If you are planning to get a puppy, or you just took the plunge and are wondering how to get a puppy to sleep through the night, first, we would like to say congratulations on your decision. Secondly, we understand all the challenges of puppy life because we have been there many times over.
No matter how many times you have taken the journey of being a puppy parent, you kind of forget just how much work it is. We don’t say this to discourage you, but maybe to help you reframe what to expect with a puppy. Think of this like a book: “What to expect when you are expecting.. a puppy” 😉
Sadly, a lot of people get puppies for the wrong reasons. A person might feel lonely, or bored, or needing a change in their life and think that getting a dog is a great idea. They might hope to add a dog to their life kind of like an accessory. They may think that the dog will bring them more joy, without considering what they might have to sacrifice in order to have a dog in their life.
The reality of this is reflected in the number of people who put dogs up for adoption, weeks or sometimes days after bringing the puppy home. With that being said, the things we recommend getting your puppy to sleep through the night fit into a holistic framework. Too often people look to remedy issues with quick fixes rather than to deal with the root of the problem. That is why first we are going to talk about managing your own expectations.
Manage Your Expectations
Something that we see a lot with dog owners is that their frustrations come from misaligned expectations. They will say things like “our old dog didn’t do X” or maybe they say something like “my neighbours dog sleeps all night why can’t mine? I don’t know what is wrong with my dog.” It is important to realize that puppies are like a force of nature. They have strong wills. When they are new to the world and new to your home, they don’t know what to expect, or what is expected of them.
Training your puppy to go potty outside, walk on a leash, or sleep through the night, takes time, consistency, and lots of patience. Your pup will test you to see if you are serious about your boundaries. You will have to be more consistent than your dog in whatever scenario you are trying to train them in.
Our Gus was part of a winter litter. He arrived home in the middle of January in Toronto, Canada. For those who haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Toronto at this time of year, it is VERY cold. Yet we were determined that we weren’t going to use pee pads or diapers. Gus was going to be potty trained come hell or high water.
We got into a routine of taking him out every 2 to 3 hours all day long, and he woke up on average about 2 times a night. This went on for weeks. If was really fun, (can you hear the sarcasm?) but eventually it was an investment that paid off. He has not had a single accident in the house since his first few weeks of being a member of the family.
Stimulation
When trying to change a dog’s behaviour you need to make sure that you are covering the basics before you start looking for “hacks” and “quick tips”. It is like trying to play a concerto but you haven’t practiced a single scale. So the first basic requirement is:
Physical Stimulation Through Exercise
You are probably rolling your eyes right now at such a mundane answer, but it always amazes us when we see how few people really take this prescription to heart. Maybe it is because we are living increasingly sedentary lifestyles ourselves that we have come to value our own exercise so little. Or maybe it is because getting your dog the right amount of exercise and stimulation it needs is hard work and it takes time out of our busy lifestyles.
But regardless of the reason, it cannot be overstated how much your puppy needs exercise for their overall well being. In our experience the old adage rings true that a good dog is a tired dog. But how much is the right amount of exercise?
As much as we all love one-size-fits-all answers, the amount of exercise your dog needs will largely depend on the breed, sex, and individual temperament. You will want to make sure that your puppy has lots of play breaks scheduled throughout the day.
Remember that your puppy is brand new to the world and naturally produces LOTS of energy so that it can play, learn, and get better acquainted with the world.
Mental Stimulation Through Exploring and Smelling
A study done on chess players found that they can burn up to 6000 calories during a day of tournament play! (Maybe it is time for less treadmill and more Chess) 😊 It gives you an idea of how much energy is burned during times of high mental demand.
Dogs have an infinitely greater amount of receptors in their nasal cavities. They process mountains of information through their sense of smell which requires energy. That is why it is important to not just take your dog for the same walk on the same block everyday. Or just let them out to the same backyard.
Just like humans they get bored of the same things over and over. They crave a challenge and a sense of purpose, also just like humans. Dogs burn a lot of energy through mental stimulation like chewing on a bone, or sniffing out a treat, So if you want your pup to sleep through the night and they aren’t living up to your hopes and dreams, start with looking at their activity levels. We know that wearing out a puppy is no easy task. It takes time, patience, and dedication.
Routine
If you want to make night time easier for both you and your fur baby then you want to establish a sense of routine. There are many different ways to implement a routine that is going to work for you and your dog.
Dogs are pack animals that crave order, hierarchy, and routine. It gives them a sense of safety and security when things are routine and orderly. You can help this process through things like:
keeping their bed in the same place
going to bed around the same time
and keeping a regular bed time for yourself as well.
If you do this correctly, over time your dog will begin to pick up early cues that it is time to settle down and go to bed. For example your dog might begin to frame things like this:
“it is dark outside, night time treat is over, we went outside to go potty, mom or dad is brushing their teeth…..therefore…… bedtime!”
But this doesn’t happen overnight. It requires consistency on your part. You don’t need to be perfect. But a routine that is mostly consistent will help your pup get up to speed on how things go at night time.
Food and Drink timing
This might seem like a no brainer but this is another factor that will determine whether or not your pup is going to sleep through the night or not. Our dog Gus doesn’t just like a treat at night, he demands an evening treat every evening. It is part of his routine. But when he was a pup we realized if certain treats were given too late at night, then he was more likely to drink later in the evening which resulted in more calls from nature in the middle of the night.
It is a good idea to observe your dog anytime you give them treats. Notice how likely they are to go to the water bowl after treat time and how much they drink. If you’re dog is working up a big thirst after treat time you may want to look at what you are giving them.
Highly processed dog treats will often have high levels of sodium and other trace elements which can make your dog more likely to need a drink afterwards. Certain treats you may only want to give earlier in the day or cut out more processed treats all together.
Products that can help
Ok so now that we have covered a lot of the basics to a better night’s sleep for your pup, there are some things that we found can help a dog make the transition into sleepy time.
When Gus was still a new puppy and we were in the “WTF?!” phase of puppy parenting, we went looking online for sleep aids for dogs. One of the things that we found worked very well for him was using a calming collar like this one. The collar is infused with lavender or other common aromatherapy smells. It may have been the calming scent of the collar, or it might have just been another cue in his nighttime routine, but we found it helped him make the transition to sleeping through the night much better.
Calming treats can be a good aid but they are no substitute for the things we have already covered like stimulation. You can’t neglect a puppy’s basic needs and then hope a quick calming treat is going to make them go to dream land. But used in conjunction with an overall healthy lifestyle can make a difference in your dog’s overall night time sleep quality.
Sound Machine
Although a dog’s hearing is much better and more accurate than ours is, white noise can still help. If you live in an area of high vehicle or foot traffic like we do, then sleeping can be a challenge at times. A white noise machine can do enough to mute small or far away sounds that might be just enough to wake your pup from slumber.
Cave Bed or Crate
If you read our article on “what is the purpose of a dog bed” we go deeper into the psychological benefits of creating a cave-like environment. We will spare the details here, but providing your pup with a cave bed or a crate will help them feel more snug and secure, and less likely to get up in the night. You can check out a full article here on 3 cave bed suggestions for your pup.
A good blankie
This one might not be for everyone but our Gus loves a good blankie. A blanket can help your dog in many ways. It can keep your dog warm at night obviously, but it can hold their smell which can help to associate their sleeping spot as theirs. It is also just one of the cutest things to see your pup cuddled up with their very own blanket. Gus’s has dinosaurs on it. 😊
Conclusion
Well, that is all for now. We know how overwhelming bringing home a puppy can be, especially if is your first time or if it has been a while. There is so much work to do in those first days and weeks. The patience, willpower, and determination it takes to train a dog can be in short supply if you aren’t getting a good night’s sleep. Hopefully after having read this article you will be equipped with a few more proverbial tricks up your sleeve.
Of course, we would be remiss not to mention one of the main components of helping a dog sleep through the night: a good dog bed! It just so happens that we are self-proclaimed dog bed experts. 😊 We have written about and reviewed dozens of different kinds of dog beds, but if you don’t know what kind to get you should check out our buying guide: Best Dog Beds on Amazon (2022). We go in depth to provide quick and easy info so that you can make a better buying decision for your dog. You can also check out the rest of our blog here. If you like this article please share or leave a comment below.