Babysitting a puppy - advice?

As the title says, I'm babysitting a 2 month old puppy for my neighbour. Got her today, and have her until next weekend. Not sure of the breed, but looks like a very small Rat Terrier with perhaps a little beagle mixed in. Real nice quirky personality already. Just wish she didn't have to pee every hour or so! She makes these cute whining noises, at which point you have maybe 30 seconds to grab her and get her out the door. Otherwise, you have a little puddle to mop up. Luckily so far, all accidents have been on linoleum or tile, but I'm a little concerned about my bedroom wall-to-wall carpeting.

Question: would I be considered a horrible person if I left the puppy overnight in the kitchen with the door closed? I have made a "bed" for her out of a cut open box and laid a large soft cloth folded over several times in it. She seems to like it, and is already going there on her own for naps. She can easily get in and out by herself. So she would have a comfy bed to sleep in, food and water, a totally safe environment with no electrical cords to chew, and I'd have peace of mind. The window would be tilted open for fresh air (double hung and above the counter so she can't get out). I realise she probably will whine at first being left alone, but hopefully she would settle down after a while. But I'm really not sure. See, I'm a cat person and don't have much experience with puppies. Not to say I don't like dogs, just that they are higher maintenance than cats so Mom always said no. Don't have any pets at the moment, unless husbands count

Any opinions?

If you have an old fashion wind up alarm clock that "ticks". Place it close to the box so the puppy can hear it but not see it. The sound of the ticking will resemble the mothers heart beat and help calm the puppy and perhaps even help it to sleep longer. And keep a dim light on in the kitchen so the puppy is not in total darkness. Everything else your doing sounds perfect.

Thanks, guess I just needed some reassurance
Will look around for an old alarm clock - neat idea.

[SVXyGirl]

As a dog owner I know that it is perfectly fine to leave a puppy in the kitchen. You have made sure that it is "puppy-proof", so I am sure he or she will be alright. Just make sure that this puppy has something to chew on (like a bone or toy) otherwise it could find something like the furniture or worse to chew on. Needless to say, I have a coffee table and lounge chair which the dogs have chewed on.

I'm a wimp... I admit it. The puppy was fine in the kitchen for a few hours, but then I got woken up by not only the puppy whining very loudly but also another neighbour's young dog barking directly below my kitchen window. The dog plays very nicely with the puppy (closely supervised though, just in case) and I guess thought it was in distress. I didn't want the whole neighbourhood to get angry with me, so I finally gave in. Didn't take very long.

I ended up dozing the rest of the night on the couch watching CNN with the puppy cuddled on my shoulder next to my neck.

I didn't realize that puppies could snore THAT loudly!

[Ricochet]

don't eat it

Well, Kaya the puppy will be going home either today or tomorrow. I took a few pics to remember, and here's one I thought you might enjoy. Can't post all of them... this is a car site after all. But I figure I can get away with one.

I call this one "Puppy finds a new chew toy". That's Leo, the neighbour's dog who barked under my window the first night when the puppy was whining. They've become great buddies, and Leo lets the puppy do just about anything while he just occasionally pushes her away with his nose when she gets too rambunctious.

[94svxred]

Darn cute dog I might not let it go !! Vera what's the news on your car?

[mikecg]

Looks like a beagle

The owners got back yesterday and took Kaya away.
Darn, I really miss her


Looks like my trip to Canada will get delayed. Will call about my car on Monday for a status update and then let you know