Wondering why your puppy won’t sleep? Then welcome to the club.
Bringing home a new puppy is AWESOME. They’re fun, and they’re cute, and they’re ten shades of wonderful. But, boy, are you exhausted. Every night, it’s the same – barking, crying, whimpering, and not a wink of sleep for anyone.
Is having a puppy meant to be like this? Will you (or they) ever get a good night’s sleep again?
Common enough questions for a new puppy parent to ask, and, fortunately, ones with an easy enough answer – yes.
It might not be tonight. It might not even be tomorrow night. But pretty soon, you’ll have forgotten all about these endless, sleepless nights.
In the meantime, there’s plenty of ways you can encourage the process alone.
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Understanding Why Your Puppy Won’t Sleep
If your pup’s spending more time whining and crying than sleeping, you’re probably feeling too tired at this point to wonder why. You just want a solution, fast.
But think about it from their perspective for a second.
She or he has just gone through a massive upheaval. They’ve been taken from their mother and siblings, introduced to a load of new faces, been plopped down in a completely different environment, surrounded by new smells and new sights.
And on top of that, they’ve got someone with puffy eyes and a slightly demented expression begging them to sleep.
Well, obviously, that’s not going to happen.
Not when they’ve gone into sensory overload. Not when their little brain is ticking over at the rate of knots.
Usually, the first night is the worst. At that stage, even they probably don’t know what they want or why they’re crying.
But if it’s a few nights down the line and there’s still no sign of Rip Van Winkle, it’s worth asking a few questions about why.
Questions like…
Do they need a bathroom break?
Young puppies have bladders the size of peanuts. Basically, they need to pee a lot.
Even if you take them out just before bedtime, they might need to evacuate again a few hours later. If you wake up to a series of yowls, take them out into the yard.
As pups get easily distracted, wait 5 minutes before leading them back to the house.
Are they hungry?
Puppies are prone to getting ‘hangry’. They get hungry, they get irritable, and they feel no obligation to keep it to themselves.
As their needs vary almost by the day (growth sports – gotta love them, right?), what’s enough to keep them sated one day might not be enough the next.
Consider just how much food they’re getting and how close to bedtime their last meal of the day is.
Are they too young to be alone?
In an ideal world, puppies shouldn’t be separated from their mothers before they reach 8 weeks old. The earlier the separation happens, the harder your pup will find it to adjust to their new home or settle down into a good night’s sleep.
Are they lonely?
For the first few weeks of their life, pups will have their mother and littermates for company.
But then, wham! Some stranger comes along, rips them away from their family, and plonks them down in a completely new house.
Sure, the stranger seems nice enough, but they’ve got a shiny new face and a different voice, and why do they smell like that? And where did they say the toilet was again?
The first few days of being in a new home are confusing for a pup. They don’t know the rules, they don’t know where things are, and for the first time in their life, they haven’t got their family to ask.
Little wonder they’re too anxious and confused and lonely to sleep… and little wonder they spend half the night baying for their pack to come and rescue them.
Are they overtired?
Puppies are a bit like kids. When they get overtired, they get whingy, out-of-sorts, and really, really moody. And just like kids, they see no reason to keep their feelings to themselves.
Pups need sleep and lots of it.
If they’re too busy having fun in the day to nap, they’re going to be fractious, overtired, and way too wired to actually sleep by the time bedtime rolls around.
If play sessions are followed by anything other than a nice long nap. That’s your most likely explanation for those sleepless nights.
Can Crate Training Help Your Puppy Sleep?
There are plenty of ways you can help your puppy sleep through the night, crate training being one of them.
Some new pup owners hate the thought of crate training, seeing it as a form of punishment more than anything else. But in fact, most pups adapt very quickly to a crate.
Once they do, it can quickly become a refuge, a place of safety, and, most importantly of all, a place to sleep.
Crate training taps into your pup’s natural instinct to seek out a safe, enclosed place to sleep.
Once they learn to think of the crate as their own private sanctuary, it won’t be long before they start heading there whenever they feel naptime beckoning.
Each high activity play session during the day needs to be followed by a 2-3-hour nap. Having a quiet bed area where they can nap without interruptions or distractions is vital for young pups.
They might complain at first, but providing you’re consistent, they’ll soon start falling fast asleep in no time.
Schedule Potty Breaks
Puppies don’t gain control of their bladder muscles until they’re at least 4-6 months old. If you use the crate at night as well as during the day, remember to give your pup a potty break during the night.
Make it Comfy
Puppies like to be comfy. Line the crate with a comfortable dog bed that’s easy-to-wash and made from waterproof material. If you can find one that’s chew-proof as well, even better!
Accidents Happen
Crates can be a great complement to housetraining. Pups don’t like soiling where they sleep, so they are more likely to try and exercise control.
But remember – puppies don’t have full control of their muscles yet, and accidents are bound to happen. Limit the chances by making sure your pup has used the bathroom before going into the crate.
If they start whining during the night, take them out straight away so they can do their business.
Take Small Steps
Learning the difference between a dog that’s frustrated at being confined for the first time and one that’s genuinely upset is crucial.
A frustrated pup will be noisy in spurts, bark directly at you, dig around, play for a while, then start it up again.
They’re working towards a goal: they want you to let them out.
If you oblige, they’ll instantly forget their frustration and go back to being their merry little selves.
Caving into your dog’s frustrations puts them in the driving seat. So you need to do your best to resist.
Once they learn they can’t control your actions with unwanted behaviors, they’ll settle down.
An upset pup is different. They might pant, tremble, and even drool. If your pup reacts in this way, dial things back.
Reintroduce the crate to them in a very gradual, friendly way. Keep any confined periods or separations as brief as possible at first. As your dog starts to feel more comfortable, gradually lengthen the sessions.
Be Patient
Crates are an invaluable tool that can make light work of things like housetraining and teaching your pup to sleep through the night.
But while dogs will naturally feel safer and more inclined to nap in a dim, enclosed space. It can take some puppies a while to adjust to being confined, especially if they’re used to having the freedom of the whole house.
Your puppy’s not going to get the process down in a day. Be patient.
How to Get Your Puppy to Sleep at Night
Crate training can be a great tool to help your pup sleep through the night, but there’s plenty of other solutions to try as well.
A Bedtime Snack
A pup’s calorie needs are way bigger than their bellies. To keep up with their energy requirements, they need lots of small meals spaced throughout the day.
If their last meal is timed too prematurely, they might wake up with a rumbly tummy and a ravenous appetite.
Try giving them a small meal a couple of hours before they settle down for the night to waylay any mid-night hunger attacks.
Wear Them Out
If your pup goes to bed with energy to spare, the chances of them settling down to sleep are next to none. Make sure your pup receives enough mental and physical stimulation throughout the day to leave them good and pooped by the time bedtime comes around.
Calm Them Down
Puppies live in a perpetual state of excitement. At this stage in their life, everything is new, shiny, and 100% thrilling. Most of the time, that’s great. But not at night.
If your pup’s natural exuberance is making bedtime more challenging than it needs to be. It’s time to introduce some calm into their life.
Easier said than done, you might be thinking. But actually, this is one case where it isn’t. These 5 step-by-step calming exercises from the Online Dog Trainer, Doggy Dan, are simple to master and hugely effective.
Run through the exercises with your pup as part of their bedtime routine. It’ll calm them down and help them focus on the task to hand – sleeping!
Take a Toilet Break
Pups shouldn’t be expected to hold their bladders until they’re at least 4-6 months old. Even then, accidents are still going to happen. It’s not their fault, and they really aren’t doing it to spite you – it’s just biology.
Although you can’t always avoid the inevitable, taking them out right before bedtime will at least buy you a few hours of uninterrupted sleep time.
Invest in a Chew Toy
Chewing is an incredibly relaxing activity that can help put your pup in the right frame of mind for bed. Edible chews, biscuits, bones, or toys can all work… although you might want to avoid a toy with squeakers!
Stick to a Routine
Dogs like routine. They like to know what to expect and when to expect it. Keeping to the same routine each night will help them understand it’s bedtime.
Start winding down at the same time each night. Give them their final snack, enjoy a few final minutes of playtime (although try to avoid anything overly strenuous that’s going to ramp them up).
Then let them out to go to the toilet.
If they’re still in an excited mood, try dialing it down a notch by running through the 5 step-by-step calming exercises.
Dim the lights, prepare their bed, and put on relaxing music.
Avoid doing anything that could disturb them or make them think something exciting is about to happen. If there are lots of things going on, they’re not going to want to risk missing out on the fun by going to sleep.
Remember – the more consistent you are, the sooner they’ll understand when it’s bedtime.
Final Thoughts
Welcoming a new pup into the house is like opening your doors to a baby. There’s going to the lots of tantrums, lots of poop, and one heck of a lot of sleepless nights.
Try not to worry about it too much.
It’s not unusual for a pup to struggle with bedtime, and by and large, the phase will pass naturally enough in time. But there’s plenty you can do to move things along in the meantime. As with all thing’s puppy related, the key is consistency, patience, and proactivity.
Keep going – it might seem hard work now, but the results are worth it.
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