# Introducing Little Miss Darcy



## Peaky06 (Mar 23, 2015)

Hi All

Just wanted to introduce my new little bundle of joy!

Her name is Darcy and she is 8 weeks old today.

We picked her up on Friday and not stopped since!, she has been ok at night once i have got her to sleep and we haven't yet had any accidents in her crate which is fantastic....

I just wanted to ask some advice on if i'm doing the right thing and if not what i should do... So when its bed time i place her in the crate, turn all the lights off, she starts to cry a little so i place my fingers through the crate and allow her to sniff them so she knows im there, then she falls asleep (this normally takes 5/10 minutes with a little whimpering which i calmly and quietly just say schhh go sleep), then i place the cover over the crate and slowly and as quietly as i can crawl out of the room.... so for the last 3 nights this has worked and she has not cried, we get up about 7am and she is sitting waiting for us to open the door.......

Am i doing the right thing (i am 100% new to this so any comments are fine!), or am i making her rely on me sitting with her to sleep?

Also in the day the minute either of us leave the room she cries and has now started to bark, only stopping when we return........

i have attached some pics for you to see....

any advice will be fantastic, thanks


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## Peaky06 (Mar 23, 2015)

Ow and one more.....


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Little Miss Darcy looks lovely 
I did a similar thing with Kiki at night and within the first week she was settling herself. They do very quickly get into a routine.
During the day do you sometimes put her in her crate a both go out?
Is she barking at a closed door? They are busy little dogs who like to be with their people. I am happy for mine to follow me around when I am home and it is not unusual for me to have three bathroom attendants 
As pups I had a baby gate across the kitchen door and another across the bottom of the stairs, as they were not allowed upstairs. Maybe because they can see through a baby gate they never bothered shouting they would just lie with their noses pushed through waiting for me to come back... I would often scatter a few bits of kibble around as I went through, so that they were distracted.
What ever you decide to do try and be consistent. Baby pups need to sleep a lot, so I think it is a great idea to introduce Miss Darcy to some sleepy crate time during the day too. 
Good luck, and keep the pictures coming


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Little Miss Darcy is cute!!! 

My puppy is now 11 weeks and still cries and/or barks when I am out of reach. I use baby gates (can't see through them, though light can pass through), and puppy will spend lots of time jumping up at the gate and whining/crying or barking until I return. Sometimes he settles himself sometimes he doesn't. If I put him in the crate, he will settle, provided he doesn't hear me moving around the house. I tend to use it only for when I am going out without him. Otherwise he naps by my feet, on my lap or on a rug in the same room as me, during the day. Sometimes I can sneak away and get stuff done.

Yesterday I had puppy out on the front porch with me while I did some yard work. Most of the time he spent crying quite loudly because he couldnt reach me, even though I was within constant sight from him. Part of it may have been being able to smell so many things in the air but not being able to sniff them out.


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## Peaky06 (Mar 23, 2015)

Thanks for your replies.... last night i sat further back from the crate and just used my voice to calm her once she started to cry and it worked.. yipee, and another full nights sleep with no toilet problems.

We have not yet left her alone (other than at night) since we got her on Friday, she cries in the day if have the puppy gate up or close the door, even if we are with her but not paying any attention to her, but i have started the leave her for a few seconds, go back in and praise then extend the time etc, and we got up to 1 minute this morning without a cry....... will continue this over this week as she will be left next Monday when we go back to work, but as my other half works shifts only for 2-3 hours per day...

She dosent have her first jab till Thursday, but as im trying to socialise her as much as possible i'd like to take her to meet one of my friends who has a very gentle Boxer dog, the boxer is vaccinated and we will be going to her house, where no unvaccinated dogs have been, is this ok? or do i need to wait?

thanks


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Sounds like you are doing a fantastic job so far!

As far as I understand, taking her to your friends place is fine, since you know their dog is up to date with vaccinations. It is public areas you don't want her to walk around on or access until either the 12wk or 16wk vaccination.


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## Peaky06 (Mar 23, 2015)

Fantastic... will be arranging a visit then.

thanks for your help


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## Sassy (Mar 20, 2015)

Oh SO adorable! My breeder said no out-in-public until the little one is 16 weeks, but backyard is fine.

I wonder if it might be a good idea to start to train her to distance yourself. Go for a super short period. Use the Sit command, take one step back, then return and give her a Treat for that. Extend the length of time a bit, return to her and give her a treat for that, then try it one more time. Each day, build up just a smidgen and be sure to treat her each time with praise and a food-treat. If she "fails" and resists the wait time, don't look at her until the alloted time, but give her a treat then (as if she waited). Be sure to allow her to see and smell her treat, but remember to keep it at her eye level. If you raise it, she might think you want her to follow you.

Then come back here and tell us how that went!


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Good luck with your play date. Just a word of caution that taking your puppy to the boxer's yard might make your pup more nervous and the boxer more territorial. Could the boxer come and visit you, then she would not worry that a pup was invading her home!


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## Peaky06 (Mar 23, 2015)

thanks for all your suggestions and tips.... will be trying out and will let you know how i go.

thanks


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Please double check with your vet if it is after the 12wks or 16wks vaxx to take pup out in public for walks etc. I think it depends on the area from everything I have been reading via google. Also have read that you nees to wait 7-10 days after vaccination for it to become effective. If anyone else can comment on this, feel free! 

I just realized last night that my pup turned 12 weeks earlier this week (I was going by the day of the month he was born; not the actual weeks since he was born. If that makes any sense... lol. Going to book a vet appt for his next set of shots... and ask the vet about when walks in public are safe for him.


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## Peaky06 (Mar 23, 2015)

Hiya - Yeah lots of different advice about injections etc.... 

I'm going with what my vet advised, they gave me two choices, they were:

Wait 2 weeks after the first jab to receive a booster, then wait 7 days and she can go on the floor on pavements but not parks where rats may have been, then she has a further jab 1 week later, again wait 7 days and she can go everywhere...

Option 2 is..........

wait 4 weeks after first jab for her 2nd (this includes everything she needs), wait a further week and she can go everywhere

I opted for the first option so at least i can start to take her on small walks 3 weeks after her first injection....


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

Yes, vaccinations are something I worry about and there are different opinions online, surrounding the need for them. 

We have a lot of dogs that walk past our home on a daily basis so I have been very good at restricting myself from the tempation to walk DaVinci, lol.

I haven't yet taken DaVinci to the vet (he is going this week). He turned 12 weeks last Wed. But today he turned 3 months old. I decided I would wait until he is 3 months old for his 2nd set of shots... as he would be a little bit older. I worry about adverse reactions to vaccines. I will see what his vet says about walks when we go, I'm hoping for (your) option 2, which I had found in online searches and hoped would be the case. Pup still has to go back at 16 weeks/4mos. for a 3rd shot (same as the first two), as well as his rabies shot.

Are you in Canada or the USA? I had no idea there was an alternate way to vaccinate to allow for earlier walks. Thank you for sharing that info, even though it won't work for me now.

The 7 day wait, I think, is due to the fact that their immune system becomes compromised from the vaccine while their body is busy learning to fight the virus. I'll definitely be waiting the 7 days, as anxious as I will be to take him out!

Enjoy your walks when the time comes! 😊


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## whatsuppup (Mar 9, 2015)

DaVinci got his 12 week shot yesterday, at 13 weeks/3 months. His vet advised me to keep an eye out for an allergic reaction which he advised is possible, though unlikely. DaVinci was fine, though seemed more tired than usual and had no interest in dinner so I didn't push it. He ate breakfast this morning and seems ok so hopefully his body has adjusted to the vaccine. Vet said in 7 days he can go for a walk. YAY!!! 😃Can't wait!


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## Peaky06 (Mar 23, 2015)

Arhhh little DaVinci, bet you cant wait to get outside, i know i cant, 11 days and counting!!... let me know how you get on...

Sorry whatsuppup, i thought i had replied to your last post re injections.. we are in the UK, not sure if the options we were given are the norm or just what our vets do.

I have just booked Darcy onto Puppy socialisation classes (starts week after her second injection), cant wait to see her interact with other pups.....its such an exciting time


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