Puppies are newborn dog babies and are expected to wake up many times during the night, much like a human baby. However, there are times when the puppies fail to sleep even a bit. This calls for the puppy owner to train the puppy on how to sleep. How can one train the puppy to sleep well during the night? The first thing should be to understand the reasons why puppies wake up more often during the night.
Puppies usually have very small bladders which make them need to regularly empty them. Between the age of nine and fourteen weeks, the puppy needs to empty their bladder at the intervals of every two hours. The frequency of emptying the bladder will, however, decrease as they grow. A human baby is usually diapered to help it be able to sleep well through toilet needs, but this is not possible with the puppies. One requires scheduling and making plans on how they will regularly wake up during the night when there are puppies in the house.
Luckily, it is possible to train the puppies on how to sleep during the night. After several weeks of training, the efforts pay-off and one is able to enjoy sleep during their night even with the new puppies. One of the principals that should be followed when training a puppy on how to sleep is to make sure that outings in the middle of the night are routine. One should then adequately prepare their bedding. When taking puppies out on a walk during the day, one combines play with breaks for the potty. One should however avoid this routine during the night. If you make the outings in the middle of the night fun, the puppy will wake up with anticipation for play. As the puppy grows, the outings are stretched with increments of fifteen minutes until they are completely eliminated.
The other key element when training the puppy to be able to sleep during the night should be ensuring that the puppy spends the evening in tiring activities. This ensures that the puppy gets worn out and will sleep soundly during the night. This can be achieved by ensuring the puppy engages in rigorous activities like playing with toys, wrestling, long walks, and endurance games like fetch. When it seems bored, switch the activities. Invite a friend to allow the puppy to have a new playmate. The high excitement should be maintained just a few minutes before going to sleep. One will eventually note that the puppy seeks the bed by its own.
The process of training the puppy on how to sleep usually takes place for several weeks. This will call for patience on the side of the trainer. It is not expected for the puppy to stop the need for breaks for potty and one should be strict about having no playtime during the night. With time, the bladder gets stronger and is able to hold going to the bathroom for longer periods without interrupting sleep during the night.