How to Train a Puppy to Sleep Through the Night

Bringing a new puppy home is always an amazing, ecstatic new experience. Who doesn’t love that feeling after all? That amazing feeling of getting a new addition to your family – a furry, fluffy new being to love (of course we’d love to remind you that it’s important to adopt, don’t shop!). To be completely honest, as amazing as it is to get a new puppy, it does come with a million and one responsibilities. There are a ton of things to prepare, to purchase, and to ‘puppy proof’. And of course, the first few weeks (or even the first month or two) of having a puppy can really wreak havoc on your sleeping schedule. You will need to learn how to train a puppy to sleep through the night – that is for sure!

There are absolutely so many different things for you to learn and teach your puppy in his first few months of life. As a matter of fact, some of these things will set your pooch up for the rest of his life – and for the rest of the time you have your loving companion. But before you can even get to the point where you can train your puppy with their behavior, and before you can even begin teaching them any tricks… it’s important that you know how to train a puppy to sleep through the night. Trust us when we say that you’re going to want your pooch to learn this ASAP… because if you don’t, you’ll end up losing a ton of sleep!

Today, we’re here to help you with some tips and tricks for new puppy ownership! Are you ready? Cause we are!

Getting Your Puppy Acclimated to Their New Home

How to Train a Puppy to Sleep Through the Night

Bringing your puppy home is just as big a change for them as it is for you. Often, puppies are taken from their moms really young, which means that when you take them home it’s a whole new world for them – and they’ll be struggling to adjust without their mother or siblings around. Even bringing home a pup from the shelter can be a huge adjustment for them. Regardless of the circumstances of their adoption, it’s always important to find a way to help your new pooch get well adjusted to your home.

This is basically why it is so important to do your best to help your dog get acclimated to their new home. In fact, this is part and parcel of how to train a puppy to sleep through the night!

The first twenty four to forty eight hours since you have brought your new puppy home are crucial, as this is the time when they slowly acclimate and settle into their new home. It may be scary for them and can make them rather nervous, which is why it’s important to make sure you do what you can to help them out. Starting them out with some structure is a huge help. And of course, don’t forget to be patient.

Here are some things that you can do to help them adjust more easily.

Step 1: Prepare Their Area

The first thing you should do before you even bring home your puppy is make sure that they have their own crate. It should not be shared with another dog, so if you already have a dog you need to buy a second crate for your new pup. You can also choose to put beddings in the crate. Put the crate in an area that is more or less safe. Consider blocking off this area with the use of a playpen or a baby gate. Some supplies that you will also need are 2 dog dishes, one for food, and one for water. You may want to purchase a few toys, an adjustable collar, and a leash. A pet tag/ID is always good too. And of course, to help you to clean up after them, you may also want to get an anti-stain product/stain eliminator.

Step 2: Puppy Proof Your Home

The next thing that you can do is make sure that your home is essentially “puppy-proof”. You don’t have to do this for your whole home but ensure that your puppy is supervised and only allowed in the areas where you’ve made sure to prepare. Puppy-proof a few rooms by removing any breakable items. Put small (children’s) toys in places where the new puppy can’t get a hold of them, like in lidded bins. Make sure to hide power cords or tape these wires down so your beloved pooch can’t gnaw on them. Put potted plants in places your puppy can’t reach, because teething puppies love attacking plants.

Step 3: Start Them on House-Training Right Away

To make your own life easier, it’s best to start your new pup on house training right away. Find and designate a place where you are okay with them pooping, such as your yard or a spot in your home where you have laid down some training pads. Potty training is a whole different topic which we will touch on in another article entirely.

Step 4: Establish a Schedule and Introduce Them to Their Area

A schedule is important for structure, so establish one for feeding and for designated bathroom times. You must stick to this schedule! Feed the puppy 3-4x a day, lessening in frequency as they get older. Take your puppy out to do their business after every time that they eat. Young puppies should also be taken out and allowed to go use the toilet regularly – every hour for 2 month olds, hour and a half, at 10 weeks, 2 hours at 12, and so on. This is because their tiny bodies need the time to grow and establish not just bigger bladders, but also better bladder control. Once you’ve figured out all of the above, it’s time to learn how to train a puppy to sleep through the night.

How to Train a Puppy to Sleep Through the Night

How to Train a Puppy to Sleep Through the Night

The first couple of nights after bringing your new puppy home, chances are they won’t be sleeping well through the night. They will also have a hard time adjusting, which means that they may be crying or experiencing separation anxiety from their family. When this is the case, you will need to remember to be patient. There are many different things you can do to help your puppy sleep more soundly and comfortably but remember that none of it occurs overnight. As a result, you must remember that patience is key.

When thinking about how to train a puppy to sleep through the night, one thing we must remind you of is the fact that puppies still need to wake and go to the bathroom throughout the night. Their tiny bladders are small and underdeveloped which means puppies under 3-4mos old will need to be taken out to go to the bathroom at least once during the night. If your pooch is 8-10 weeks old, this may be twice or thrice. Thus, you cannot expect puppies this young to sleep through the entire night right away.

Nevertheless, this is an article about how to train a puppy to sleep through the night, so here are the things that you can do to make this possible!

Make Their Crate Really Comfortable

Crate training is an entirely different subject that deserves or even requires its own article. Please remember to read up on it to help you make these tips more effective. In any case, the importance of making a puppy’s crate comfortable is universally true. You want to make sure they have a blanket or perhaps even an old shirt of yours inside (an old shirt may help them with separation anxiety and feeling alone because it carries your scent). A stuffed animal can also be helpful.

Take Them Out to Potty Before Bedtime

Make sure that you do not feed or allow your puppy to drink water for an hour before bedtime at least. This will prevent any untimely potty accidents. Your puppy will need to be taken out to do their business before you tuck them in for the night as well, for the same reason. The best way to do this is to put your puppy in their crate (it’s best to put the crate in the bedroom with you as well, or nearby enough) one hour before your own bedtime. This allows them to get settled and to fall asleep. Right before you get into bed yourself, wake your pooch up and take them to go to the bathroom. You can put them right back in their crate right afterwards. Chances are they will be groggy enough to simply fall right back to sleep.

Allowing Potty Breaks During The Night

You have to wake your puppy up for a potty break anywhere from 3-6 hours after bedtime. We’ll write a whole different article about this for another time. However, we have to stress the absolute importance of making sure that you do not allow your puppy to soil their crate as much as possible. Allowing your new little doggo to go to the bathroom in their own crate will make your house-training experience so much worse and so much harder than it actually has to be. Allowing the puppy to go potty in their own crate breaks the concept of potty training. Also, their tendency to basically hold their bladders while in their crates is jeopardized if you begin allowing them to think that it’s okay to eliminate in their crate!­­ This does get in the way of how to train a puppy to sleep through the night, but thankfully it doesn’t last forever.

Do What You Can for Separation Anxiety

How to Train a Puppy to Sleep Through the Night

If your puppy is having some separation anxiety, then chances are they may be crying through the night, making it difficult for yourself to sleep. To help ease this problem, you can bring your pet’s crate into your bedroom, putting it close enough by to your bed to allow them to see you. As we mentioned above, using something like an old t-shirt with your scent on it can also be rather helpful in this matter. If you do not want to have your dog’s crate in your bedroom for long, or if you do not want them to get used to sleeping in there with you, you can take steps to slowly get them used to sleeping in a separate room.

For example, some people can move their puppy’s crate half a foot further away every night. If your dog’s crate starts right next to your bed, you can move it a few inches away the next night, and the next, and the next… until eventually you end up moving it outside of your door. You can put the crate outside the room with the door open so the puppy can still see you if they wish. As this happens you can continue moving the crate further and further away until it gets to a point where you have finally moved it to the spot where you actually want it to be permanently (such as your previously puppy-proofed spot!).

Separation anxiety can be difficult for you and your pup, but it does not have to be a nightmare to deal with. Some puppies experience separation anxiety more severely than others, so in those cases you may need additional research.

Conclusion

Congratulations on bringing your new puppy home – you’ve got a new family member to love, and one that will be loyal to you for the rest of their lives. Remember to love and care for them dearly, feed them properly, and train them behaviorally. Set your pooch up for a good, well-behaved life, and you will have many years of joy to come! We hope that this article on how to train a puppy to sleep through the night was helpful to you. We wish you the best of luck with the new dog that you’ve brought home to love and care for for the rest of their years!

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