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Mike Lardy... surely you jest!

12K views 50 replies 33 participants last post by  RookieTrainer 
#1 ·
OK... I'm starting in on Volume I of Training with Mike Lardy. Puppy probably going to be born the end of September. So, I'm reading and taking notes and focusing on every word. First column of page 2, paragraph 2

" The first night or two at home, it's best to keep the pup right in bed with you."

Seriously????

I get it that you keep the pup very near by... In the past, I've put new puppies on a fluffy blanket and a short leash tied to the leg of the head of the bed about 3 feet from my face.

But in my bed? I don't think so.

(I didn't even take my own kids into bed with me. I hardly think I'll do it with a puppy. The kids turned out OK... BTW.)
 
#3 ·
One thing I always said was that I loved dogs but I never wanted one in the bed with me. After 4 solid hours of squalling his first night home, my boy curled nicely around the top of my head and went right to sleep.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Let him sleep at your side with his head against your neck for about 2 weeks. Call me when he gets his FC...

I guess at some point I might have read that from Mike. I don't remember reading it but, I've always thought it a good idea. It's very natural, just watch nearly any two dogs together and see how they sleep.
 
#6 ·
In a crate next to my bed.
 
#10 ·
Well... that was what I was wondering. Pro's don't make money training their own dogs, so they probably don't have many 8 week old puppies around at any one time.

Ran this question past the hubby. He thinks it's a great idea. Not sure how I feel about that.
 
#15 ·
first couple nights i subscribed to the crate thing. thought it might be dangerous for him in bed and possibly falling off. 3 nights of getting up at 2 and 4 am to whining and rattling the cage in the dark to take him outside and waking the wife. so 4th night let him sleep with us went to bed at 11 and at 7 he hadnt moved an inch. slept the whole night without a potty break. granted every night wasnt like that (never had an accident in the bed though). bonding and just letting him get comfortable in his surroundings was biggest reason id be in favor of it. after 2 weeks to a month start transitioning back to the kennel or not up to you.

from about 12 weeks old to when mine turned 1 he was in the kennel at night then our baby came and i never knew which room i was sleeping in so he transitioned to which ever bed i was in. now at 1030 he heads to the bedroom as if to say its past our bedtime lets go.

when your pup gets bigger u can save money on the heating bill. them fellas will keep u toasty. on the other hand when its dead hot part of summer he's ur worst enemy. if the lights were on when i kick him out id prolly see the saddest puppy dog face ever

and like someone else said if lardy ever had a pup i bet he would do it but seeing as his dogs are all clients dogs and dont come to him till at least 6 months old i doubt he has. although there was also an article where the editor of retriever news came to lardy's house and he heard mike yelling at Lottie cause she was blocking the door. i guess u have to be an NFC before u can sleep in the Lardy house!
 
#19 ·
on the other hand when its dead hot part of summer he's ur worst enemy. if the lights were on when i kick him out id prolly see the saddest puppy dog face ever
This time of year, my knucklehead will start on the bed but get down pretty quick with out being told (he knows when he's hot).
 
#16 ·
My dogs are not allowed in the bed. But when I bring an 8 wk old puppy home I put him in the bed. By doing thiis I accomplish two things: 1 no noise at night; 2 house breaking is faster. They are infants and cannot hold. When they start moving I immediately take them out on the porch. Puppies eat sleep and poop. Once again as soon as I feel them moving in the bed next to me out they go. I do this for about two weeks and then out of the bed. The transition no problem and they never go back in the bed and housebreaking seems easier.
 
#17 ·
I haven't seen or read the Lardy info but I'm guessing he means in the best case scenario for socializing your puppy letting him/her bond with you as much as possible is his real intention. Course I"ve got a lot of fleas sleeping with some real dawgs back in the day.
 
#22 ·
I have a dog in the bed every night. Tonight it is juice, 80lbs of pillow for me. I have a 3 dog rotation and there is never a night without a dig in the house. Riwdy and juice prefer the bed, Bama prefers the lazy boy.
 
#23 ·
Have removed bed frame and put box springs and mattress on floor so elderly dogs are still able to get on and off bed.

Probably not best person to ask advice about sleeping with puppies.:D
 
#28 ·
My new one was in the cabin across the room from the couch where I slept. She has not been in bed with me at all and she's doing well. One accident in her kennel, while I was at work. The breeder did a great job and she holds it through the night and day.

Loving life.
 
#29 ·
Remember, that first night with you is (hopefully) the worst day of that pup's life. They are going to very unhappy and will express that. I have tried the crate next to the bed thing but always have found that in the bed the first night or two is easier on everyone. It doesn't mean you have to do it forever.
 
#34 ·
Typically I would never think about bringing a puppy into bed, and I don't have adults sleeping in bed either. That being said, we drove from Michigan to Texas to get our new pup back in April. After two long days of driving we were tired, and truthfully the last thing either of us wanted was to listen to a screaming puppy in a crate all night long. So, we brought her into bed with us. First night she slept curled around our heads. Second night she slept between us midway down the bed. Third night she slept at the footend, and night four we transitioned her into her kennel with zero issues. She was 7 weeks old when we picked her up, and she has slept the entire night through from the beginning. This experience has definitely changed my mind about managing a new puppy.
 
#36 ·
Roger Fangsrud, an old school guy if there ever was one, told us to sleep with our new pup years ago. Since then we have done it with all our dogs, all of them eventually migrate off the bed as they mature, all except for Alex who thinks he's an 80 pound red haired human. A side benefit of doing this is that they house train very quickly as you wake up every time they stir in the night, so you can carry them outside before they have an accident.
 
#48 ·
Oh, thats where I went wrong with Billie, 18 years ago, when she pee'd on my pillow......
Last one I ever had in my bed, btw... but the 'grownups" thats another story.....always one or two big dogs in the bed. Sad really- it should be another person.:)...
 
#41 ·
I received the same information (sleeping with new pup) from Marilyn Fender about 15 years ago. Was at the Amateur National and talking with her in the gallery about puppy raising and bonding. Tried it with my next pup. It works! Of course said pup is now 12 years of age and still sleeps in the bed every night. Thanks Marilyn.
 
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