5 Tips To Help Your Puppy Sleep Through The Night
If you are thinking about adopting a puppy, there may be many questions. This is normal. This is one of the most delicate moments in a dog’s life, and we must guide him and help him overcome his fears. In this article, we’ll show you some tips to help your dog sleep through the night.
keep the puppy close to you
Dogs are family animals and, therefore, they prefer that all family members stay together, mainly to rest. If we add to this the fact that the dog we just adopted is a puppy, the need for attachment will be even greater, if that is even possible.
Don’t let your puppy sleep alone all night. He will feel bad, he will suffer and he could be traumatized. If you don’t want the dog to climb into bed, place his bed next to yours so you can reach him with one hand.
Work on your sense of smell to help your puppy sleep
Physical exercise – going for a run, walking, playing ball – is tiring, but it produces eustress, or positive stress. As explained, this type of stress is not negative. It’s as if we were going on a trip we’ve been dreaming about for years: we’d be nervous about something that isn’t negative, but that would certainly keep us from sleeping well.
It’s the same with a dog: physical activity can make him tired, but he’s left with lots of active hormones that fight sleep. What really wears out a dog is working on his sense of smell.
One idea is to hide food in a room in the house, having previously taught the animal the ‘search’ command. If it’s summer, you can put small pieces of an appetizing food in a bowl of water for him to look for.
On the other hand, in the market, we can find an infinity of toys that help the dog to look for food through his sense of smell. In addition, these types of toys also help the dog to control frustration and, therefore, are ideal activities to promote good dog education.
A quiet place to help your puppy sleep
For both the dog and us, the resting place must be silent. We should avoid noise, such as sleeping with the television on or strong lights.
It is also important to note that some dogs are afraid of the dark. They may have anxiety or stress about this situation. To help your puppy sleep through the night, you can turn on a small light with a warm tone and very low lighting so the puppy can see a little, but without affecting its circadian rhythm.
Try to adapt to the dog’s natural circadian rhythm
The circadian rhythm is a set of physical, chemical and behavioral mechanisms that make us behave as we do. In the case of the dog, its hormone levels indicate that it should be active at dawn and dusk. So this is the best time to play with our dog.
It’s also the right time to feed it, when we can avoid simply feeding it in a bowl. So, we can devise a challenge to get it. For example, put his food in different plastic cups and then stack the cups. It’s a fun way to feed!
Another example would be putting food in a box full of old rags and newspapers. It will take him a while to find the food, he’ll feel more satisfied, and he’ll be able to overcome the frustration of realizing that the food is gone.
Our best weapon, patience
The puppy has just arrived at our house and there are many changes that can cause stress and fear. After all, he is still a baby, and we must accept that he will cry and complain and that we will sleep less for the first month until he fully adjusts.
