Bedtime Routines for Poodle Puppies (or any puppy, really…)
Baby Bryce, all tucked in and looking as cute as a button!
Let’s take a quick walk back into my doggy past….
If you were to take cursory glance into my life from about 1995-2013(ish) you would you would see a world of perfectly synchronized suburban chaos.
Kids in school during the day.
Two kids in after-school sports and activities.
Two working parents.
Community events and gatherings.
My photography studio staffed with employees who depended on me… everything about my life during this time screamed
RIGID SCHEDULE MUST BE ADHERED TO AT ALL COSTS
My son, about 10 years ago, with our first Great Dane puppy, Leonidas.
From the outside looking in, those 18+ years may not have looked like my lifestyle was one geared toward puppies.
And yet… and yet…I had them.
Puppies were as much of my children’s growing up years as learning to ride a two-wheeler or trick-or-treating or Valentine’s Day card exchanges at school.
Puppies took time. They took dedication.
And sometimes the effort put into a new puppy felt eerily similar to spending a long night making a cardboard-construction-paper-heart-covered mailbox the day before an elementary school sanctioned Valentine card exchange.
Puppies took work.
Lucy, my poodle-mix rescue dog and Mordecai, my Yorkshire Terrier puppy in 2007. Puppies have been as much a part of my life as waking up and going to bed each day!
One of my non-negotiable points, every time the talk of a new puppy came up in our household, was that the puppy would always keep to a regularly scheduled bedtime routine.
Human kids went to bed at 8:30, and poodle puppy went to bed at 9.
While I wanted to keep to this routine mainly for my own sanity, it turns out, the experts agree; bedtimes and bedtime routines are great for puppy’s health and well-being.
How much sleep does a puppy need at night, anyway?
I love some evening unwind and snuggle time with my puppies
By four months of age, puppies will spend about 10 hours a night in uninterrupted sleep.
In my house, hitting that four month mark (I gauge it by weeks… so right around 16 weeks of age) is a time to raise my hands to the heaven and sing halleluja!
However, until reaching that magical age of sleeping-through-the-night, younger pups will usually need to get up at least once in the night to go potty.
A puppy’s bladder simply isn’t strong enough to ”hold it straight through the night. So, just like with a human baby, I feel good about preparing myself to get up at least once a night to take my new puppy out to potty.
To crate or not to crate. That is the question. So, what’s the freaking answer??
Pali says it’s time for bed!
Well, speaking for myself; I’m a huge fan of safe places for dogs. In my home, a crate is a den. It’s a sacred space that belongs only to that particular poodle. Complete with its own bed, water bowl and toys… every poodle has their own ”bedroom that they share with no one else in the house.
Bedtime for my puppies always starts with a crate. Once my puppy is old enough to sleep comfortably through the night and knows how to alert to go outside to potty, we tend to graduate to allowing poodles on the bed to sleep.
(yep, I’m that girl!)
But as a baby puppy, bedtime is in their very own personalized crate.
A sleepy puppy is a happy puppy.
Kluane as a poodle puppy almost ready for bed.
I like to start bedtime for my puppies at 9pm. This tradition is so ingrained in my poodles, even as adults they tend to put themselves to bed at about 9pm.
It’s a great habit. And I’ll say this honestly… probably the smartest training habit I’ve ever taught my dogs. Right behind the stay command.
About an hour before bedtime, we will do one more exercise routine. Usually this takes place outdoors in the yard. I take the puppy out to go potty, play a little game of fetch, walk around the yard together and toss in some easy training such as sit-stays or heeling.
Just some basic stuff to get the brain and the body sleepy.
If the weather is bad, or I have a puppy during the winter season, we play some games in the living room and do a quick potty break outside at the very end of our exercise time.
Then it’s off to the crate for bedtime.
Cry it out? Yes or no for puppies in their crates?
There was a time when leaving a puppy to cry, whine, bark or sometimes howl in a crate was the generally accepted tactic to get puppy used to her crate.
I’ve never been very comfortable with this practice. And as such, have been horrible at attempting to enforce crying-it-out for my puppies in their crates.
Luckily, canine behavioral science today tells us that crying-it-out adds unnecessary stress to a puppy. This isn’t good for the puppy’s physical or mental health.
Galavanting poodle puppies are let out of their crates if they cry or whine. The whole process is made to feel very boring and uninteresting. I don’t talk to the puppy or otherwise try to comfort the puppy. Instead, I open the crate door, pick up the puppy, take her outside to potty always praise her when she does potty, and then it’s right back into the crate.
Crate Games, by renowned dog trainer, Susan Garrett, is my go-to training routine for teaching my puppies to love their crate.
I’ve been using various versions of Crate Games since about 2012. And I tell ya’ what, these games have completely changed the way I and my dogs look at crate routines.
Seriously, the class is absolutely worth the $19.99 price tag… and then some!
In the morning with the poodle puppy
I wake up and get the puppy out of her crate first thing!
Before I brush my teeth, get dressed, visit my day planner or have a cup of coffee… puppy gets out of her crate first! She’s out, we visit the potty outside, we do some quick cuddles and morning greetings and then we’re off to our regular daily routine…. happy, well adjusted, well rested and ready to tackle the adventures of a brand new day!
Do you have bedtime routine for your puppy? What’s your favorite tip for getting a rambunctious puppy ready to sleep at night?
I’d love to hear what works for you!!