Magic tips to get a puppy to sleep at night?

[GlueNoGlue]

My new puppy arrived this week. She’s perfect! But she doesn’t sleep unless she’s on me. She wakes up every hour and cries and howls until I go downstairs, as soon as I pick her up she falls asleep. As soon as I try and put her back in her bed, she wakes up and it starts over again. I know she’s young, I know she’s missing her family. I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to help because I’m tired! She has one of my jumpers in her bed, she has a noise on Alexa. She has a full belly and has had a wee. She’s exhausted, but fighting it. It’s like having a new born, except then I got time off work! Any magical tips that I can do to help the situation?

She needs to be with you, either beside your bed or you could sleep next to her. Join Dog Training Advice and Support and follow their detailed training guide.

She's a baby! She needs you close-by for comfort and reassurance. Don't leave her alone yet, she's not ready.

Take her to bed or to your room in a confined area. She needs you. It will create a much more secure dog in the future if you give them the contact they need now.

I do concur with the above advice.

I was all of the 'setting up for bad habits' 'rod for your own back' belief in the early days - but she howled, neither of us slept, so I popped the pup in with me and we both slept blissfully.

Around 6 months old, she decided she would like her own space now, thank you very much and took herself off to her crate, where she has slept ever since. It was like a hysterical bonding thing. The more she knew I was there for her, the more secure she became. (That is my top tip!)

Crate or bed beside your bed until she feels more confident and settled - ignore the 'let them cry it out in another room' advice.

It doesn't seem like rocket science. You know she's lonely, missing her family and falls asleep when she's close to you. She's a baby and an alexa noise and jumper doesn't make her feel safe.

We have a puppy. For the first two weeks we brought his bed upstairs so he could be near us. He doesn’t have a crate.

Then we bit the bullet and left him downstairs. He cried a bit the first night but has been fine since.

Some puppies are confident enough to sleep alone. Yours isn’t.

I went through this. Crate by your bed, would be ideal but we didn’t have room.
He was outside our bedroom door. If he woke and cried he got a taken outside for a wee, a quick cuddle (as he was carried up the stairs). Into his covered crate, which I then sat next to. Didn’t say anything or make eye contact- would let him feel I was there. He would settle right next to me and fall asleep. It took 30mins at first, then got shorter for him to settle. The first few night were the hardest.
When he started to not need me there the crate went downstairs. He almost immediately started to sleep from 10pm-8pm. It was a long, tiring 3 weeks but it was only 3 weeks.

He’s 4 months now- if he has a tiring day he takes himself to his crate early. He’s most irritated to be woken for a last wee of the day 😂

@GlueNoGlue As others have said, you need to either sleep downstairs with the puppy or take it upstairs with you. It takes as long as it takes for them to gain the confidence to sleep by themselves away from the family. Start again as though the puppy has just arrived.

I sleep downstairs with new pups, have their bed close to where I am, if the pup stirs I can gently touch it, even just put my hand on it so it knows it is not alone. I can also quietly speak to it. Only when I am sure all is well do I leave the puppy by itself.

That approach also helps with toilet training as it is easier as soon as the puppy is properly awake to take it outside to wee.

She needs to be near you - so either put her bed/crate by your bed or sleep downstairs on the sofa or a blow-up bed.

We chose the former as it meant we were at least comfortable - he slept through from day one (except for toilet breaks) and it meant everything was a lot easier as we weren't battling sleep deprivation on top of everything else, lol.

Thanks everyone! I was trying to avoid bringing her upstairs because I’ve got young kids and was worried they’d be woken up too. Sounds like I’m sleeping on the sofa for a few nights :)

Be prepared for it to take a few weeks rather than a few nights!

Puppy won't be crying and waking the children if she's upstairs with you either. (I know I prefer to sleep in my own bed, like most PP.)

I don't have my dogs upstairs but latest puppy slept in a deep box by my bed. Carried him down for his wee and back up. I think it was night 3 or 4 when he wouldn't settle, so in the end I took him down and tucked him up in his crate.

...or months with some pups. They go up and down in confidence. If she feels safe and secure then she'll sleep really well after the first few nights of course.

We can cough do anything and our dog sleeps through. We were going to move her out but tbh she sleeps so well and we've got used to having her there we probably won't bother now. I quite like hearing her breathing quietly in her bed.

We are a family that loves sleep.

Our puppy slept in a basket under DS's bed.

He is the most content dog ever. He goes to bed when we do and wakes up when we do.

So last night I slept on the sofa, puppy still woke up a few times but fell asleep on me really quickly and I think we both slept better for it! My main problem now is she’s wriggly and I’m worried she falls off the sofa in the night!

You could get a cot guard type thing?

Mattress on the floor would be safer.

We tried everything, she now sleeps on the end of our bed.

We used to have a rota for who slept on the sofa with the puppy. All the dc wanted to do it (and I wasn't going to miss out😆).

I've got a pup arriving next week and she will sleep in bed with me - until she decides the sofa is more comfortable .

I’ve always been a no dogs on the sofa, no dogs on the bed type but it’s all out the window now. Good job she’s cute!

A clock that ticks in bed with her. Apparently it mimics the mothers heartbeat and soothes them

Puppies are horrifically hard work for many months. Lack of sleep is one thing you don't need nor have to have. Pup can be moved out or you can move away when she's ready but that is likely to be weeks or months. A dog that is conditioned to sleep all night will be so much easier long term than one who wakes a lot.