How to Train Your Dog to Sleep All Night

How to Train Your Dog to Sleep All Night
Medium difficulty iconMedium
Time icon1-4 Weeks
General training category iconGeneral

Introduction

You work long hours. You’re up early so you value every minute of precious sleep. You’ve loved having a new dog in your home. He’s got a lovely temperament and the kids love him. However, he disturbs your sleep more than just a little. He seems incapable of sleeping through the night. He wakes up and then he moans and whines until someone comes down to comfort him. You’ve tried letting him sleep in your bed but he still wakes you up periodically throughout the night.

You need to train him to sleep all night before you fall asleep at your desk at work. It will also be good for him. He needs a regular sleeping pattern so he’s not sleeping in the day when everyone wants to play with him and wide awake at night when you’re all asleep.

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Defining Tasks

Training your dog to sleep all night will require considerable patience to begin with, but it’s definitely achievable. You need to set a consistent routine and stick to it religiously. That will require resilience on your part, especially to start with. You’ll need to ignore his cries for attention and take a number of steps to ensure he’s tired when night time comes. 

If he’s a puppy he should be growing quickly and needing a lot of sleep anyway. That makes your job easier and you could see results in just a few days. If he’s older and been a restless sleeper for many years then you may need several weeks to cement this new habit. Succeed and you’ll be able to close your eyes at night and not open them until that alarm goes off. You’ll get a delightful, relaxing and undisturbed sleep, finally!

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Getting Started

Before training can begin you’ll need to collect a few bits. You’ll need a comfy bed for him in a location where he’ll get plenty of privacy. You’ll also need some treats to motivate him to stay put in the evenings. You may also need his favorite toys.

You’ll need to set aside 15 minutes each day to really tiring him out before bedtime comes. Apart from that, you’ll just need patience and a can-do attitude.

Once you’ve got all that you’re ready to get to work!

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The Happy Place Method

Most Recommended

1 Vote

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Most Recommended

1 Vote

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1

New bed

If he’s always trying to leave his current bed it may not be very comfy. Try getting him a new bed and filling it with some nice new blankets. You can also put a couple of new toys in there. The more enticing his bed is the more likely he’ll be to stay in it.

2

Treat

Leave a treat in his bed in the evenings. This will encourage him to go in there to start with. Then give him another one in his bed in the morning when you come down. If he starts to associate his bed with food and knows he’ll get a treat in the morning, he’ll have more motivation to stay put.

3

Don’t punish him

If he does come and wake you, it’s important you don’t shout or punish him. You may only scare him and then he’ll be even more keen to get your attention and the problem could worsen. Simply remove him from the room calmly.

4

Toilet before bed

Make sure you take him to the toilet before bed each evening. If you come down to accidents then this could well be the problem. He could be waking you up because he’s desperate for the loo.

5

Water

He could also be waking you because he’s thirsty. Make sure his water bowl is full every evening before you go to bed. Dehydration is not only bad for his health but it could massively disrupt his sleep.

The Routine Method

Effective

2 Votes

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Effective

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1

Food & toilet

You need to set a consistent routine for him each day. This is particularly important if he’s a puppy. If he knows when he’s going to eat and go to the toilet each day his body clock will configure around that.

2

Exercise

You must give him enough exercise. Many dogs don’t sleep because they’re restless and full of energy. Give him an extra walk before bed time or a longer walk during the day. Alternatively, take him out and throw a ball for 15 minutes before bed. The short sprinting will quickly tire him out, making it easier for him to sleep through the night.

3

Give him time

If he’s a puppy, you need to give him time to adjust. Most dogs need several weeks to fully feel at home. So, don’t be too worried if he’s not sleeping through the night to start with. Be patient and you’ll see results.

4

Good night & morning

Before you go to bed, take him to his bed and calmly stroke him for a few minutes. Then say "good night" and go to bed. In the morning, spend a couple of minutes stroking him and saying "good morning". This will help build a routine and re-assure him that you’ll be back with him soon.

5

Attention

Set aside at least 15 minutes each day solely for playing with him. The not sleeping may be attention-seeking behavior. If you ensure you give him enough during the day he may be more content sleeping at night.

The Environment Method

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Look for disruptions

Are there any external factors that could be preventing him from sleeping throughout the night? Are neighbors regularly making noise? Do you have guests staying downstairs near his bed? Are there any other loud noises that could be waking him?

2

Move his bed

It could be that the current location of his bed is not conducive to a good night's sleep. Move his bed to somewhere where he has walls around him and a considerable amount of privacy. If he’s secluded he’ll find it easier to sleep undisturbed.

3

Cold shoulder

Don’t pander to his needs throughout the night. You need to make sure you ignore his pleas for attention if he wakes you. If he knows you’ll respond to him he’ll be more likely to pester you again. So, shut the door at night time and leave it shut until the morning.

4

Consider medical problems

If he’s older this is particularly important. If none of the other steps are working it’s worth taking him to a vet. He could have developed joint pain, for example, that’s keeping him up and leaving him in considerable pain and discomfort.

5

Consider other factors

Have you recently moved? Has someone in the home recently moved away? All these factors can cause him to have separation anxiety and may make sleeping a struggle. If this is the case, give him plenty of attention in the day and give him time. He’ll eventually get through it.

Written by James Barra

Veterinary reviewed by:

Published: 12/06/2017, edited: 01/08/2021

Training Questions

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Training Questions and Answers

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Paris& Tokyo

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Husky

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Two Years

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Question

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Hello , i have two Husk , They are always free in the yard. They play and run and go for walks for hours during the day. But for some time now, they have been waking up in the middle of the night and knocking very hard on the door. Maybe they stay awake for a while after midnight. They have been sterilized at the right time. Can we use your help? What do you think is the problem?

Sept. 27, 2022

Paris& Tokyo's Owner

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Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer

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Hello, Do you have a night vision camera? I would be curious if there are coyotes or other predators in the area at those times and pups are looking for a safe shelter from them. If that's the case, it may be worth letting them sleep inside in crates at night. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Oct. 3, 2022

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Theo

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MINITURE POODLE

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One Year

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Within the past couple months, my dog 1.5 years old isn’t able to hold his bladder the whole night 11pm-5:30am (when I get up for work) he usually has to go pee around 3:30-4am. It’s frustrating because I have to get up for work soon. Some nights he sleeps in his crate, some nights he sleeps in bed with my boyfriend and I. Regardless of where he sleeps he doesn’t sleep until my alarm goes off at 5:30am. He goes to the bathroom 4-6 times a day. Eats breakfast @ 6am & dinner at 6:30-7pm everyday. I don’t know what more to do and it’s so frustrating that we can’t get a full nights rest with him.

Sept. 21, 2022

Theo's Owner

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Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer

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1133 Dog owners recommended

Hello, First, I would have him sleep in the crate every night while addressing this. Second, when you say can't, if you ignore him does he have an accident? If he physically can't hold it and will have an accident if not taken out, then I recommend a trip to your vet. This may be medical not behavioral. He should be physically able to hold it at least 8-10 hours overnight, especially if he could in the past. If he can't, there may be something medical going on, like an infection, anatomical issue, or other cause of incontinence that needs addressing medically. I am not a vet so consult with your vet about that. If you know he can hold it for longer, especially if in the crate, and this is only behavioral, then he is probably waking up out of habit or wanting attention. I that case, first, work on teaching the Quiet command during the day using the Quiet method from the article linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Second, during the day practice the Surprise method from the article linked below. Whenever pup stays quiet in the crate for 5 minutes, sprinkle some treats into the crate without opening it, then leave the room again. As he improves, only give the treats every 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 1.5 hour, 2, hour, 3 hour. Practice crating him during the day for 1-3 hours each day that you can. If you are home during the day, have lots of 30 minute - 1 hour long sessions with breaks between to practice this, to help pup learn sooner. Whenever he cries in the crate, tell him "Quiet". If he gets quiet - Great! Sprinkle treats in after five minutes if he stays quiet. If he continues barking or stops and starts again, spray a quick puff of air from a pet convincer at his side through the crate while calmly saying "Ah Ah", then leave again. Only use unscented air canisters, DON'T use citronella! And avoid spraying in the face. Surprise method: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Repeat the rewards when quiet and the corrections whenever he cries. If pup doesn't bark when crated during the day, only at night, then just work on the Quiet method and skip the Surprise method practice during the day, then address nights the way I outline below either way. When he cries at night (in the crate - where he needs to be sleeping for now) before it has been 8 hours (so you know it's not a potty issue), tell him Quiet, and correct with the pet convincer if he doesn't become quiet and stay quiet. If you go straight to nights and days like this you will probably have about 3-5 rough nights (usually just 3), with lots of correcting before he gets quiet - don't give in and let him out or this will take much longer! But the overall process will go faster if you can stay strong. You will need to stay very consistent for this to work - expect pup to protest and for you to have to correct a lot the first couple nights. You may want to pretend like you are all going to bed two hours early and read in bed with the lights off - anticipating having to get up a lot the first couple of hours to correct - so that you don't loose as much sleep. If pup is protesting the crate during the day too, don't skip practicing the Surprise method when you are home, some also, but don't give food at night. Make sure the crate doesn't have anything absorbent in it like a soft bed - use something like www.primopads.com or k9ballistics crate mats, that are non-absorbent to motivate pup to hold their bladder while in the crate if they need that encouragement. Also, make sure the crate is big enough for them to stand up, turn around, and lie down, but not so big that they can potty in one end and stand in the opposite end to avoid the accident. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Sept. 22, 2022


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