Sleeping Puppies: Help with Nightime Sleeplessness - Small ...

Full bladders are often a likely cause of nighttime stress. We know from behaviorists that dogs ... 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Ifyouareaparentofahumanchild,youprobably anticipatedthe2AMfeedings,butperhapsyouweren’tpreparedtodealwitha newcaninebabythatwakesyouupinthemiddleofthenight. Inthisarticle, we’lltalkaboutwaysyoucangetyourpuppytosleepandstayasleep throughoutthenight.  MySo-called"SleepingPuppy"HasHisDays&NightsMixed-Up Mostlikelyyournewpuppycan’tsleepthroughthenightforoneorallofthesereasons. 1.       Heis scaredorlonely 2.      Heisanxiousoroverlyexcitedabouthisnew environment 3.      Hehasafullbladderandneedstogo 4.      Heishungryorthirsty SleepingPuppiesAren'tScaredorLonely PhotobyKarenCardoza Whenyourpuppycomeshomeforthefirsttime,hemaybeexperiencing emotionsthatarenewtohim. Awayfrom momandhislitter-matesforthefirst time,nighttimeislikelyalonesome timeforhim. Heisusedtosleepingsnuggled uptoasiblingortwoforwarmandcomfort.  Evenmanyadultdogsliketosnuggleclosetoawarmbody. Ifyouarecratetraining,thecratemayseemscaryor uncomfortable. TooExcitedtoSleep Theeventsofthedaymaystilllingerwithhim. Ifthisishisfirstnightinthenewhome, hemaybescared,anxiousoroverlyexcitedmakingitdifficultforanyoneto fallasleep,especiallyayoungpup. SleepingPuppiesDon'tHaveFullBladders Afullbladderislikelytowakehimupandifheis confinedtoacratewithnowheretogo,hewillgetdistressedvery quickly.  SleepingPuppiesAren'tHungry Hemayalsobehungry. Manynewpuppiesdonoteattheirfirstfewdaysverymuchinanew environmentorperhapshehaseatenbuthisstomachistellinghimheshould eatagain. GetYourPuppytoSleep Howdowedealwiththeseemotionsandphysicalcausesof sleeplessnesswithoutturningnighttimearousalintoachronicproblem? First,let’sdealwiththeemotions: fear,lonelinessandanxiety. BeforethePuppyArrives AsktheBreeder StartcratetrainingProvideasmallMamascentedblanket Eventhemostindependentmindedbreedsaregoingtoshow signsoflonelinessaspuppiesunless theyhavebeenconditionedbythebreedertosleepalone. Itisworthinquiringaboutthispossibility ifyouarestillintheprocessofwaitingforyournewpuppytocome home.  Somebreedersarewillingtocratetrainforyouor,atleast, separatethelitterinsomeway, eitherbycratesorevenlaundrybaskets.  Onebreeder,Iknowpurchasedsix laundrybasketsandmadebedsineach.  Shethenputeachpuppytobedinaseparatebasket. Someofthemore adventuresomeandstrongpuppieswereabletoescape,buttheunderlying conceptmadesense.Ifyouarereadingthisbeforethepuppyarrives,askthe breederiftheywillbegintocratetime.Ifpossible,askthebreedertogiveyoua blanketthathasthosefamiliar“mamaandsibling”scentsimprintedonit. Ifnot,prepareforthenewarrivalby gettingacrate,asoftdogbed,andasmallblanket. Whileyou’reatit,considerasmallstuffed toy.  AfterthePuppyArrives Ifyoualreadyhavethepuppyhomewithyou,consider bringinghiscrateintoyourbedroomandputtingitnearyourbed. Youcanevenplaceitonachairorlowtable sothecrateisonthesamelevelasthebed.  Thatwaythepuppycanseeyou,hearyouandyoucanreachouttotouch thepuppywhileheisinthecrate.  AccordingtoRebeccaSetler, trainerandauthorPuppySleepTraining,evenafewnightsclosetoyoumakea lotofdifferenceforfuturenighttime bliss. “Evenafewnightsof sleepingwithyourpuppywillgivehimthecomfortandconfidencetomore easilysleepthroughthenightonhis own,soIstronglyrecommendit!” Ifyoudonotwanttodothis,theotheroptionistomake upabedforyourselfwhereyouwantthecratetobe. Theideaistobeclosetothepuppyforthe firstfewnights. Speakingofcrates,theyneedtobecomfortabletothenew puppy. Somepuppieslovetosleeponorunderablanket. Youcanaccomplishthisnaturaldesiretosupporttheirneed totouch,bypurchasingadogbedthathassoftraisedsidesandplaceit insidethecrate.                           + Youcanaccomplishthisnaturaldesiretosupporttheirneed totouch,bypurchasingadogbedthathassoftraisedsidesandplaceit insidethecrate. Ifyouhavealreadyboughtacrate withaflatpad,linetheedgeswithrolleduptowelstocreateabumperof sorts. Addthesoftstuffedtoytoserve asapilloworsurrogatesibling. If yourdogseemstolikeblankets,throwoneintoo.  Comfortisthekeybutatthesametime,youdonotwanttooverheat.  Apuppythatistoohotortoocoldwon’tsleepwell. WhenNatureCallsFullbladdersareoftenalikelycauseofnighttime stress. Weknowfrombehavioriststhat dogsdonotliketoeliminateintheirbeds.  Sothelogicalthingtodoistocry,whine,bark,howlorvocalizein somewaytogetaperson’sattention.  Shouldyouignorethis?  Thesimpleanswerisno.  Youdonotwanttointerferewithyourgoodattemptsat housebreaking. Ifyouallowthepuppyto urinateordefecateinthecrate,thewholemethodofcratingcanbethrownoutthedoor.  Whatyoudon’twanttodoiscreateasituationwheretaking thepuppyouttodohisbusinesssignalstohimthatitisalsotimetoplay.You canaccomplishthisinaquickwayifyougetpreparedaheadoftime. Getaflashlighttoplacebyyourbed,yourshoesandacoat ifneeded.  Ifhecries,takehimout.  Usetheflashlightinsteadofturningonthelights. Whenyouare outsidewhereyouwanthimto go,usethewordsthatyouhavedecidedtouseforhousebreaking(“do yourbusiness,hurryup,gopee,gopoop”). Youcanpraisehimwith “GoodDog,”butdo notmakeabigdealoutofitasyou mightduringtheday. Thisisnotthe timefortreatseither.  Pickhimupandput himbackinthecrate. Tellhimtogoto sleep. Thenyoulaydownandgotobedtoo.  Puppiesareveryawareofbodylanguagesotheywilllearnfromyouand mimicyouractions. Mostpuppiesbythetimetheyare8to12weekshave developedtheirnightvisionandcanseewellinthedark. Youcanaddanightlightthoughsoyoucan observehimandtherewon’tbeanyquestionifhecanseeyou. BedtimeRitualsthatWork Someifnotmostofthemiddleofnightawakeningcanbe reducedand/oreliminatedbysomesuggestionstobecarriedoutduringthe day. Sincealldogsaredifferent,itisimportanttoexperimentand findtheroutineandtimingsthatwork thebestwithyourpuppy. Atiredpuppywillsleep Ihatetomentionsomethingsoobvious,butmanypeopledo notconsiderthis. Ifyouworkallday andthepuppyishomeconfinedtoasmallroom,penorcrate(hopefullynotin acrateallday),theyaren’tgettingmuchexercise.  HowMuchSleepDoPuppiesNeed? Thesetwosleepingpuppieshavenoproblemsfallingandstayingasleep. Theaverage8-weekoldpuppysleepsonaverageof14to20 hoursperdaybutmostofthesleeptimeare dividedthroughoutthe24-hourperiod.  Theymaysleepforanhourortwothenplayforanhour,eat,eliminate, playsomemoreandthensleepagain. Astheygetolder, theysleepless. Considerthisgood news. Ifyoucandirecthissleep patternsearlyon,theneventuallymostofhissleepneedswillbemetatnight whenyouwanttosleep. Iftheyaresleepingmostoftheday,theywon’tsleepat night. Themoreexerciseandactiveplay theygetthroughouttheday,thebettertheywillsleepatnight.Thetrickis topushasmuchofthedaytimesleepto theweehoursoftheevening. Ifatallpossible,trytokeeptrackofhowmuchtimethe puppyissleeping. Youmightbe surprised.  Considerthisscenario Anewpuppyownergetshomefromworkat6PM. Puppygoesouttodohisbusinessthenownerand puppyplayforawhile. Soonitistime fordinner. Theyeatandthentheowner willtakethepuppyforawalk. Bynow itisabout8PMandownersettledownto watchalittleTV. Puppycuddlesupand sleeps.  At11PM,theownergoesto bed,sohetakesthepuppyoutonelast timeandthenputshiminhiscrate.  Soundlikeasensibleroutinethat agoodpuppyownerisestablishing?  YesandNo.   WhiletheownerwatchesTV,thedogsleeps. Whentheowner isreadytosleep,thepuppyisreadytoawaken.  IsTwoPuppiesBetterthanOne? Twopuppiesmightsolvethenighttimeproblem,butthey alsoaddtootherproblems,sothebestadvicetoyouistogetonepuppyata time. Bethepuppy’splaymateuntilthey getalittleolderthenconsideranotherdog,ifyouhaveyourheartsetona twodoghousehold. IsFoodandWatertheProblem? Foodandwaterare oftenanissue. Whenisthebesttime fordinner? Thereisnoeasyanswerfor this. Obviouslytheearlier,thebetter. Yourschedule,however,mayinterfere. Watercanberemovedearlyintheeveningtoo butifyouliketogivehimabiscuitbeforebed,he’slikelytobethirstyso anothersmalldrinkmaybeokay. Justdon’tallowhimtodrinkanentirebowl ofwater.  Abiscuitbeforebedmaynotbeabadthing,especiallyif youhavefeedthepuppyat5PMandwanttogotosleepat11PM. Thatisalongintervalbetweeneatingsoasmall cookiemightkeeptheirlittlestomachfullandallowthemtorest.  If yourpuppylikeshardbiscuits,byallmeansgivehimoneortwoat bedtime. (Alternately,youcouldthrow inacouplepiecesofdrykibbleoratinydigestiblebonesuchasa Greenie.)  Youmayhavealreadystartedusingtheseastreatstoentice himtogointohiscrate. Rememberto reducethewaterintake,butnotsomuchthatthepuppyiswakingbecauseheisthirsty. Willthisbetheroutinethroughouthislife? Absolutelynot. Ifitdoesbecomechronic,considerseeking helpfromaspecialist. Allpuppiesare different. Somesleepthroughthenight ontheveryfirstdayintheirnewhome.  Otherstakeaweekortwotoadjust.  Expectafewsleeplessnightsatfirstbutonemorningyouwillwakeup andrealizethatyoudidn’ttakethatmiddleofthenightwalk. Youmaynotbehomefreeatthisstage,but you’llbeveryclose. Takeaway Eliminatefearsandlonelinessbyplacingthe cratenearyourbedormakeabednearhiscrateMaketheinsideofthecrateascozyaspossible byaddingadogbed,blanketandsofttoy.Feedearly,removewaterearlyintheevening.Giveasmallbiscuitortworightbeforebedtime tocurbhungerpainsinthemiddleofthenight. Play,exercise,keeppuppyactiveasmuchas possibleduringthedayandthroughouttheevening.Takehimoutifheneedstogobutdon’tturnit intoaplaysession. ReferenceandFurtherReading Setler,Rebecca (2013-05-11).PuppySleepTraining-TheExhaustedPuppyOwner'sNighttime SurvivalGuide DoesThisArticleDeserveYourThumbsUp? Wealwaysappreciateyoursupportandencouragement. Yourthumbsupmeanssomuchtous. Pleaselikethisarticle. IfyoufindthispageoranypageonSmallDogPlaceHelpful,orUsefulinanyway,I'dloveitifyouwouldclickthesmallheartfoundonthebottomrightofeachpage.Youcanalsoshareorbookmarkthispage--justclickonthe: FreeMonthlyNewsletter SignUpforOurFreeNewsletterandgetourFreeGifttoYou.my E-book,TheTop10MistakesPeopleMakeWhenChoosingaDog(andhowtoavoidthem) Email Iamatleast16yearsofage. Ihavereadandaccepttheprivacypolicy. Iunderstandthatyouwillusemyinformationtosendmeanewsletter. Subscribe FTCDisclosure Insomeofthearticlesonthissite,Imakerecommendationsonproductsthathavebeenhelpfultome.Ifyoubuysomethingthrougha link,Ireceiveasmallcommissionwithnoadditionalcosttoyou. Thankyouforhelpsupportingthissite. Itismuchappreciated. 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