If you’re a novice, getting your puppy to sleep through the night will be almost impossible. These tiny furry creatures have a way making you get frustrated. If you’ve been reading my previous articles I explicitly stated how humans and dogs are alike.
Little babies just like puppies also have a way of disturbing their parents when they’re supposed to be sleeping.
Hello pet owner, are you having issues with your puppy not sleeping through the night ? Then this article is for you. Sit back and relax
How To Get A Puppy To Sleep Through The Night
How do I get my puppy to sleep through the night ? Many dog owners have been thrown into confusion and anger cos they’ve been having limited sleep. Their favorite pet is frustrating them , if you’re in their shoes , then you should read this .
• Comfortable Bedding
When taking a puppy through the process of crate training and solving issues like anxiety attack etc The importance of your puppy having a comfortable bedding can not be overemphasized. To get a puppy to sleep through the night fast, the bed has to be comfortable.
• Potty Breaks
An important part of the potty training and a very important way to get a puppy to sleep through the night is having potty breaks. Puppies due to their very small bladder have to pee frequently and since we all know a puppy can’t say “Please I need to pee “, it gets really uncomfortable and your puppy will have difficulty sleeping. To avoid this , you need to take your puppy on regular potty breaks.
• Exercise Before Bed
Like cats, dogs /puppies have some pent up energy they’ll like to release and it gets them really restless when they are meant to be fast asleep. To avoid this , ensure that you make your dog go through some amount of exercise just before it goes to bed. That’ll release any pent up energy , but don’t make the exercise too strenuous cos that might result in another issue on its own.
• Music
It’s no longer news that music is therapeutic in nature . When your puppy has difficulty sleeping , try playing a calm music .
• Chewing
For dogs , chewing helps them calm their nerves and there are certain chewing items you can give to your dog when it enters it’a crate and wants to sleep. For puppies having difficulty sleeping through the night due to panic or anxiety attack , your presence to calm them and something to chew can go a long way in getting them to calm down.
How can I train my puppy to sleep through the night?
Well would I really call it training per say? Well it still is. Some part of this training are psychological or should I say therapeutic while some are physical.
Physical trainings that help your puppy sleep through the night include, potty training
How long does it take until a puppy can sleep through the night?
The time before a puppy can sleep through the night successfully depends on a lot of factors , depending on how you train the dog and it’s nature or breed. From extensive research it takes around 10 – 16 weeks before your puppy can sleep through the night without disturbing you peace .
How can I make my puppy to sleep longer at night?
How do I get my puppy to sleep through the night without whining?
Puppies can be very stubborn. I understand.
They’ll sometimes start whining or barking in the middle of the ninja when you’re finally resting after a really long day .
You might decide to indulge it and find someway to block that noise but until you take action , your puppy will continue until it becomes an habit .
To avoid this , you need to;
• Be strict – Walk to your dog’s crate and give it a stern warning, don’t leave until the puppy becomes quiet
• Be soft- After your puppy goes quiet, you can then pull it out of the cage and cuddle it till it sleeps cos they really love positive reinforcements.
Should I ignore my puppy when it cries at night?
Please No!
Why do you want to ignore a puppy when it cries at night ? Do you know what could be wrong with it ? It could be going through pain , anxiety or panic attack or could even be under attack by another animal or human.
So when your puppy cries in the night , show up for it . Your presence alone reassures your puppy that everything will be alright.
Is it okay toI wake my puppy up to pee at night?
Personally I feel you should make your puppy pee before going to bed and ensure that it avoids drinking water several hours before bed time .
So should you wake your puppy to pee at night ?
Yes , potty training is one very important way to get a puppy to sleep through the night .
How do I get my dog to sleep without me ?
Often times we care so much for our dogs that we carry them everywhere we go and they sometimes sleep on the same bed with us. Although I wouldn’t really say it’s a bad thing but your dog sleeping with you all the time might mean you’re over pampering it… what happens when you’re away for a while.
To better train your dog to sleep alone you need to;
• Get it a very comfortable bedding and crate
• During the day , train your dog to go in and out of the crate and sometimes take a nap inside this crate .
• Keep the crate close to you, like by your bedside at night. It might take a while though, but since your dog is used to using a crate and the bedding is comfortable it’ll most likely start sleeping in the crate
• Take your time to choose the best time for your dog to sleep , it could be your own bed time to. Do this consistently and it becomes programmed into your dog
• Train your dog to understand simple commands.
• Do this over and over again and it becomes a part of it. Animals are creatures of habit .
Some Reasons Why Your Puppy Has Difficulty Sleeping
We’ve talked expressly on how to get your puppy to sleep through the night , it is also very important that we know the reason why your puppy has difficulty sleeping all through the night.
Some of the reasons include ;
• Panic/Anxiety
Panic or anxiety attacks are very common among puppies . The most common form is separation anxiety , puppies that are new in an environment and probably just left the arms of their mother have the tendency to be faced with separation anxiety . If your puppy has anxiety it won’t be able to sleep through the night .
• Confusion
Confusion? Puppies don’t really understand bladder control and sometimes don’t know when to pee. The small bladder they have makes them feel the need to pee more frequently than adult dog and it is even more prone in some particular dog breeds. It is up to you to teach your dog potty training.
• Disturbance
You want your puppy to sleep ? Please let the sleeping dog lie , don’t make noise.
• Fatigue
I stated earlier on this article that you should exercise your dog before it goes to bed yeah? It is also important that it isn’t too much. If your puppy is tired , it’ll have difficulty sleeping.
• Teething
Puppies are young dogs yeah? And just like little children they’re still growing yeah? The teething process ( process of growing teeth) can be very painful , this unbearable pain will make your puppy find it difficult to sleep. It’s up to you to provide emotional support to your dog.
• Illness
Your puppy unable to sleep through the night can also be as a result of an underlying Illness that you don’t know about . It’s up to you to monitor your dog and call your Vet if it gets serious .
• Discomfort
Even for humans , if you’re not comfortable while sleeping you’ll most likely have a sleepless night . Without comfortable bedding or any extreme weather condition, your puppy will have difficulty sleeping .
Conclusion
Well I believe you now have at least an idea on how to get a puppy to sleep through the night. It all requires patience and dedication and a lot of time you really don’t need to contact your Vet except you suspect an illness .
I wish you success as you train and your puppy to sleep through the night.
