When do puppies sleep through the night

While every puppy is different, generally speaking, your little one will more than likely be able to sleep through the night by anywhere between 15 to 19 weeks depending on a lot of factors. My maltipoo, Dawson, actually began sleeping through the night within his first week with me and began sleeping in the crate in a different room within a few weeks. The first time I introduced Dawson to his crate, he did not want to be in there. I spent a lot of time during this first weekend teaching him that the crate was a comfortable and safe place to rest.

Please read my full story about crate training him in this blog post. Young puppies have a lot of energy when they are awake, and evening hours can be active times. Dawson was no exception. When he was active, I played with him incorporating thinking games into our time together.

About 30 minutes before I was going to go to bed. I began winding down. I took his water up about and hour and a half before bedtime; and he got no food after about pm. I had already been working on teaching him to sleep in his crate. Just before bedtime, I took him outside for a potty break and then brought him into my darkened room where I encouraged him to enter his crate and lay on his Snuggly Puppy Heartbeat dog stuffed animal.

Then I covered his crate. When he whimpered in the middle of the night, I very quietly took him outside to potty and then quietly brought him back to his crate and laid him back on his stuffed animal. He went right back to sleep. How to Crate Train Your Dog Are you thinking about crate training your puppy but aren't sure how to get started? Don't worry, we have you covered! Download the AKC create training e-book to get started. AKC Privacy Policy. Founded in , the not-for-profit AKC is the recognized and trusted expert in breed, health, and training information for all dogs.

Do not disturb or wake up your sleeping puppy — just let him or her rest. When your puppy is very young, he or she might want to go for a walk in the middle of the night. By 16 weeks or so, it should be easy for your puppy to sleep soundly through the night for about 6 to 10 hours.

Sleep is very important for the healthy development of your pup. It might take some getting used to for everyone in your new family, but in time, you will get the bedtime thing down easily. Here are some naptime tips: When your dog is tired, it needs to rest. Do not try to force your puppy to stay up when he or she is clearly ready to rest.

After nap time is a great time to practice the things you had been teaching your dog earlier in the day. Much like you, they are refreshed and ready to learn. Create a tender and soft bed for your pet. Encourage it to use it. Though, if your dog is sleeping somewhere else, do not wake them up to force them to this place.

Pups will take time to learn these things, but honestly, sleep is more important for them than being in a certain location. They know what is comfortable for them and will learn about the special place you made for them as they develop.

Let family members know not to wake Puppy when he is asleep. Although all that cuteness is hard to resist, think long term.

The sleep he receives as a puppy will help him develop into a happy, healthy adult dog. Make sure he gets plenty of exercise.

This means physical as well as mental stimulation. After the activity, know that your puppy will typically sleep anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. In the morning Take him outside for a potty break as soon as he wakes up, then feed him breakfast. Licking, chewing, and sniffing are part of what I call the "Calming Trifecta.

The repetitive nature of these things is self-soothing to your puppy much how activities like knitting are for us.

The snuffle mat I recommended above is a great way to work their nose indoors, or you can scatter their food in the grass of your yard for them to sniff out. Freeze your puppy's meal in their Toppl to make it last longer or use a licking mat smeared with a tiny bit of peanut butter or wet food for a good lick session. Spread a bit of your dog's wet food, peanut butter, pureed pumpkin, or low-fat greek yogurt on this mat to provide a soothing enrichment activity.

Take your puppy out for a bathroom break as late as possible — ideally, the last person to bed should also take your pup to their potty spot. This helps empty them out, decreasing the chance of them needing to go in the middle of the night. Keep this last potty break calm and boring. You don't want your sleepy puppy finding their second wind!

On this note, consider your puppy's evening meal time. You don't want to feed your puppy too late in the evening that they need to go 2 in the middle of the night.

However, if you feed them too early, they may be hungry at bedtime and that can make them restless. One way to prevent late-night hunger is to use food puzzles with small "snack-sized" portions of food as their pre-bedtime enrichment. When it comes to leaving water in your puppy's crate, I always recommend free access to water at all times. Water is a "primary resource" — meaning your puppy needs it to survive. And there are some medical conditions that require access to drinking water at all times.

But, if your puppy is waking up continually during the night because they need to urinate, speak with your veterinarian to first rule out medical reasons such as a urinary tract infection and then discuss with them whether restricting access to water before and during the night is a good choice for your puppy. Keeping a Puppy Potty Log can really help you determine your puppy's natural potty schedule, which can help you adjust feeding times to increase longer sleep time at night.

PRO TIP: It can be helpful to set an alarm for yourself during the night to wake up and take your puppy for a quick potty break. It's all about being proactive — with an alarm, your puppy won't wake up feeling like they're ready to burst and start whining or crying in their crate.

As they mature, your alarm can be set later and later as they can physically hold it longer. For more tips on potty training, check out "How to Potty Train a Puppy. The Snuggle Puppy is cute enough to warm your heart but, more importantly, it'll give your pup some much-needed comfort as they get settled into their new home.

The transition from sleeping in close proximity skin-to-skin The reviews and photos people have submitted for this product are absolutely heartwarming, you really should check them out. When I picked up my puppy Fozzie Bear from his breeder, I brought a Snuggle Puppy along and made sure his mom's and littermates' scents were on it before heading back home. I like to believe that he found having a familiar scent paired with the heartbeat sound and heat pack very comforting as he learned to sleep in his crate.

He certainly loved to cuddle with it, and even after he transitioned to sleeping outside of the crate once he was old enough, he still carried the Snuggle Puppy around to use as a pillow, as you can see in the inset photo. The Snuggle Puppy can last for years.