There's nothing like coming home to find these two sneaking in a mid day nap. I jumped right in and got my cuddle on too. We're all tired around here these days. Indie's busy partying with her toys the whole night and filling her bladder up with every known liquid in the apartment...including the toilet bowl. And we're busy taking her out to empty that pea sized bladder. So yes sleeping during the day. very good. Sleeping during the night. also very good, but so not happening right now.
Do any of you dog owners out there have tips on how to get your puppy to sleep at night time and to keep the bathroom trips to a minimum? Or is it just a wait until their older type thing?
We let our pup sleep on our bed and just doesn't leave the whole night. But we have a little potty pad for him for night time just in case.
ReplyDeleteTheir little bladders will expand as they get older - don't worry there's an end in sight :) For now, y'all look so cute napping together!
ReplyDeleteAwww cute!
ReplyDeleteSorry but I'd have to say that it's kind of a wait till she's older thing! The midnight potty trips got better after my dog was a few months old. Hang in there!
Have you considered crate training? Hard with such a little guy, but dogs don't like to sleep in their own excrement so they'll usually refrain from going to the bathroom in there. If Indie's bladder is so tiny you still might need to take him out once in the middle of the night, but not constantly.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought. :) We have a three year old border collie (who is staying with family while we travel) and we crate trained him super easily... and he grew to love his crate and see it like a little den or hidey-hole!
Love it when you post photos of the pup, btw... he is SO CUTE.
B&C: That's smart to just have your pup on the bed with you! Does she wake you up at all when she moves around or is she a pretty good sleeper?
ReplyDeleteSarah and Miranda: I am so looking forward to my dogs bladder growing....that is one thing I never thought would come out of my mouth.
TTB: We haven't tried crate training. Maybe that's something that would be good for her! Our only problem is that she loves to be next to us all night and if she's not she'll whine all night. Will she just break the habit of whining if we crate train her consistently? Maybe that'd be a good thing for her to have a little den of her own!
I definitely recommend crate training for the idea of it being "her space" as well as while they are in the process of potty training, plan on taking them out at least every 2 hours & praising them every time they go outside. I know it seems like a lot, but honestly I did it twice with 2 different puppies and I felt this worked best. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't stand the idea of my puppy sleeping in a create alone, when I had a perfectly good bed and arms fo her to sleep in. :) Now she sleeps on her bed at the end of our bed. and only gets up once to go Pee. But if she's really tired she wont get up at all. We found the trick for our little furbaby was lots of afternoon exercise and to make a habti of taking them pee before gogin to bed.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: I know, I love sleeping with Indie and the main reason I'm so hesitant about crate training is because she loves being next to us so much which is awesome! I'll try taking her on a walk right before bed time and hopefully that will help get her tired. Thanks for the advice!
ReplyDeleteWe crate trained my dog when we got her, she was about 6 months old. She slept in the crate for about a year (it's a good idea to get a crate a size too big and put a box in one end) but then she started crying so she sleeps in my bed now :). The crate is good to help them sleep the whole night until they're older I think. We gave her around 4 walks a day, one late at night, one in the morning at 7 or 8, one around 12 and one in the late afternoon. That worked pretty well for us.
ReplyDeleteHello! Dog owner here. Dogs are creatures of routine; they love a schedule. Play with him as much as you can throughout the day. Wear him out. Take him out to potty just before bedtime and then take away his food and water. After about a week, this should make it so he sleeps during the night, when you're sleeping. Ideas on how to wear him out: walks/runs, fetch, wrestling. Puppies need to play but they also need lots of sleep. :)
ReplyDeleteOh geez...i would have crawled right in with those lovies too! And the puppy stage will end. Then you will be sad they aren't small any more. And you'll forget all about how bad this potty every five minutes is.
ReplyDeleteWe crate trained & it worked very well & helped immensely with potty training. The key is to slowly orient the pup to the crate - feed her in there, give her treats in there, put a blanket or old pillow case that smells like you (if she's used to being in the bed with you) in there... & let her spend some time in there with the door open while you're around, etc. so she does not associate it with being abandoned or always expect that it's going to be 4-8 hours every time you shut the door.
ReplyDeleteWe crate trainted Layla and it worked after just a few weeks and then she was allowed to sleep in the bed. BUT Indie is used to sleeping with you already, so I don't know if she would tolerate it very well! Do what we do with Brynn, limit fluids a few hours before bed and wait till she can hold it longer :) Until then take advantage of the daytime naps!
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