Mixed up days/nights?

[renae]

Murphy (14 weeks) sleeps so much during the day. I often try to coax him out of sleeping - try to engage him in play or walks - which works for only short amounts of time. The problem is that he still wakes up every night around 2:00/2:30 then barks and barks and whines when we put him back in his crate - like he is ready to stay up! We ignore him and eventually (last night it took 20 minutes) he goes to sleep. But then he is up by 5:30 and ready to go. I'm probably comparing him to a baby a bit too much but is it possible that he has his days/nights confused? I'm home all day and making noise, etc so it's not like he is in an empty quiet house all day.

[BetteB]

He probably has a bit of a reversal in his schedule, like you suggested. I think you are doing the right thing to ignore him at night. Continue to try to get him to play during the day, as much as possible. He will get into the right schedule, but it may take quite a bit of patience and persistence on your part. Once he realizes that night time is not play time (and daytime is play time), he should be fine. Hang in there!

[Debbie and Thomas]

OK-so this is going to sound harsh, but this is what my pediatrician told me to do for my son and it worked after three nights. Let Him cry! He was "chief of staff" at Toronto Sick Children's Hospital so his credentials were impeccable. I told him how our baby was fed, bathed, dry and cozy when he went to bed. He would wake up and cry and cry . We picked him up and rocked him to sleep and when we put him down he would cry and cry. He said" if the little fellow wants to cry-then let him". Go in to check on him, but do not pick him up. After three nights of sleeping with the pillow over my head-he went to bed and slept thru the night! So about your puppy doodle-he is 14 weeks old now so he has been at home for awhile. He goes to bed tired and fed and happy. Now you deserve your rest. So I would let him bark and cry and soon he will get the idea that humans like to sleep at night. You will not get any sleep probably listening to this noise from the poor little guy, but it really has to be done. If he pees at 10 or 11-he should be able to make it until 6 or 7 am without going out again. Trust me, I am a big sucker when it comes to this crying, but I really think you have to do this or waking up in the middle of the night will become a habit tht will be harder to break as he gets older. I feel for you and Good luck with this.

[Adina P]

I think it's pretty normal. Puppies sleep lots during the day. With time he'll make it through the night AND wake up later and later =)