Grummsh

Exactly that what Echo Weaver wrote - its charcoal pit You need to cover up, pit kilns need to burn free - You need to shelter them from rain so it doesnt put the fire out but You need to have at least one block of free space directly above burning pit kiln

Imo its best to learn the game on the default settings. Things happen slower on 30 days and you dont get to experience things as fast so its a time investment for sure. You still have plenty of time to learn and experience the game on 9 days per month - its not all that hard to prepare for winter if youre scared about that. And also if youre a totaly new to the game with no previous knowlegde you will mess up probably (just a normal process - weve all been there!) and proabably at some point in your 1st world you might decide you wanna start anew with all the knowlege youve collected to get a better start - so on 9 days per month you can get to that point with less time invested into the 1st world.
just my opinion and i wish you the best of luck! And learn the game on you own pace and ENJOY! thats the best imo

Hmmm and i thought about one more thing - what about the shack you build? Maybe you covered the block you were suppose to spawn on with a wall of the shack so when you died and the game couldnt really put you there it reset the spawn point? Just thinking out loud here actually as i have no idea how it actually works coding wise

I believe taming wolves is on the road map but when it may come - who knows.
But alas you cannot tame them for now you can still try catching the wild wolf pups with a reed basket trap - put fresh meat as trap

To answer just scroll down full patchnotes and You can find:
Added behive kiln: Allows you to fire up to 27 full blocks worth of clay wares at once. Allows you to fire bricks in 4 different colors by adjusting the level of ventilation the kiln receives Added red clay deposits, and item. Red clay is now the most common clay deposit. Blue clay no longer spawns at higher altitudes. Fire clay is now only found below coal deposits or crafted from blue clay and flint. Added a huge amount of variety of bricks with different sizes, patterns and colors Peat piles and firewood piles can now be ignited like coal piles, which can now be used to fire the new beehive kiln Also:
Tweak: Added four sets of ruins-only brick

Check this:
and this: