Tips to Help a Puppy Sleep Through the Night

Anyone who has ever owned a puppy probably knows the frustration of trying to sleep while it can't. Whether it's howling, whining or making a mess on the floor, your dog is uncomfortable, and that makes you uncomfortable. There are ways you can make your new friend a little happier in its new home.

  1. Toilet Training

    • Toilet training may seem irrelevant when it comes to bedtime, but that's when it's most important. Nighttime bathroom breaks should be treated differently from daytime breaks, when you act excited when the puppy goes outside. If you make a huge fuss of your puppy after doing its business outside at night, it will think it's time to play and won't understand why you refuse. Instead, quietly congratulate it on doing things properly outside and then come back inside and go to bed.

    Napping

    • Dogs nap. Although the habit is typically called cat-napping, dogs do it nearly as much as their cat friends. But imagine what would happen if you took a nap right before bed. You wouldn't sleep very well during the night. Keep that in mind if your puppy starts to doze in the evening before bed. To prevent your dog from sleeping before it should be, spend some time playing with it. However, let it wind down a little before bedtime or else it won't know when to stop playing.

    Environment

    • Your puppy is less likely to make too much noise if you let it sleep in the same room as you. You can keep your puppy in a crate in your bedroom at night. If you keep your dog in a crate, it is less likely to go to the bathroom because puppies will try not to use the bathroom where they sleep. However, do not keep your puppy in an upstairs room because the journey up and down the steps can damage its still-developing joints.

    Sound Machine

    • Some sounds will help your puppy sleep better at night. Certain sound machines are used to help people sleep and have the same effect on dogs. You may also try other less-specific approaches. Soft music may just be enough to lull the puppy to sleep or the sound of a steady fan. You can also play a CD of the same noises that a sound machine will produce such as white noise or natural sounds.