First Night Blues
Your adopted Chihuahua may or may not express any distress during her first night in your home. As an adult, she won't be missing her littermates or anguishing over the separation from her mom. If she's from the shelter, she certainly won't be shedding tears (figuratively speaking) over leaving the other shelter dogs. Even if she's been in a foster home, she may or may not have formed a strong enough bond with her foster mom to feel any separation anxiety.
What your new Chi is likely to feel is a bit of anxiety (again) from being in a strange new place. She may cry a bit or bark at being put in her crate (oh, the injustice of it all!). As she becomes acclimated to her new surroundings — and her crate — this reaction will quickly subside. To help her through the first few nights, here are a few pointers:
Use a crate at night.
Make sure the crate is warm and comfortable and away from any drafts.
Put the crate next to your bed, or sleep next to the crate on the floor so she can see you.
Ignore crying, yapping, and barking unless you recognize that this is a signal that your dog needs to relieve herself.
Do not comfort her when she's crying. (That's a reward, remember?)
Give her a busy toy that she can work on, like a Kong or other rubber toy stuffed with treats.
Consider spraying DAP or using an atomizer to help calm your Chi.
Rub Rescue Remedy on her gums or put a couple of drops in her water bowl.
Do not put your Chi in bed with you, as you might smoosh her or she could snap.
Toss her a little treat when you catch her being quiet.
Be patient; she'll catch on quickly.
An adult Chi should be able to sleep through the night in her crate. Keep in mind, however, that this holds true for a healthy, calm adult Chi. If your adopted Chihuahua was anxious during the day, drank copious amounts of water prior to bedtime, or if she isn't sleeping in her crate during the night but is up and very active, you can expect that she will need to relieve herself at least once if not twice during the night.
