"But we want our puppy to sleep with us on our bed!"...

If you are thinking this, that's fine. Just beware that your puppy is NOT completely house trained yet. They cannot manage the height of your bed yet and could be seriously injured if they roll off during the night or even jump down. Your bed will seem VERY large to them so the far corner will be the perfect spot for a midnight potty. And that pillow or child's favourite stuffed animal will be the perfect chew toy when they are teething and you aren't quite awake yet.

I think it is wonderful to sleep with dogs. It's NOT wonderful to sleep with puppies.

Puppies need structure and routine. They need to learn what is acceptable behavior and what is not. They learn this best (and fastest!) through crate training.

A crate is not a prison to your dog. A crate is the closest thing to a den for a dog. When done right, a crate feels secure and comforting. It is your puppy's safe place.

Your puppy will already be familiar with a crate while they were here with me. Add their litter blanket and a few quiet low-key toys and they will quickly take to their crate as their own little room.

If they are struggling settling down at night for sleep, place the crate in your bedroom. If they start to make a fuss at night, do not take them out of their crate (unless you genuinely feel they may need to potty -- and if you've followed the "no water after 6pm" routine, this should be AT MOST one time during the night). Instead, place your hand near or on their crate and talk in a very quiet reassuring voice telling them all is ok in their little world. Talk quietly as a howling dog will realize they need to tone it down to be able to hear your comforting voice. If YOU are calm and ACT as if all is well, this will be conveyed to your pup as well. If you are angry, stressed and sleep deprived, the irritation in your voice will just further frighten your puppy, drawing the crying out even longer. Remember, this is a new scary place to your puppy. The more you can demonstrate that "all is well", the sooner your puppy will settle.

Ideally, have your pup sleep in their crate during the day as well. After they've had a play (and a potty), place them in their crate for a rest.

Crate training is not just for sleeping, it is VERY helpful with potty training as well as keeping your puppy safe from chewing or eating things it shouldn't. If you choose NOT to use a crate with your puppy, it will be the first thing I ask you and/or recommend when you start having problems with destructive chewing and peeing/pooping in the house. There is a ton of information on line about crate training. Do yourself and your puppy a favor by crate training your pup!

Helpful Tip: If you open the crate door while your pup is throwing a fit, you have just taught your puppy that if they throw a fit you will open the crate. The next time, your puppy will throw an even BIGGER and LONGER fit until you open the crate to let them out. Always make sure that you open your pup's crate when your pup is calm and not crying or out-of-control excited. The out-of-control excited is cute in a little puppy... that they are SO excited that you are there. But when that little puppy now weighs 40kg and is pawing at the crate in a frenzy to get out to get to you, it's a whole different story. Remember, the habits you instill now, will be the habits of your dog when they are grown.