A puppy waking at night is one of the most common complaints from new puppy parents.
And if this is dealt with in the wrong way, you are going to have fallout on that. I’ll go into this further in just a moment.
For now, let’s concentrate on the routine.
You want your puppy to be tired. Just like when you put your child to bed.
As research progresses – looking into a dog’s brain and its workings – the less we worry about using human models as evidence towards helpful practices with dogs.
So having a bedtime routine for your puppy is going to make a world of difference.
In this blog post we’ll share a 3 step routine and why it’s key to help your puppy sleep better at night. But first, we need to understand why puppies don’t sleep well and how we can support them.
Why puppies don’t sleep well at night
The first few nights are going to be difficult for you and your puppy. Just like us, puppies don’t sleep well in new places.
Their sleep pattern differs greatly from ours. Puppies partake in active sleep, this is when we think they’re dreaming. They wake up in spontaneous arousal and have increased wakefulness as soon as they awake.
And they need to feel safe. There’s a difference between feeling safe and being safe.
You think they’re safe in their crate downstairs…
But, your puppy is experiencing so many new things; new people, a new place, a new bed, new sounds and smells. Being away from Mum and their siblings.
The first night with you is the first time they’ve slept alone. How would you feel?…Scared? What would you do?…Cry?
Unfortunately, many people still believe in letting a puppy ‘cry it out’.
In fact, this is counter intuitive. When your puppy wakes and tries to solve the puzzle…how do I get out of here?…how do I bring back those people? Their body releases dopamine and cortisol levels increase, giving them more energy.
We want to encourage rest.
In addition, simply behaviour explains, “the attitude of leaving your dog to cry could potentially set you up with bigger problems further down the line and actually cause problems with separation distress. This is why the first 7 days of owning a young pupster are the most crucial”.
How to support your puppy
You can help your puppy to feel safe by either placing your puppy’s crate next to your bed or by sleeping downstairs with them. Have the crate in reaching distance for the first few nights, so you can reassure your puppy.
Gradually increase the distance between you and your puppy until their crate is where you’d like it to be, or you are back in your own bed.
Your aim during the first week is for your puppy to sleep better in a new environment. You want them to feel comfortable and secure, whilst building a relationship.
3 step routine to help your puppy sleep better at night
- It should take around 30 minutes and you need to follow it strictly for the first 5 nights.
- Use a portion of your puppies dinner to complete this training, just before you are ready to go to sleep.
Here’s how it goes…
Step 1
- Start with a short training session for your puppy – such as Sit, Down or Hand Target.
- Learning is very tiring, but not too arousing.
- These simple exercises don’t require much movement, but they require a lot of brain power.
This should leave your pup exhausted!
Step 2
- Take your puppy outside in the garden on lead (you want to prevent any zooming about).
- Let them have a sniff around or create a little treat trail
- Ensure they go to the toilet
Step 3
- Take your puppy over to their sleeping area and settle them down with something appropriate to chew
- For the first 3 nights you are going to sleep next to your puppy. Gradually, increasing the distance and always working at your puppy’s pace.
I hope this article has helped you to understand why puppies don’t sleep well when you first bring them home, what you can do to support them and to set them up for restful nights with a 3 step routine.
And if you’d like to learn more of the knowledge and skills needed to care for and raise your puppy the right way, enter your details below to get your paws on my FREE Puppy Start Right Workshop.
Inside you’ll get over 1hour of expert puppy training advice broken down into short, easy to follow lessons so you can start implementing the right advice today! We will cover toilet and crate training, socialisation for a pre-vaccinated puppy, puppy essentials and much more!
I’d love to know if you plan on implementing the 3 step routine. Let me know in the comments below.
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Lindsay xx
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