Keeping puppy up later, so he'll sleep through the night?

[Jess & Stewart]

Hi all!

Stew's doing really well, he sleeps A LOT, but I'm assuming that is just normal puppy stuff! He tends to sleep during the evening, 7-10 pm with periods of playfulness (usually crazy nipping & growling at my ankles-he seems to really like them, lol) then when I try to stick to our schedule of 11 pm bedtime, he's up & not tired. He'll go in his crate around then no problem, but I'm still getting up at night more often than not. Any way that I can keep him up longer in the evening, so he sleeps soundly at night?

I take him out & most times he pees, a few times he's pooped around 4 or 5 am, but those were days when he ate later. I'm wondering if he can hold it longer than usually, but doesn't because I take him out? I do try to wait for lulls in his whines & take him out when he's not whimpering, but sometimes I only get a minute or two between whimpers. Typically, it's just whimpers, not barking, but I thought I'd give him the benefit of the doubt that he has to go. I actually think I get nervous that they'll turn into barking & disturb my neighbors or that he really does need to go & if I ignore him, he'll go in his crate. He hasn't had any accidents in his crate at all though since I got him 2 weeks ago.

I'm hoping it'll be better once I'm back to work & NEED to stick to my schedule. It's been too easy to just stay up later or sleep later & not keep to our schedule.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

This is something I still haven't been able to figure out with Ragley. She also likes to snooze through the later evening hours and sometimes that provides a nice little surge of energy when I would like it to be bedtime. Recently she has had no issues with going to sleep when I do and sleeping through the night, but we definitely still have the occasional early morning whining. Sorry I don't have more advice except stay strong and hopefully he will eventually fall into the pattern you set for him! 

[Linda and Bailey]

Jess, I had this problem with Bailey when I first got her, she is now 5-1/2 months old, but she would want to sleep between 7-9 in the evenings and wouldn't want to settle down when I wanted to go to bed, so I would keep her up from 7-9 or so by sitting on the floor and rolling a ball and then I would sit her next to me and give her a bully stick. She would chew on that for awhile and it seemed to make her sleepy. She would usually go right to bed for me and sleep through the night. Those two hours of napping really wound her up but when I kept her up it worked really well!

[Jess & Stewart]

It's 1 am here & he just fell back asleep. I've been getting in the habit of falling asleep on the couch with him & woke up at 12 am, took him out he peed/popped, then went into the crate & fell asleep. Woke up & wouldn't stop biting me through the crate, I just got him to settle down again & fall asleep.

I just think this is way too late, I'll probably start putting him in when he's sleepy, before we fall asleep on the couch. I think he should be able to sleep through the night & I fear that I coddle him too much by getting up in the middle of the night. Maybe I need to go cold turkey & let him cry it out again until he learns the crate is ok.

[Tammy and Violet]

Do you have a seperate room to put him and the crate in ? cover the crate too ? That worked for  Violet ...she still sleeps in her crate in her own room. I think we both get better sleep....it does get easier !!.

[Adina P]

I wonder if you're over-thinking things.  This is how I felt with a human baby, but with a puppy, once that first week is over and they are more-or-less used to living with you, the crate, etc. I wouldn't worry whether puppy was completely ready for bed or if he was wide awake at 1am.  If he has no reason to poo/pee there is no problem with him being in his crate wide awake.  If it were me I'd put the crate in my room, put in ear plugs and sleep ;-)

Since with pups sleeping through the night is not an issue of stretching out feedings or needing feedings, but about potty needs, I think you can stretch those out over the course of this week little by little.  Set an alarm to wake you every 3 or 4 hours...and every day add 30 minutes until he can go the night.  Or something similar.  Seems that my dogs were 'early risers' when they were young, but as they matured they learned to sleep in. 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Ya know, I gotta agree here with Adina. I too, think your overthinking the whole issue. At this point, put him in his crate at whatever time you are going to bed and call it a night until you get up the next morning.
Pick up water at around 7ish, get him out before you go to bed. We did this with Enzo and she never peed or pooped on her crate. He has to learn time in his crate with you being at work, so this is a good learning lesson.
Enzo has always fallen asleep around 7... She sleeps until I wake her up at around 10 to 11...I get her out and then she's good until the morning.

[Jess & Stewart]

Thanks Adina-I do tend to overthink things! He whimpered last night at 3 am, but I just shh'ed him & he quieted down. He may have barked or whimpered longer but I was already back to sleep. Then we got up with my alarm at 6. I did my complete morning routine & took him out for a long walk in the snow, put him in his crate & "left" for work. I'm off today, but I went downstairs, folded laundry, when I left an hour later, he was FINALLY quiet. Barked like a banshee until then. I went out & ran errands until my normal lunch time 11:45. I came home, opened my front door to the bottom floor of my apt & heard him screaming. I came in, ignored him until he was quiet, he was quiet as soon as he saw me. Nothing in the crate, but he'd taken the blanket completely off & pushed his nylabones into the side without the divider. Once he peed, he laid right on my feet as I was making myself lunch & fell asleep! Now I'm going to walk him before I go back to "work".

This would be easier if I knew he was quiet in his crate!!

Tammy-the crate is in my bedroom on the wall beside my bed, he can see me sleeping, it's covered, except the front & he has a snuggle puppy & an old pillowcase/t shirt of mine & one of his nylabones. At least I know he'll just bark like mad but can't get hurt in the crate.