The importance of a puppy’s retreat

A puppy will get tired easily. He needs his own private space or retreat where he can spread himself out and go to sleep.

It is good to encourage your puppy to go to his bed at different intervals in the day so he recognises you are happy for him to be there. At the same time he will realise he can retreat to his bed when he wants time on his own.

There are so many different dog beds, dog cages or dog kennels available for you to choose from for your puppy. However, he or she is probably small at the moment and you may want to consider a small soft dog bed or a dog cage, also called a dog crate, to help puppy train him.

Place one of your jumpers and a toy on the top of his dog bed to keep him feeling safe and comfortable as he recognises your body smell on the garment.

When he grows to adult size you may decide to change his bed to a hard basket. He will need a thick mattress or blanket for comfort.

There a wide variety of canvas and metal dog beds available for your pet and the canvas ones fold away, which is good if you travel away at weekends.

It is important to wash his bedding regularly to avoid any risk of attracting fleas.

Vivien Richardson