Adopting a puppy is so exciting, but if you are not sure what you are getting yourself in to, then you might end up with sleep deprivation and more frustration than happiness.
During the puppy’s first few weeks, they might keep you up at night.
When you prepare yourself and equip yourself with the right skills, you would be able to get a peaceful night’s sleep, while also keeping your puppy happy.
Read on if you wish to learn how I got my puppy to stop keeping me up and how I was able to keep myself from becoming sleep deprived after adopting Iron…
Hello… Anna here. I adopted Iron, my Doberman when he was still a puppy.
This was a while ago, but I can still remember those first few sleepless nights right after I got him.
I became sleep deprived and found myself tired during the day, with an urgent need to catch a nap in order to get back to work.
Sleep deprivation is a serious problem. It does not only affect your performance at work and make driving risky, but it also increases your risk of many health ailments.
When you do not get enough sleep, you are at risk of both psychological and physiological complications.
Depression, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, obesity – I really didn’t want any of these problems to affect me personally.
Adopting a dog is almost like having a baby.
There will be nights where your dog is fussy, and there will be times when you become frustrating – you want to go to sleep, but your puppy wanted to play and refused to go to sleep.
If you leave him in a crate, he might even be waking up the entire house through barking and crying.
Discovering How To Get A Puppy To Sleep Through The Night
After adopting Iron, the first night was really tough.
I remember having prepared an entire week for a very important meeting that came up that next day.
I picked up Iron on a Sunday, which meant I wasn’t at work during the day and could spend some time with the new puppy.
Little did I know that he would be keeping me up all night. I had a special crate that I bought for Iron, as I was told that crate training should begin as soon as I adopted the puppy.
This would ensure he will know that pooping and peeing are things that he had to do on the outside of the house.
Even though I did play with the puppy a little during the day (I didn’t want to be too rough on him since he was still very small), he was still extremely energetic by the time I wanted to go to bed.
I placed him in his crate, hoping that he’d calm down when I put the lights off and go to sleep.
This did not work, however. The moment the lights were off, Iron started to bark. Then he started to cry.
After about an hour or so, I got frustrated and went to check up on him. He was excited to see me. I moved the crate into my room and tried again, yet he continued to distract me from sleep the entire night.
The next day at work, I was exceptionally tired. I also wasn’t ready to step into that meeting.
Luckily, one of my colleagues saw that I wasn’t on my A-game and decided to step in to help me out.
After the meeting, my colleague came to check up on me, and I told her the story.
She explained to me that I didn’t approach the situation correctly and that I had to follow some steps – do some research to find out how to get a puppy to sleep through the night.
Tips To Get Your Puppy To Sleep At Night
After some investigation and research, I discovered that there are many strategies that I could use to get Iron to sleep at night and to prevent him from keeping me awake.
I tried several of the strategies that I discovered. Some of them worked really well, while others did not really make any difference.
Making Iron’s crate a more comfortable environment was one of the best tips that I learned and implemented.
I added a soft blanket to his crate to make sure it is soft and comfy for him to lie down. I also added a chew toy for him, as this gave him something to do right after he went into the crate.
When Iron had something to chew on while he was in the crate, he stopped barking during the night, but rather started chewing when he didn’t want to sleep at night.
I also found that it is important to take him out at night before placing him in his crate.
This would ensure he can go potty outside before he has to sleep, preventing him from waking me up because he has to pee or poop.
Be sure to take out your puppy for a long enough period that allows them to do their business and try not to rush them.
It is also a good idea to keep the crate your puppy sleeps in close to your own bed.
I found that Iron cried much less during the night the moment he was close to me while I was sleeping.
This will ensure your puppy does not feel alone during the night, as he will know that you are close to him, making him more peaceful.
In addition to your puppy feeling closer to you, by keeping the crate close to your bed, you will also be able to notice when they wake up easier and attend to them faster.
Another very important tip that really helped me out is to ensure your puppy is physically active during the day.
Even later in the afternoon, you should play with your puppy.
This will make sure he uses all of his energy and will ensure he is tired when the time comes to put him in his crate.
Don’t be too hard on your puppy when it comes to activities, however. Keep his age in mind and introduce him to activities that are appropriate for a puppy of his age.
Make sure he uses up a lot of his energy though. The older your puppy gets, the more energy he will have.
Now, even though I recommend playing with your puppy later in the afternoon to make sure they get tired out, there is one very important rule to follow here – always be sure that bedtime is calming.
Avoid playing with your puppy when it is too close to bedtime. This will cause them to become energetic, which means they will not want to go to sleep when you put them in their crate.
Instead of playing, rather allow your puppy to lie on your lap while you watch some television.
This will ensure he becomes tired and calm, which is really something that you want when bedtime comes. When you place him into his crate in such a state, he will be more likely to go to sleep quickly and sleep through the night.
If he still has some energy left, the chew toy that you left for him will come in handy. He might chew on it for a couple of minutes before deciding that it is time to sleep.
Lastly, I also want to stress the fact that you should try and be patient when your puppy is still new to you.
He needs to get used to the new environment. You are a stranger to him.
Allow some time and be ready for a couple of restless nights.
Final Thoughts
When you adopt a puppy, everything is exciting until that very first night.
Many puppies have a hard time adjusting to their new home, as well as the fact that they are not with their mother anymore.
Nights quickly become longer, and you start to suffer from sleep deprivation.
Luckily, there is no need to suffer through the nights or become frustrated with your puppy.
There are a couple of methods that you can use to ensure your puppy goes to sleep.
If you are looking to find out how to get a puppy to sleep through the night, be sure to try some of the tips I have shared here – I tried them and can attest to the fact that they work.
There are many more things to consider with a new puppy after getting a puppy to sleep through the night.
To help you we have prepared a top 10 dog food article which should be a great starter in introducing your dog to your home by keeping them well fed and happy.
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