Bedtime!

Our 1st bedtime was important since it establishes our nightly rituals:

• I brought Puppy Red's new crate upstairs for him to sleep in.
  
• It was facing my side of the bed so he can see that I'm near.
• I also included 2 of his toys (one was his favorite froggy) to occupy and comfort him.
  
• I talked to Puppy Red and pet the cats while getting ready for bed.
• Typically the cats sleep at the foot of the bed with me. Tonight they didn't, but I expected it since there was something new in the bedroom. Whenever I woke up, I saw a cat quietly creeping towards the crate and inspecting it. They didn't disturb Puppy Red and just went to explore out of curiosity.
• Puppy Red woke up and cried a few times. This was to be expected since he just lost his family and was in a completely new home. I kept the lights off but started talking about random things (for example, the fun future he's going to have) in a calm voice and he would typically calm down and go to sleep.
• To simulate this in the daytime when leaving home, you can turn on a radio or TV so he can still hear voices.
• I took him out to go potty at midnight, 3am and 6am. It was hard getting up at these times, but he's young and doesn't have full bladder control yet, so it's important to take him outside.
• Whenever he went potty I gave him a lot of praise. However, I waited until he had just FINISHED going. If you give him praise while going, it may excite him to the point of not completing the job. Then he may finish going potty a few minutes later in the house.
  
• We will not always go potty so often. This is only for now while he is so young.