Sleepy puppy

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

How much do your doodle puppies sleep? Yeti is almost 16 weeks old and he will only sleep if we put him in his kennel to do so. I've read posts claiming alls their puppies do is sleep and this is sooo the opposite of yeti. He seriously doesn't tire (or at least show that he is tired). The problem with this is, he gets kind of rough when he plays and at first I was attributing that to just wanting to play but now I'm wondering if it's over tiredness. Is there a schedule people use for dogs who are almost 4 months that works out well. My boyfriend and I work opposite shifts so he is not stuck in his kennel all day (only when we're eating and out and about and possibly if one of us takes the occasional nap). I'm thinking getting him back on a regular schedule might help!

[Cailey Carson]

My pup is 2 months old and I am a firm believer in having a set schedule. He goes in his kennel 2 times a day. Once at 11-1pm then again from 6-8. I always feed him after he gets out of the crate. Even if he barks I don't take him out. It has worked out well for me.

[Judith and Addie]

When my dog was a 4 month old puppy, a behaviorist I was speaking with about some over-excitement, possibly aggressive behavior asked me when/how long my pup slept. I looked at her blankly and she said that puppies, like babies, need a sleep schedule. Otherwise, they get too wound up from being over-tired and stressed. I started my pup on a nap schedule after that of twice a day for 2 hours, once in the morning and once in the late afternoon.

[Sue]

Same issues with Lexee at that age....Being overtired created a monster in my furbaby. I would put her in her pen and she would sleep almost immediately...It was sort of like - I can't miss all the fun with you guys....but once I established a nap time for her ( quiet time in her pen). her behavior changed dramatically....I think I was so worried that she would not sleep at night that I was tiring her out too much and did not allow her oppotunities to sleep....Give her some down time in a safe place or pen and his behavior will most likely change....Good luck and keep us posted.:)

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you!!! I've always felt bad about putting him in his kennel but now I'm having a change of heart! We'll see how these next couple of days go ☺️☺️ Thank you!!

[Sue]

How are you doing now with your puppy?? things getting better?? love to hear the progress as I so remember last summer with my new puppy!! :)

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you so much for checking in!!!! He is my first dog ever so the puppy experience has been completely new to me haha :) I like to think he is doing better! As he gets a little older (he will be 4 months on the 30th) he is able to calm him self down a little. We still see some aggressive barking / behavior but we've had some success with removing ourselves from the situation. Last night he could not stop nipping at us so I finally said no bite and got up on the bed where he could still see me but not get to me. He cried and cried for a good 5 minutes and when I finally came back down he came over to me and gave me lots of kisses. I'm no longer afraid to put him in his kennel. I used to think I was being a bad puppy mom but sometimes I think we both just need a little time out. Also if we don't engage him 24/7 I've found that he will either entertain himself with a toy or lay down close by! (Last night while I did the dishes he laid next to my feet the whole time). This is really nice because we can't be playing 24/7. All in all he is a really really good boy whom I love so so so much! He has been fighting a little stomach bug the last couple days but has remained his adorable self :)

[Lukai]

I had the same problem! Kai just hit 4 months last Saturday, and she is one energized pup! We are on similar schedules as my boyfriend works from 1pm-10pm so he is home with her until I get home. She does lounge around after she plays but won't go to sleep unless there are absolutely no distractions in the house (even then, she'll get up and wander around to see what she can get into) lol.

It was a bit worse when she was younger but she is slowly starting to get more calm each month as a puppy! Which is good, because now she is starting to learn how to cuddle and stay calm at times :) I think it's just a puppy thing. I do suggest to have some sort of schedule (feed, crate, play time, bathroom).

[Laura and Angus]

I agree with everything that's been said. Our pup, Angus, was a pacer. He would just pace around pace around and then we started to realize that he just couldn't settle himself. When that happened, he would get over-tired (we likened it to a toddler missing that key window before melting down) and just lose his mind. We started to implement a "calm down" strategy when we would notice this behavior - he would have a "time out" in the kitchen and eventually he learned to just lay down by himself in the kitchen. By about 10 months old or so he was learning to settle himself, which felt like a miracle. 

I totally agree with everyone that just like a toddler, puppies need a set schedule.