# Sleeping through night?



## inphinyti (Feb 9, 2015)

Does anyone have any guidelines or remember when your puppies began sleeping through the night? We stop giving ours water around 7, and he sleeps around 9. he seems to need to wake up every 3 hours or so. He is 14 1/2 weeks old now.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Molly was definitely sleeping through the night at that age with maybe a couple of exceptions. Is your puppy peeing or pooping when she wakes up or just waking up and fussing? Make sure you make night time potty runs all business. Use dim lights and limit your talking when taking them out. Then return them immediately to their sleeping area. If they have recently pottied and are still fussing this is when you ignore them. Stick your fingers through the cage to comfort them. I used to make a shhh noise too.
If you are staying up past nine you can try taking the puppy out later, right before you go to bed. This gives you a couple more hours that they should be able to hold it before morning. Good luck and just remember not to give in to the puppy demands. They will learn your schedule and what you expect of them.


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## inphinyti (Feb 9, 2015)

he is all business when he goes out. it's never more than 2-3 mins, he does his thing, then right back in. i barely talk, he has a cover on his crate and he does go back to sleep after he goes. i have tried shushing him, but if he has to go, he wont quiet. i dont know what to do. if he doesnt quiet, i dont get sleep either. so it seems to be a lose lose situation. do you suggest i ignore him and eventually he'll quiet?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi slept at least 6-7 hours from the day we brought him home. I never withheld water either. I don't believe in it.

However, maybe your guy just has an immature bladder. They all mature at different rates.


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## inphinyti (Feb 9, 2015)

Ok. Thank you. He's a little one, so you may be right, he'll get better as his body grows and matures.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I think that as long as the puppy is not wetting his crate during the night, I would try to gradually try to increase the time between potty breaks during the night if you can. Also, have you ruled out UTI or discussed this with your vet?


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## inphinyti (Feb 9, 2015)

I can try to extend the time, but he usually gets worked up if he has to pee and i don't take him. There are a couple of times he had to do #2 so i didn't think to consider uti. I will call my vet and ask.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

inphinyti said:


> I can try to extend the time, but he usually gets worked up if he has to pee and i don't take him. There are a couple of times he had to do #2 so i didn't think to consider uti. I will call my vet and ask.


I suspect that if he didn't NEED to go, he wouldn't wake up. I'd hate to force him into having an accident in his crate. Does he have an indoor potty option? Could you set him up with his crate in an ex-pen, with his litter box/pee pad/whatever on the other end of the ex-pen? This is what we did with Kodi when he was younger. Even though he reliable slept 6-7 hours from the very beginning, I have RA, and need a LOT more rest than that. We just set it up so he didn't need us for early morning potty breaks!


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## Sassy's Mom (Feb 4, 2015)

Sassy was 4 1/2 months old when we got her and she slept through the night the first night. No crying or whimpering, we were really lucky.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I got Emmie at 10.5 weeks and she didn't sleep through the night for a few months. I would get out of bed to take her out of her crate and then outside to pee/poop; all with minimal interaction. I did not restrict her water in the evening because I believe proper hydration is crucial to good health. It was hard getting up in the middle of the night but overall it wasn't that long before she became potty trained and we slept uninterrupted. Good luck!


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## inphinyti (Feb 9, 2015)

Thanks for the feedback guys. I really appreciate it.


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## SJ1998 (Feb 4, 2013)

If he is going to the bathroom every time you take him out, I agree with the others, you cant ignore that, you have to take him out. But I would not say anything - not even a shush. Just take him outside, give him opportunity to do doggie biz and then back in for a couple of hours or however long. If he cries again after an interval of time take him out again, but again with zero interaction. He will eventually get it! The puppy time is pretty crazy but it doesnt last forever. My husband and I used to take turns every few days while the other wore ear plugs so that neither or us got too sleep deprived for too long.


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## inphinyti (Feb 9, 2015)

Thanks SJ. Its extra hard now because my husband is travelling for a couple weeks, and it's been pretty tough with the lack of sleep and then trying to make it through the day. I keep falling asleep during my meetings!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

inphinyti said:


> Thanks SJ. Its extra hard now because my husband is travelling for a couple weeks, and it's been pretty tough with the lack of sleep and then trying to make it through the day. I keep falling asleep during my meetings!


Yeah, even when people have read a lot, and THINK they are prepared, I think it's like having a human infant in the house&#8230; NO ONE is REALLY prepared!


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

My puppy has always slept with me. I never restricted water or anything and she would fall asleep right away. Whenever she would stir even slightly, I carried her downstairs to her indoor puppy pads. She would relieve herself immediately and then I carry her right back to bed. When she was very young, it would be 2 trips but now we only do one trip whenever I wake up and that is enough for her. She is all business as far as her potty trips, probably because I am tired as well and she senses that I am not in the mood for playtime. I am no expert on potty training and actually have more trouble during the day but for some reason, night time hasn't been too bad. Hope this helps.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

The only problem (well, one problem!) with sleeping with a not-yet-totally potty trained dog in the bed is that if they DO have an accident, not only is it a real PITA to clean up in the middle of the night, but it is just about impossible to get the smell out of a mattress, even using enzyme cleaners. It just goes too deep. You might very well get it out to the extent that YOU can't smell it, but dogs will be able to. That makes it a very inviting, "OK" place for the puppy (or a future dog) to pee again.

So, if you must sleep with your puppy, MAKE SURE that the entire mattress is covered with something COMPLETELY waterproof so that any accidents stay on the surface, where they can be dealt with.

Another problem with having a puppy on the bed while you are asleep is the possibility that they will roll off. That is a dangerously high fall for a puppy.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Emmie slept in her crate until she was 1.5-2 yrs old, then she would sleep a few hours on the bed and the rest of the night in her crate (her choice), and now at 3 yrs old she stays on the bed all night long.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi sleeps in the bed with me if Dave's not home… otherwise, he goes into his crate when we turn off the lights. :laugh:


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## Sassy's Mom (Feb 4, 2015)

Sassy sleeps in her crate (don't know for how long  ) some nights she goes right in with no problem other nights she decides it's time to play. She'll run under the bed, then she'll dart out and start doing loops around the cedar chest, under the bed etc.


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

Archer sleeps in his crate and he likes it- my boyfriend usually wakes up before me and lets him out. First thing he does is come to the bed to curl up with me. I've certainly entertained the idea of him sleeping there when the man is out of town, but I don't want to "spoil" him and make him not want to be in his crate at night! He is so good just the way he is right now... maybe when he is older I will think more seriously about this.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Naturelover said:


> Archer sleeps in his crate and he likes it- my boyfriend usually wakes up before me and lets him out. First thing he does is come to the bed to curl up with me. I've certainly entertained the idea of him sleeping there when the man is out of town, but I don't want to "spoil" him and make him not want to be in his crate at night! He is so good just the way he is right now... maybe when he is older I will think more seriously about this.


Kodi doesn't seem to have any trouble knowing that it's a special privilege when he gets to sleep with me, and not an "every night" occurrence. WE've even let him sleep in the bed with both of us a couple of times when he's been sick, and he's still been good about going to bed in his crate most nights. But he WAS quite a bit older than Archer when I first let him sleep in the bed&#8230; I think he was probably 2 something. So he had a good long "habit" formed of sleeping in his crate.


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