So you just got a new best friend: a puppy. You are looking forward to that new puppy smell, the loving puppy licks, and having a companion for life. But I know there’s that initial concern that all puppy owners have: how do I get my puppy to sleep through the night and not keep me awake for longer than I can manage?
If you’re wondering about those topics, then you’re in the right place. Believe me, I’ve had two puppies in my life and I am well aware of the pitfalls of getting a puppy to sleep through the night.
While there is no one right way for every single puppy, there are plenty of tips and tricks to apply to different dogs to get similar results.
My first puppy had a rough time (no pun intended!) sleeping through the night. My wife and I still make fun of the sounds he made all night the first night or so (I can’t even describe them, it sounded like an angry seagull crossed with a squeaky toy) before finally settling into a good routine.
My second one had a slightly rough first night or so, but after that she began sleeping through the night pretty consistently (though it’s still a tall order to get her to sleep in past about 6:00 am).
So when you approach the early stages of getting your new puppy, and as the sun goes down on your first night (and more) of puppyhood, keep in mind the following:
TIP #1: Your Puppy Might Not Sleep Through the Night Right Away (and It’s Not Your Fault!)
Let’s get this out of the way right now: you may try everything in your power and follow all the rules set out for how to get your puppy to sleep through the night (mine and others), and you may do everything “right” in order to accomplish this task. But no matter what you do, your puppy just might not want to sleep through the night right away.
And it’s not your fault.
Don’t blame yourself if your puppy doesn’t want to be a good sleeper right away. It’s in their nature! Some puppies just want to do what they want, and sometimes what they want to do is cry. But rest assured, your puppy will get there eventually.
You just have to realize that, while there may be a few sleepless nights at first, your puppy will eventually sleep in and be the best friend you want him to be. Don’t be hard on yourself, and – as best you can – don’t be hard on your puppy!
Breathe. Relax. It’s all going to be OK. You may not realize that in the short term, but you will later on. Just hang on, keep on keeping on, and soon enough you will get there.
With that being said, here are some more specific tips to use…
TIP #2: A Crate Can Be Used To Get The Puppy To Sleep Through The Night
There are many schools of thought about how to get your dog to sleep through the night, but no matter that is the #1 most important thing you can do is use something that will make the dog comfortable and get used to structure. The technique that has worked best for me, for both of my dogs when they were puppies, is crate training.
If you are not aware, crate training is the process of getting your dog accustomed to his or her crate as a safe space where (s)he can feel at home and comfortable. As noted by the Humane Society, crate training is a way to tap into your dog’s natural instincts as a “den animal,” and the den is where your dog naturally feels safe.
It is your dog’s home, the place to feel comfortable and reduce anxiety when (s)he is not with his/her pack (that’s you in this case). This is also why, for the most part, your dog won’t intentionally have accidents in the crate – you wouldn’t soil your own bed if you could help it, would you?
By sleeping in a crate, your puppy will begin to create a sense of normalcy and safety in his environment, and as such will begin to see the crate as his safe space, which will in turn reduce anxiety. When your puppy begins to feel less anxious, he will sleep better!
Crate training also has the additional benefit of helping your dog’s anxiety during the day, especially if you work outside the home and leave your puppy alone for a while. At first he might be sad that you’ve left, but as long as he is in his “den” then he will at least know that he is somewhere he can be happy.
This also helps while potty training – keeping your puppy in the crate periodically throughout the day and letting him out to exercise, play, and go outside to potty is a great way to maintain consistency.
The more time the puppy spends inside the crate (as long as it’s not all the time), the safer he will feel, and the sooner he will sleep through the night and help you both catch up on your Zzzz’s!
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: do not – I repeat, do not – use your dog’s crate as a punishment! If you use the crate as a form of punishment, your puppy will stop seeing it as a safe place, and having your puppy sleep somewhere he doesn’t feel safe will harm more than help!
TIP #3: Whatever You Do, Be Consistent
Obviously, some people are more comfortable with other methods of training to help your dog sleep through the night. Some people have found that their dogs are well-behaved enough to sleep in bed with them from day 1 (my wife’s first dog was like this and never had to sleep in a crate).
Some dogs really are just naturally well-behaved and can sleep in bed, or on the floor, and won’t cause any problems! Others, like my two puppies, needed that extra TLC to get them comfortable.
But the most important thing with training your puppy to sleep through the night is this: whatever you do, be consistent about it. If you don’t, your poor puppy will not know what to do early on and won’t get trained as easily.
So what I’m saying is this: while I swear by the crate training method, some people find other methods to work better. Whatever you decide to do, keep doing it. If your dog is going to stay in bed, make sure he stays in bed – if you alternate between your bed and the crate, he’ll get confused and won’t be able to sleep well through the night!
One of the things that helped us do with our 2nd puppy was to crate her with our other dog (the aforementioned angry seagull). As soon as we did that, and she discovered her safe space with her new best friend, she never woke us up in the middle of the night again.
In fact, since that time we have not crated them separately except when she had her spay surgery and needed to be in a separate location (and our other dog was more mad about it than she was!).
Conclusion
So in essence, here you go: no one strategy is perfect, and it will take some trial and error to figure out what works best to get your beloved new puppy to sleep through the night. You may need to try different things, but don’t do too many new things or your puppy will get confused.
Find something that works for you and the puppy and just keep doing it. It may be rough at first, but the more consistent you are, the quicker your dog will become comfortable with you, and the sooner you will have a new best friend.
Happy sleep training!!