Last night was Savannah's first night of not sleeping inside her crate. I had a feeling that because she couldn't really stretch out and get comfortable in that crate, maybe that was the reason for her sleepless nights this past week. I realize that the sounds of the trains and the coyotes added to her barking, but those sounds have been here since we brought Savannah home, so the medium-sized crate had to have something to do with the middle-of-the-night barking of this soon-to-be large-sized puppy.
When I first went upstairs last night, I made sure that Savannah saw me going up the back stairs. She is familiar with that sight, but has no idea what's up there. All she knows is that we disappear up the stairs and she can't see us. The back staircase from the kitchen has a 90-degree angle to it with a door on that landing, so she can't see us when we get past that threshold and go up to the second floor hallway. The front staircase has two small landings before it gets to the same second floor hallway so Savannah can't see us from the bottom of those steps either. She just has to learn to trust that when we go upstairs without her, we will indeed come back down the stairs.
I haven't encouraged Savannah to try walking up either staircase... neither one is carpeted and I think her paws will slip on the wood. Last thing we need is to have one or more of her legs hurt if she falls on those steps, either going up or coming back down. When we moved here, Gracie was an older dog already and she couldn't navigate those stairs so she slept in the kitchen for all of her nights here in this house. Not an easy thing for Gracie, and not easy for us either because we were used to having her in the bedroom with us every night.
Savannah only barked once or twice when I first went up to the bedroom last night. I came right back down, reassuring her that everything was okay, giving her one of the toys and telling her goodnight. All was fine (and quiet) until about 1:30 in the morning when a train went by in the next town and the coyotes started howling in our woods. I woke up quickly and got down the stairs just as quickly, letting Savannah know that everything was okay and she needed to be quiet and go back to sleep. Which she did, until four o'clock when the coyotes were howling again..... back downstairs I came to tell her that everything was still okay. I noticed that her water bowl was empty at that point, so I took her right outside into the grass. All she did was listen to the coyotes, pick up leaves, and look at the stars. Back into the house we came... I gave her the little monkey toy she likes, and I went upstairs.
Next thing I knew, it was seven o'clock and the sun was coming up.... I quickly changed from PJs to capris and down the stairs I came, and there was Savannah sound asleep in the middle of the kitchen floor which was filled with her toys. Nothing else in the kitchen and breakfast room had been touched or disturbed... Savannah had apparently woken up, played with her toys, drank her water and went back to sleep. Now if this isn't a great puppy...
I have already taken that crate and moved it into the TV room... there's a thick puppy pillow on top of the crate (courtesy of JAS's daughter L) and I covered the entire thing with one of the velvet blankets that I had bought for that crate. Our cat Sweet Pea likes to go inside the crate and now he also has a soft mattress on top of the crate if he wants a higher view. Savannah saw Sweet Pea inside her crate the other day and about all she did was walk up to the crate to retrieve her little blue monkey toy and she walked away as if handing over the keys to the crate to Sweet Pea. (Take it! It's yours!)
Savannah's safe place in this part of the house seems to be the breakfast room, and that's where I've put her big pillow bed... the one that's twice her size at the moment, but she will indeed grow into it by next year. Savannah goes in and out of that bed with her toys, and uses the raised edges of that bed to rest her chin. (This puppy does indeed like to have a pillow under her head as much as possible.)
Personally, I'm thrilled that Savannah doesn't need the crate anymore. I will keep it in the TV room for a while, and longer if Sweet Pea uses it a lot... which is why I took the time to cover it with the velvet throw and make sure both the inside and the top of the crate were comfy enough for one very spoiled cat.
I've already been into town and back this morning, leaving Savannah in the kitchen and the breakfast room, just as I did last night. Once again, I made sure she saw me leaving so there were no surprises for her. When I got back home, her toys were all over the kitchen floor again, but nothing that does not belong to that puppy was touched. And believe me... she did have choices: Halloween decorations, books on tables, pillows on chairs, and all sorts of kitchen knick-knacks that are within her reach. I've asked Savannah time and time again to act like a lady-puppy, not a hobo-puppy, and I truly think she understands every word I've told her.
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