Sleeping through the night (or not) at 20 weeks

[OliveButler]

I normally post on the puppy thread but I think my puppy is getting on a bit.
I am desperate as my 20 week old pup just won't sleep through the night. He is walked, we have a play and then he will settle at about 9pm. I wake him at 11-midnight for a wee and then he settles back to sleep.
Last night he woke up whining and crying five times. He doesn't need the toilet. His whining is really loud and I live in a terrace. I have to go downstairs and then he will sleep again but then the cycle repeats.
I am the only one in the house who wakes up and I am beyond exhausted.
Is this normal? I will just go with it if so but all the advice I read online says that 16 weeks is when a puppy should sleep all night. This morning I cried and asked him why he wouldn't just let me sleep so clearly I am going a bit mad with sleep deprivation!

[RiaRoth]

What is your dog like in the day time, do they follow you around, will they settle in another room to you?

Where are they sleeping at 9.00-midnight?

You must be absolutely knackered

[RiaRoth]

Also what time do you feed them in the evening?

[OliveButler]

Evening meal is 6pm. I do leave water but weeing only happens occasionally.
Pup has long walk in the morning where he can run. Lead walk in the evening just before last meal.
During day he sleeps fine though mostly naps in the morning.
I am no longer drive because my concentration is very poor and I had a near miss after a sleepless night.
He’s lovely- quite bitey but starting to lose teeth.

[OliveButler]

Sorry for typos

[vanillandhoney]

It sounds like separation anxiety if he settles when you're there.

Can he not sleep in your room?

[RiaRoth]

In the day does he sleep on his own or are you near by?

If he does not happily sleep alone in the daytime it is harder for him at night. If this is the case I would let him sleep near me just so that you an survive! Then start to work on the issue in the day time.

Things to try at night if you do not want him in your room with you are:-

Having some of your worn clothes of yours in his bed(so it smells of you can be a comfort)
Some dogs love having a snuggly dog with a fake heart beat it reassures them some here not that cheap though

Make sure he is warm and cosy
Check there is no noise or light that is waking him up
Try giving him a little snack when you put him to bed so he is not waking up hungry (I doiubt this but worth a try)
You could try an adaptil plug in to help relax him - I have had limited help with these but other people swear by them

Can you get someone else to be on night duty tonight you need a night off.

[RiaRoth]

If you do have him sleeping with you this does not mean it is forever. Over time you can gradually move his bed further away from yours until it is back in the room you prefer it to be in.

[ChardonnaysPetDragon]

Honestly, the best is to take puppy with you.

Mine spelt through the night when they were 12 weeks old.

[notapizzaeater]

We have our Alexa on radio 2 through the night so she doesn't think she's on her own, could that work ?

[OliveButler]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will have him in my room - it is carpeted upstairs so I am wary about that but prefer a sleep.
During the day he does take himself into a different room to sleep so that's a bit odd.
I'm just reading another thread about dogs sleeping from 9 to 7.30 and wondering what I can do differently.

[ChardonnaysPetDragon]

I’m pretty confident he’ll sleep through and there won’t be any accidents. 20 weeks is quite old for that, it do a depend on the breed though.

Let us know how it goes.

[vanillandhoney]

If he's in the same room as you, he should tell you he needs to go out - ours was in our room from day one and we never, ever had a night accident. He woke us up by banging on the door when he needed to go.

[ChardonnaysPetDragon]

Same as PP, we only had accidents with our when we didn’t pay attention to them.

[OliveButler]

My puppy has accidents when it is raining outside! I am a light sleeper so if he starts moving about I will hear.
Thanks for the suggestions.