How to Train Your Dog to Sleep Later

Hello, First, at this age pup likely really does need to go potty at that time at least some of the times, once awake. Once they start sleeping longer, they should be able to hold it longer though. I suggest taking pup potty on leash when they wake then if it's been at least seven hours since they last went potty outside. Keep the trip calm and boring - no play or treats, then right back to the crate after they go. Once you know their bladder is empty, then doing what I am about to suggest below will be far more likely to be effective When you return them to the crate, you have three options at this age. 1. You can either ignore pup barking until 7/8/9 (whenever you normally want to get up) - which will probably mean an hour of barking for a few days until pup learns to just go back to sleep until breakfast, when they go into light sleep and begin to wake at 5:30am rather than waking fully. Ten minutes will not be long enough to let pup cry it out for this to work, expect an hour of crying without giving in, once pup's bladder is empty from being taken potty, for about a week, for pup to learn this lesson. If you can't be consistent to do so, don't attempt this lesson or pup will just learn to bark for longer if you give in and let them out (this is why a potty trip at first is important - so you know there isn't a legitimate need like needing to pee, that can't be ignored). 2. Another option is to stuff 1 or 2 kongs with puppy food and freeze the night before, and give pup that in the crate for a few weeks, until they are old enough to not need to 5:30am potty trip, then you will need to ignore/correct the crying later, once pup is older and can be expected to sleep through. Pup is either old enough now to not need that early wake up or will be old enough in another month or so, so this option would only be temporary for an older puppy. To stuff a kong you can either place pup's dry dog food loosely in it and cover 1/2 of the opening with a larger treat - so the dog food will dispense more slowly, or place pup's food in a bowl, cover with water, let sit out until the food turns to mush, mix the mush with a little liver paste, treat paste, or peanut butte (avoid xylitol! - it's extremely toxic to dogs and a common sweetener substitute), place a straw through the kong's holes, loosely stuff the kong with the mush, place in a baggie, and free overnight. Remove the straw before giving pup and grab the kong from the freezer as needed - for a time-released treat. 3. The third option is to correct the crying once you return pup to the crate after the potty trip. 5 months is usually the earliest I would recommend doing this, so it can be done now or you can wait just a little bit longer if you use the Kong solution for a bit. To correct pup, 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. When he cries at night or early morning, after you take pup potty and return them to the crate, or pup cries before 4-5 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. Don't give treats at night/morning though - practice during the day proactively to help pup learn that quiet is good, since you don't want to encourage pup to stay awake in the early morning, but to go back to sleep instead. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

July 17, 2023

Hello, When you take him potty in the early morning, are you returning him to your bed or the crate? First, I would return him to the crate instead of bed at that hour if you are not already. Second, I would pay attention to his evening schedule and make sure that he is not sleeping for longer than one hour at a time, so his evening sleep are naps and not part of his total night sleep. Third, since he is young enough that he will continue to need an early morning potty trip for a little bit longer, you can also try giving him a dog food stuffed kong to work on while in the crate to keep him quiet. Sometimes puppies will wear themselves out chewing and go back to sleep after an hour of working on the toy. You may still need to do stricter training again to address early morning waking if he doesn't begin to sleep longer on his own, once he is old enough to hold his bladder for longer overnight, but often the use of a frozen dog food stuffed kong can buy you some extra sleep and will sometimes also teach pup to settle again better in the mornings. To stuff a kong you can either place pup's dry dog food loosely in it and cover 1/2 of the opening with a larger treat - so the dog food will dispense more slowly, or place pup's food in a bowl, cover with water, let sit out until the food turns to mush, mix the mush with a little liver paste, treat paste, or peanut butter (avoid xylitol! - it's extremely toxic to dogs and a common sweetener substitute), place a straw through the kong's holes, loosely stuff the kong with the mush, place in a baggie, and freeze overnight. Remove the straw before giving pup and grab the kong from the freezer as needed - for a time-released treat. You can also purchase several durable hollow chew toys and stuff them at the same time so that you have a stash in the freezer to grab from as needed. To keep pup busy and wear them out more in the morning, I recommend a frozen kong. You can prepare a few for the week, place them in the freezer, then simply grab one from the freezer in the early morning on your way back upstairs after taking pup potty. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

June 6, 2023