Sleep Training for Your New Puppy - written by Andrea Morris

You bring home a new puppy one day with the vivid perception of taking him for his first walk around the neighborhood the following morning. You give him an early dinner, take him out a little later for his evening pee, and then tuck him into the soft, well-padded pooch bed you paid a hefty price for. Then you snuggle off under the covers only to awake several times in the middle of the night to your puppys constant wails.

Dont be surprised or disturbed. Your puppy is a baby, and babies wake and cry through the night during their first few weeks. Being separated from his brood and brought into an entirely different surrounding aggravates his anxieties, so teaching your puppy to sleep soundly through the night is something you will have to work at so he will adopt good sleeping habits and leave you with peaceful rest each night. You should never allow your puppy to enslave you with his whims and tactics. Remember, puppies develop their behavior from how we respond to their actions. Basic to puppy training are common sense methods at establishing order regarding bedtime as it is with other areas such as housebreaking, barking, socializing and discipline.

It is imperative that all dog owners manage their puppys activity throughout the day to guarantee restful quality sleep during the night. This is the first and most important step to successful puppy sleep management. Puppies sleep a lot during the first stages of growth, but if you allow yours to sleep at most times of the day, he will be up and about during most of the night and will seek some play or attention when you are just about to call it a day.

Keep your puppy active throughout the day by allowing him lots of playtime, fun and exploration activities so he will look forward to restful sleep during the night. Managing food and water intake is also critical to a puppys sleep quality, so it is advisable to keep him off food and water for at least 3 hours prior to bedtime. Dont forget to take him out for his end of day potty break before putting him to bed.

Another vital tool to training your puppy to sleep through the night is to schedule middle of the night potty breaks and dutifully stick to them. Seven to nine week old puppies need to be taken out every 2 hours, while two to three month old puppies can settle with an additional hour in between. Beginning 14 weeks, potty breaks can stretch to every four hours. Be awake ahead of your puppy and take him out for his scheduled potty break. If your puppy has to awake you for this, they will learn that they can wake you to get what they want and this could graduate to other puppy wants beside simple potty breaks. Make your puppy understand that these middle of the night breaks are simply and exclusively for potty trips they are not for play, fun or exploration.

Proper training can lead to restful nights for both puppy and you. It simply takes a few weeks of habit formation and diligence which will pay off to a lifetime of peaceful coexistence and rewarding companionship between you and your puppy.