Before bringing your puppy home, it is important to prepare for her first night with you. It is likely this will be the puppy’s first night away from her mother and littermates. Here are a few tips on how to make this new experience as comfortable as possible. Keep the puppy’s resting place near your bed for the first few nights. This will help the puppy feel less alone. Make sure the puppy is tired out and has relieved herself before putting her in for the night. If you are putting her into a crate or a kennel, do not close the door until the puppy has relaxed and totally calm. You don’t want her to feel trapped, or to associate anything negative with her sleeping arrangements. Providing a blanket, towel, toy or other object that has the scent of the puppy’s mother and siblings on it will help to ease the transition to her new home, and help her be comforted by the familiar smell. In addition, providing an item or two with the scents of you and your family members on them will assist her in adapting to her new pack. 

If your puppy is sleeping in an open bed or you don’t feel comfortable closing the crate the first night, give your puppy a gentle correction if she tries to leave her bed, begins to whine, or tries to use chewing as a way to cope. Young puppies need very little correction in order to get the point - their natural mothers set very strict rules for behavior.

Since puppies may miss the feeling of a beating heart next to them when they sleep, you can purchase “beating heart” plush toys at pet stores that mimic the sound of a canine mother’s heartbeat. 

The best teacher is a canine one, so if you have another balanced dog that has demonstrated a gentle energy around the puppy, he or she can help your puppy feel safe and have a good night’s rest.