I need sleep...please help!
My problem is...my husband & I are not getting enough sleep. The first few weeks I expected to be awake every few hours. But now, Howie sleeps a solid 4 hours, then he is UP. The rare time we can take him outside, pee, and then back to the crate for another 1 to 2 hours sleep. What is normal for 13 - 15 week pups? If 4 hours is normal, I will learn to nap more during the day. I just find Howie can get a little grumpy (& me too) during the day, I think not enough sleep. He has 4 x 1 hour naps throughout the day, he goes to his bed. Early evening, we have a regular routine, go play at the park with other dogs, then home for a bit of food & water, and quiet time in the backyard, then into the crate around 10pm. Any suggestions? Tricks to help him sleep longer? I am desperate! Sleepy Peg & energized Howie. |
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| That sounds brutal! I am curious to know what do you do with him after the potty break? I would just put my pup back into his crate and go back to sleep. I didn't talk to him or let him loose. He was taken out and carried back -- not allowed to run around. If he was restless or whiny in the crate, I would cover the crate with a blanket. You could get some earplugs if you can't take it. My puppy would get bored and go back to sleep. If it was close to morning but I still needed a bit more sleep, I would put a stuffed kong in there with him until I was ready to get up. And now I have a dog that waits for me to wake up before he greets me in the morning. I think even longer naps during the day would be beneficial for him. A sleep-deprived puppy can be very grumpy and they need tons of sleep. |
| I agree. Ecco would go out to pee at about 4 or 5 and then right back to the crate. I knew she could hold it for a while, so if she started to whine before I was ready to get up the second time, I ignored it. She also had toys in the crate to entertain her, but she would usually just go right back to sleep until I woke. |
| We had 2 puppies at one time; and they somehow were often not on the same pee schedule. I think it was 6 months before I got a good nights sleep. I wish I had better news for you. I learned pretty early on to nap when they nap, and if they want to go out to pee during the night, its out, pee, and back in the crate. No playing, no horsing around, just like everyone says. Sometimes you can get back to sleep yourself that way within a pretty short period of time. Also; if he's showing dominance? Its never to early to start training, and mental activity at this age can be as tiring as physical activity. Teaching him to sit and stay and lie down and come when called can wear help to wear him out, while also establishing yourself as the dominant in the house! Win- Win! |
| Thank you for your suggestions. After taking Howie outside I will be quiet, put him in his crate with a couple of Kongs filled with treats and I will go back to bed. We will be strong...when he barks we will NOT respond. Oh this is going to be a challenge...he can bark for 10 mins straight or longer. Good thing it is warm here and we have the windows shut for the air conditioner, we would hate to wake the neighbours!! He is in a dark cool room with a blanket over his crate, sound comfy to me. Here's hoping to a peaceful night! peg |
 I am sorry Peg. As per my other message I am really late getting to this and LMAO. Damn they are so much fun at that age even though we drag our butts to make theirs happy. Hang in there. |
| Good morning...and I mean it! Howie slept from 9:30 pm to 6 am. I woke him up at 3:00 to go out to piddle, and put him back in the crate, turned off the baby monitor and slept. Howie was an angel this morning, just sweet and playful, no grumpy bear. I woke up at 3am and I thought, 'best get him out now before the birds start to chirp and he thinks it is morning'. It worked great because Howie was so dopey that I carried him outside and back into the crate. He whined for a bit but no barking. Thank you all for helping me be rested and alert! peg |
| Congrats on a good night's sleep. May this be the start of a trend! |
| peg yours sound like my dreamer he would bark in my face for everything.. the good news he grew out of it at about 6 months old ... |
Great news! That's wonderful! Good job!  |
| yeah! good for you. One of the tricks that I learned is that the later I feed Guinness the longer she slept in. Daina |
| Glad to know Dreamer grew out of his barking...I'm hoping for the same with Howie. If I am in the kitchen with him and he barks when I turn around I guess the look in my eyes says quiet, because he stops and lays down! Hmm, maybe I should set up a tv near his crate and at 3 am when he starts to bark I can glare at him and he will go back sleep until 8 am! Last night, Howie woke a few times though the night, very thirsty, it is very humid here right now. Anyway, thanks to everyone's advice, we gave him water and put him back to in his crate, he slept until 9:15! I was up at 8 and had several chores done. We keep Howie's crate in the spare bedroom in the basement, mainly because it is always cool and I can make it really dark. Where does everyone keep the crates? Just curious as to what folks prefer bedroom or somewhere else in the house? And why? peg |
| Mady has her crate in the corner of the "dining room" (we don't have a dining table and have never used it as such) right next to the patio doors. We never had that much trouble crating her at night. When she was a young puppy, she would settle down really quickly, the first 6-8 weeks or so, she would wake up between 3-4 a.m., I would come down and take her out in the backyard for a quick pee, then back in the crate until she woke up (for good!) at 6 a.m. However, about 6 weeks ago, she suddenly decided that no, she would NOT sleep in her crate downstairs when her people were upstairs. We crated her at a normal time, but she barked and whined for an hour. She had never done that before, even the first night she settled within 10 minutes. I took her out for a walk, checked her all over etc, but she refused to settle, she was fine, but she needed to be upstairs. So that was that, she no longer sleeps in her crate, she sleeps around our bed, in the hallway, or most often on the tiled floor of our shower room (separate room from the bathroom) where we keep a water dish for her. There has been no indication she sneaks downstairs, if we're upstairs, she's upstairs, and if we're downstairs, she's downstairs.  This has actually made it better for our sleep. Before, when she woke up at 6 a.m. in her crate, she would start barking softly, I would get up, get dressed, go down and take her out on a walk. Now every morning when she wakes up, she shuffles over to the side of my bed, and shoves her nose in my face. It's very sweet, but if I'm still tired, I just give her a hug and go back to sleep, she'll plonk herself on the floor next to me and wait. She never barks now. I've actually (gasp  ) slept past 7 a.m. on occasion now!She still gets crated, but only when she's alone in the house, i.e. when we're at work or elsewhere. She doesn't complain about being crated when we leave the house (of course, she'd prefer it if we never leave... but so would I...I miss her terribly at work  ) |
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