How old does a puppy have to be to sleep outside?

morganafay

My puppy is only 8 weeks old, but I have three other dogs (and one cat) that cuddle up with her when I put her outside for a while to play. They have a kennel inside a shed, and vet bed in the kennel. The kennel is just big enough for all of them to lie in comfortable, Cavaliers tend to sleep in a pile, with a cat on top! I got a small kennel to keep the warmth in.

Would the puppy be warm enough outside? I can close in the door of the shed to keep drafts out. The breeder had been letting her outside for weeks.

She seems fine outside and the others are looking after her, and I reckon she'd be happier sleeping out there than locked in the utility room all night on her own.

My dogs are all outdoor dogs but I spend a lot of time out with them. The puppy will still be left inside as well for part of the day, for extra attention and feeding seperately, etc.

I know some people say an 8 week old puppy is too young to be outside, but little kittens can live outside. If they have other animals to keep them warm . . .

So do you think I should let her sleep outside, or wait a few weeks? If so, how long?

lrushe

So long as the kennel is secure and draft free I can't see any reason why you can't leave her outside, it's definately warm enough these nights, I sometimes wish I could sleep outside myself! My dogs sleep outside and have done from an early age and I've had no problems.

morganafay

Thanks

She is tiny so I worry about her, but I know she'll be happy outside, as long as she gets brought in for a cuddle in the morning!

seamus

Afaik, your primary concern with having an unvaccinated pup outside is the risk of contracting disease from contact with other dogs or their faeces/urine. Since your pup is already socialising with your dogs, then I don't think that being in your garden with them should be a big problem.

I would say that there's the outside risk of predators (foxes and so forth), but with 3 others in the same kennel, there's no fear there.

If the dogs get too warm overnight and spread out from eachother, the pup will probably crawl in beside one of them for warmth.

Graces7

morganafay wrote: »

Thanks

She is tiny so I worry about her, but I know she'll be happy outside, as long as she gets brought in for a cuddle in the morning!

How old was she when you got her? seems awful young...

morganafay

I figured it'd be ok to socialise them since my dogs are up to date on their vaccinations.

And of course they were around several other dogs at the breeder's house.

I was getting a bit paranoid that an eagle could get her! But then thought that was pretty silly, since I've never seen any kind of bird of prey around here . . . and the other dogs could protect her hopefully if there was a fox around. I imagine they'd chase it off pretty quickly. I have rabbits around and never had foxes around though, so hopefully nothing like that will happen.

I was also thinking that the neighbour kids might kick a football over the fence and hit her, but I have to let her outside during the day at some stage in her life, and really that has never happened before! I'm just being a bit paranoid

morganafay

Graces7 wrote: »

How old was she when you got her? seems awful young...

7 weeks, I know a bit young. I know she should have stayed with her mum for at least another week. Even so, the breeder did seem very very good, and the pup is perfectly healthy so I took her.

Soulja boy

Snip.Take a 1 week break from the forum--Ive warned enough about this crap in the last few weeks.

morganafay

Soulja boy wrote: »

Snip..

O . . . k . . .


She actually did cry for the first few times I put her outside with the other dogs (just for an hour or two to play). But she soon got used to it, and now cuddles up with the others, or chases them around.

lrushe

morganafay wrote: »

She actually did cry for the first few times I put her outside with the other dogs (just for an hour or two to play). But she soon got used to it, and now cuddles up with the others, or chases them around.

My Rottie was the opposite when she was a pup, take her away from the other dogs and she'd cry her head off, put her back with them she was happy as larry

morganafay

lrushe wrote: »

My Rottie was the opposite when she was a pup, take her away from the other dogs and she'd cry her head off, put her back with them she was happy as larry

My puppy loves the other dogs, but I don't think they give her enough attention! In a few weeks she'll probably want to be with them more

Sigma Force

8 weeks is way to young imo pups eat and swallow everything unless you can be 100% sure the pup can't get at anything I'd leave the pup in for longer. At 8 weeks the pup would still be very tiny, of course the pup loves the company but I'd wait until the pup is a good bit older.

aww i wouldnt want her to sleep outside but then i sleep with my dog sometimes ha

paultf

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

8 weeks is way to young imo pups eat and swallow everything unless you can be 100% sure the pup can't get at anything I'd leave the pup in for longer. At 8 weeks the pup would still be very tiny, of course the pup loves the company but I'd wait until the pup is a good bit older.

Tend to agree - 8 weeks is too young. I would keep her indoors for the time being - until she has all her vaccs and has built up some strength.

morganafay

Guineapigrescue wrote: »

8 weeks is way to young imo pups eat and swallow everything unless you can be 100% sure the pup can't get at anything I'd leave the pup in for longer. At 8 weeks the pup would still be very tiny, of course the pup loves the company but I'd wait until the pup is a good bit older.

Well the pup will be in the dogs' night time pen, and have access to the full garden when supervised only, for a few weeks or months, until I feel it's safe for her. The only things in the pen are the kennel, shed, food bowls, and concrete, so hopefully it'll be ok. Oh and some dog toys, but nothing she'll manage to eat!

I actually had to bring her in last night as the dogs were barking and I was told to bring her in! But they were barking anyway, I'd say there was a cat around or something, because they don't usually bark unless it's something like that.

I would personally keep her inside if it was my house, but then again I'd probably let all the dogs sleep inside. But I'm aware that my parents don't really want to lose their utility room and for the house to be stunk up with puppy poo every night. I also have my two kittens in, who are very good and litter trained, but I'm thinking they'll be more accepted without the puppy and left to stay in for longer, since they really need to be in, it's not really safe for them to be out at night yet.

I know 8 weeks is young and at first I was thinking she can't possibly go outside yet, but I'm just leaving her out for longer every evening, and will see how it goes. She cries when she wants to come in, so if she cries tonight I'll bring her in again. She's definitely getting used to being outside anyway.

If I have her in the house at night she cries at about 6 am, but outside she doesn't seem to mind it much.

moving_home

I got a cocker pup at 7 weeks (didn't want to take her until 8 but we had to) and she has been sleeping in a crate in an enclosed shed with a door outside since the first night. I would say your pup would be fine especially with the company of other dogs. For warmth we were giving our one a hot water bottle every night until the weather turned warmer in the last couple of weeks.

morganafay

Yeah I was thinking of giving her a heat pad for warmth, but she has the others to cuddle. And someone said to me that if I did that then she wouldn't get used to the cold before winter, so it'd be better for her to get used to it now while the weather is warm enough.

She has spent all morning outside today, some of it supervised running round the garden, some unsupervised in the pen (which is quite big), and seems fine I'm a bit worried about her because she's vulnerable but there's not really any way for her to hurt herself or anything out there.

I think she will be warm enough with the others, and I'm sure she's safe, so I think I'm going to leave her outside. The main thing I was worried about was her being warm enough.

messrs

we got our pup on Tuesday and he was 7 weeks old, we let him sleep in the kitchen the first nite but since then he has been outside and is fine - he is in during the day but once its bed time we put him in the shed and he is doing fine, im up before 6am for work and bring him in for a while and feed him ect and then he is happy to go back out again

morganafay

A bit mixed, but most people seem to think she'll be fine.

I thought everyone would be giving out to me and saying under no circumstances could a puppy sleep outside . . . glad that didn't happen.

I'll see how she does tonight and if I have any worries I'll just bring her in.

Vel

Slightly off topic but that's three people now in this thread who have got their pup at 7 weeks. Can I ask why, given that it is recommended that the pups stay with mum and their litter mates until at least 8 weeks? Were the breeders pushing you to take them early or something?

Graces7

Vel wrote: »

Slightly off topic but that's three people now in this thread who have got their pup at 7 weeks. Can I ask why, given that it is recommended that the pups stay with mum and their litter mates until at least 8 weeks? Were the breeders pushing you to take them early or something?

We've always insisted on 12 weeks. Would never take one earlier; same with cats/kittens.

morganafay

Vel wrote: »

Slightly off topic but that's three people now in this thread who have got their pup at 7 weeks. Can I ask why, given that it is recommended that the pups stay with mum and their litter mates until at least 8 weeks? Were the breeders pushing you to take them early or something?

The breeder wasn't pushing me to take the puppy early, but she had no problem selling the puppy at that age. I could have asked the breeder to keep her another week, but I thought she was healthy and eating well and would probably be fine leaving the mother at 7 weeks.

The breeder did say the mum was sick of them, and being a small dog she was quite skinny after feeding her pups. Not neglected or anything, just you know how mother animals get quite skinny.

I've gotten kittens at 6 weeks, and even at 4 or 5 weeks after the mother had died, and they always did fine, so I didn't really see a problem with it.

I know it'd be better to stay with the mum for at least 8 weeks, but I'm sure she'll be fine.

morganafay

Graces7 wrote: »

We've always insisted on 12 weeks. Would never take one earlier; same with cats/kittens.

I got one of my dogs at 12 weeks, but she had an awful time settling in. She missed her mother/family so much!

My other dogs I have gotten at 7 weeks or 8 or 9 or 10 weeks, have never had any problems settling in.

Maybe that was just coincidence though.

From kittens, I prefer to get them at 8 weeks or so, because I think it's easier for them to adjust. That's just me though. I found one kitten at about 12 weeks, and while he was perfectly tame, it was hard for him to get used to his new surroundings and dogs, etc.

I think 8 weeks is fine really, as long as the baby is healthy.

It's different for every animal. I had to take two of my baby rabbits away from the mother early because they were big and were bullying the others and the mother! About a week after that the mother started chasing all the babies away and wanted no more to do with them.

moving_home

Vel - we were kinda pushed/guilted into taking our little one at 7 weeks. Myself and boyfriend were supposed to be taking her at 8 weeks (which was the week I was moving down the country from dublin - himself was down for 7months at this stage) but the breeder rang and said the whole litter was gone by the time they were 7 weeks and could we take our little one the next day cos she was lonely without the rest of the litter...so although we weren't necessarily pushed into taking her by the breeder we were guilted into it

it didnt really suit us to take her as my OH was living alone and working all day so for her first week she was left for 4 hrs in the morning, he was home for lunch and then she was alone for 4hrs in the afternoon :mad: poor lil puppy. then i moved down and am basically with her all the time....so it wasn't an ideal start but she is thriving now.

first time dog owners and did not realise how much work was involved with a small puppy but wouldn't change her for the world :D am just grateful that i had the time to spend with her due to been home all day studying for exams.

Whispered

I think you'd be as well off getting her used to it now when the weather is nice. Just so long as she is contained and not able to get to eat stuff or even get lost (I have visions of you having a huge garden morganafay ). She'll be warm enough with the others and I'd say it'l be a good bonding experience for them too. I'd say maybe get up early tomorrow to have a peek at them and make sure she's ok.

On the subject of puppies leaving earlier than 8 weeks. I would be of the opinion that a good breeder would not allow a pup go that early.

lrushe

Whispered wrote: »

On the subject of puppies leaving earlier than 8 weeks. I would be of the opinion that a good breeder would not allow a pup go that early.

+1
Its not so much about the physical health of the pup but more the mental well being for the rest of its life. By age 5-6 weeks the mother stops doing most of the work and its time for the breeder to get their hands dirty, most less than great breeders can't be bothered with this part of the breeding process so will often try to ship the pups off early, usually with a sob story. In reality any breeder worth anything would be prepared and willing for the hard work so would never dream of releasing a pup before 8 weeks.

morganafay

Whispered wrote: »

I think you'd be as well off getting her used to it now when the weather is nice. Just so long as she is contained and not able to get to eat stuff or even get lost (I have visions of you having a huge garden morganafay ). She'll be warm enough with the others and I'd say it'l be a good bonding experience for them too. I'd say maybe get up early tomorrow to have a peek at them and make sure she's ok.

On the subject of puppies leaving earlier than 8 weeks. I would be of the opinion that a good breeder would not allow a pup go that early.

I don't have a huge garden but it's not really puppy safe! so she'll be in a run til it is! My dad is putting up a fence for the dogs and that's nearly finished. They were in a huge run before that, which he has taken down, and he's digging up the concrete that was there, so there's rubble everywhere, and tools and bits of wire, so not really puppy safe! But she has a temporary run which is big enough for them to be in, because I'm home most of the time to let them run around

I left her outside last night, and got up early to check on her and she was just fine, in the shed with the other dogs cuddled up. Though I did have a dream that my dad called me and said "something horrible has happened" and then I woke up and was worried about her! But she was fine.


I would have completely agreed that breeders shouldn't let puppies go til 8 weeks so it kinda put me off at first, but after meeting the breeder and seeing the dogs (only 2 breeding dogs and four pet dogs in great conditions and about a dozen stray cats she was feeding) and talking to her to see she had a genuine love of animals and great knowledge of dogs and the breed . . . I was really impressed by her.


Oh and we took her to the vet straight after getting her, because the breeder scanned her to show she was chipped but couldn't find the chip so she sent us to her vet to get another one put in, apaprently they can fall out! And the vet said she was ready to go to a new home, and that's a really good vet I've heard.

Jinxi

I read up about puppy development and it said that pups are learning dog social rules around 8-10 weeks so if pups are taken earlier from their mother they can be a bit unsocial with other dogs. However, if you have more dogs then I don't think its as much of a problem.

On the sleeeping outside thing, I would probably bring one or more of the other dogs in to sleep with the pup in the utility room for a few more weeks due to both the vaccinations not being complete and the risk of her chewing/swallowing something. This would also cement some bonds with your other dogs.

I also would be a bit worried that your puppy may not be a full member of the pack yet. She could over step her mark in the "den" and could be wounded by one of your other dogs(or cats!)

morganafay

Yep my dogs are definitely teaching her social doggy rules! Well the second youngest one isn't, she's just letting her pull her ears and jump on her.

But I'm 99% sure my dogs won't hurt her. I was scared at first, that they'd snap at her, but I'm now sure they won't. My dogs have been around newborn kittens since they were puppies and were soon taught no to hurt other animals. Now to teach the puppy not to bite the kittens!

The puppy has gotten a few scratches from one of the cats, but they were warning scratches. Her claws weren't out. She always does that to the other animals but never actually scratches them. I'm pretty sure she won't hurt her, if she's lucky, because she often will scratch the other dogs too when they annoy her. My dad gave out to the cat for scratching her but I told him to leave the cat, because the puppy had bitten the cat so it was teaching the puppy bite inhibition anyway!

I can't bring my other dogs in to the utility room because it's my parents' house and they would never allow it, and my dogs haven't been in in years and I brought them in a few months ago, but they didn't like it, and barked at the back door!

She's been outside a lot of today too, and is doing fine. There's nothing there for her to chew and eat anyway. I have to bring her in for a cuddle and her lunch in a minute actually

Graces7

lrushe wrote: »

+1
Its not so much about the physical health of the pup but more the mental well being for the rest of its life. By age 5-6 weeks the mother stops doing most of the work and its time for the breeder to get their hands dirty, most less than great breeders can't be bothered with this part of the breeding process so will often try to ship the pups off early, usually with a sob story. In reality any breeder worth anything would be prepared and willing for the hard work so would never dream of releasing a pup before 8 weeks.

Agree; our family who breed will not allow pups to go until 12 weeks; time to wean carefully and vaccinate and train also.

Hard work but vital.