first litter and would do things so differently if I ever got another dog! And most importantly I would be less anxious about the toileting as it will come, have you thought of a clicker as you can click quicker than you can praise, using it 'click, and giving treat as you give verbal praise "good pee/poo"( or whatever phase you use). So click, treat, praise worked great with Milly at the beginning. Also immediately on waking straight out to piddle and poo and immediately after feeding!

Pups even at 8 weeks need 20-22 hrs sleep and with Milly's litter I realised how true this is as they played for 20-30 minutes and then slept 1-2 hours and I know I didn't do this when we got Milly and they can get over tired and grumpy.

I'm sorry for going on so long, you are doing a great job be consistent and do what suits around you and it will come and the exhaustion will pass, not nice when you're in the middle of it


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

erinafare said:


> I play Barry Manilow for Poppy when we leave her in her crate when we go shopping. She soon goes to sleep


So perfect!


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## femmedufromage (Oct 20, 2012)

Classical music can help too. My dog walker always retunes my radio when she comes back with Monty. Hope you are feeling better - I am 7 months in now and it does get better quickly. Use the forum for support I could not have got through without it. Puppy training is great to we have just moved to the intermediate class - Monty is the youngest by ten months but is very bright and learning fast keeps him mentally active which he needs.


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## Tecstar (Apr 17, 2013)

I worry a bit about leaving radios/music on unnecessarily. Are you conditioning your dog to not be used to silence or being left alone?


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

No I don't think so. It's only when they are tiny that they need the extra comforts. Mine wouldn't care two hoots if the radio was on now when I am out, they are so used to it.


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

For my puppies, I actually think they are being conditioned to fall asleep. I play the same playlist and by the second song, they are asleep. It's been great getting them to settle down quickly and when they aren't overly tired, it soothes them too.


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