Puppy will only fall asleep on your lap at night

[Riverlee]

We have a ten week old Labrador puppy. During the day, he goes in his crate willingly, most times, (with encouragement) for a nap.

However, at night, he likes a cuddle and will try and jump up. If he falls asleep, he’ll instantly wake when put in his crate. If we try and put him in his crate, he’ll instantly come out, and will try and jump up again. If we close the door, he’ll whinge (not sure whether you’re supposed to let them whinge or not).

we’re all suffering from disturbed sleep now and any help would be appreciated.

(I know we’ve made a slight rod for our backs).

Would a little hot water bottle help, for him to snuggle up to. He's a baby missing his Mum.

Unfortunately, he’s a chewer so don’t like the thought of leaving anything in there.

Who wouldn’t miss their mum at 10 weeks. I think I would get the cuddle in earlier and set up a separate sleep routine with a wee in the garden and back into a treat in the crate. Poor wee mite but he will adapt.

You have a puppy that's been taken from its mother. What did you expect?

Incredibly unhelpful reply. I mean why bother?

Op where do you leave the crate? One way to get pup in the crate and sleep is to have it next to your bed. That way you can offer the reassurance pup needs.

I used to speak to ours or have my hand where he could sniff me. We started the process of moving him into his own room after about 3 weeks and he hasn't slept in our room since.
It meant pup was reassured, we could get sleep and still hear him easily so could take him out for the toilet overnight. Alternatively you could set up a camp bed in which ever room he is in.

Good luck

At that age I used to sit alongside the crate, door open, arm inside until she fell asleep. We slept alongside/nearby the crate for some weeks.

Really!

Congratulations on your new bedtime buddy op!! Ime some ddogs are just more needy than others...

@Girlintheframe

The crate is downstairs. During the day, he curls up on a rug. If nearby, we can usually say ‘crate’ and he’ll go in. If further away, I carry him and put

him on the floor near the crate, and he’ll go in ( sometimes with a slight push).

At night, he’ll automatically start jumping up at the sofa and we know he’s tired. Admittedly, we’re tired as well so resistance is low. Guess I have to go cold turkey.

Can't possibly offer any advice without photos, OP

Think I’m going to have to do this.

@dresseduptothe9s

Oops, forgot the mn code of conduct.

Awake and asleep.

Agree with others crate next to the bed
Do you want not want dpup on the sofa? If you don’t mind let him up if you do then keep putting him back on the floor or sit on the floor next to him but without letting him on your lap

Had he got a cosy bed? Our pup loves snuggles cause he gets cold but has a fluffy bed which he’ll happily settle in

This is the cutest problem I've ever seen posted on here!

(My 7 year old giant girl still sleeps with me, though so my boundaries aren't the best when it comes to puppies! )

Best of luck getting a routine that works for you. And your puppy is beautiful!

I must caveat my advice with the fact that our pup now sleeps in bed with us so we failed completely!

She was settling in the crate downstairs on her own at around 5 months though. Just not sleeping through the night without a 3am chat through the puppycam!

Did you read any puppy books in preparation for this?

strongly recommend this one.
Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy: The... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1788701607?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

We took it in turns to sleep on the sofa next to the crate until ours was about 16 weeks. (No room upstairs for the crate.)

What a gorgeous boy 😍.

He is still very young and used to cuddling up to sleep at night with the other pups in the litter so he’s trying to emulate that with you. It is an adorable problem to have but solutions such as a hot water bottle and making his crate his safe and comfortable place will help him settle.

Cute as a 10 week old Lab snuggling on your lap is, he won’t be tiny for long. My 8 month old Lab is over 6 stone and would lovingly crush me to death if he were to sleep on my lap.

Congrats on him, he is absolutely beautiful.

I read Easley Peasey, but unfortunately Ruver Pup hadn’t! To be honest, I found it a bit simplistic. River Pup isn’t afraid of his crate (is asleep in there now). It’s only at night he’s more fussy, and some nights he has been better than others. Last night was particularly bad, and I’m feeling very sleep deprived today.

Let him cuddle up in some clothes that you have worn. Snuggly dressing gown etc. Your smell will comfort him the clothes will keep him warm and he will sleep happily. You can still be close but gradually move away a little bit each night.

You can get heat pads that can be wrapped in your clothes as the nights are getting chillier

Expecting a 10 week old puppy to settle alone in a crate at night is a huge ask. Remember, only two weeks ago he was sleeping with his mum and siblings all bundled up together - going from that to alone is a huge leap for them to make. Yes, some puppies seem to manage fine but many will understandably struggle.

I don't really understand why he can't sleep on your laps in the evening? Then just pop him in his crate in your room at bedtime so he can still hear and see you. Eventually you'll be able to move the crate back downstairs as he grows and settles.

Our puppy slept in our room overnight from day one. It made toilet training incredibly easy as he just woke us up to go out and we never had any overnight accidents. During the day, he would nap in his bed, on the sofa or on our laps.

Does he need to sleep in a crate overnight? I've never used a crate at night, though I had one for occasional daytime naps when my current dog was a young puppy. At night he slept in a puppy-proofed room. For the first few days DH slept in the same room, but after that the pup was fine on his own. As he grew older and unlikely to chew forbidden objects, he was no longer confined to a single room. Now he chooses where to sleep, usually either in the upstairs hallway or downstairs (in the summer heat he preferred the cool wood floor downstairs).

We had to sleep next to the crate with the door open, but in the end we moved it next to our bed, he would sleep in there until around 6 then up for a cuddle. By 6 months he was allowed to sleep downstairs on the sofa, he's nearly a year old now and no issues. It's really shit to begin with, but it does get easier