How to Train a Labrador Puppy to Sleep Through the Night
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Introduction
You thought babies were cute, but Labrador puppies take adorable to a whole new level. Even the grumpiest of neighbors can’t help but come over to say hello and give him a pat. He’s swiftly brought the whole family together. In fact, instead of watching TV in different rooms, you’re all spending your evenings together petting him. However, when night time comes so does trouble. He simply can’t sleep through the night. You’re woken up by him crying every hour or so until you eventually give in and let him join you.
Training your Labrador puppy to sleep through the night is essential. If you don’t, he may find it far harder to spend time away from you when he grows up. If he develops separation anxiety then leaving him to go work each day will be incredibly tough on him.
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Defining Tasks
Training any puppy to sleep through the night can be challenging to start with and Labradors are no exception. However, because Labradors are intelligent and fast learners, you could see results in a relatively short space of time. Training will consist of getting him into a regular bed time routine. You will also need to make his bed as appealing as possible. On top of that, you’ll need to ensure all his physical and emotional needs are met each day, so he’s ready to spend the night without you.
If he’s brave and relatively independent then you could see results in just a few days. If he’s fairly needy, then he may need a couple of weeks to get the hang of it. Succeed and he will be well rested when you wake up each morning and he will leave you to sleep undisturbed.
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Getting Started
Before you start training, you will need to gather a few bits. A comfy bed with some soft blankets will be needed. A toy or two will also come in handy, as will food puzzles. In addition, stock up on treats or break his favorite food into small pieces.
Set aside a few minutes at the beginning and end of each day to get him into his new routine.
Once you have all that, just bring willpower and some earplugs, then work can begin!
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The Routine Method
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New bed
Make sure his bed or crate is in the right location. It needs to be somewhere relatively secluded to afford him some privacy. Two or three walls around him would be ideal. Also, make sure there are blankets to make it a comfy place that he’d want to spend time in.
Good night
When evening comes, spend a couple of minutes gently stroking him and getting him calm. It’s important he gets this each evening before bed. It will settle him into a good night routine.
Good morning
When you wake up in the morning, again spend a couple of minutes stroking him and saying hello. If he knows you will always come to give him attention each morning and evening he will find it far easier to spend the night away from you.
Exercise
Make sure he gets plenty of exercise each day. Labradors are energetic dogs, so if he isn’t getting enough exercise, he may be too awake to sleep through the night. A tired dog won’t have any problem sleeping!
Never punish him
It’s important you don’t punish him if he does wake you and can’t sleep through the night. If he becomes scared of you then he may seek your attention even more to try and win back your affection. So, you must calmly remove him or ignore him whenever he does wake you.
The Cold Shoulder Method
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Effective
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Door open
To start with, leave the door open and have him sleep in a room relatively close to you. If he knows you’re close by, he’ll find it easier to be left alone each evening. Make sure you also spend a couple of minutes saying good night to him in his bed.
Cold shoulder
If he does try and wake you up or moans, ignore him. It may be difficult to start with, especially as Labrador puppies are so cute. But it’s a case of being cruel to be kind.
Door ajar
After a couple of days of leaving the door open, move to closing the door a bit more, until it’s just ajar. This is the next step in making him more isolated in the evening. Again if he wakes you up or cries, you must ignore him.
Door closed
After a few days of leaving the door ajar, you can now move to closing the door each evening before bed. At this point he will be more comfortable being away from you at night and this last step ensures he can sleep comfortably without you.
Remove him
If he comes to you and wakes you each evening, it’s important you calmly remove him from the room and then ignore him. If you give him any attention, you are only teaching him that such behavior will get him what he wants.
The Temptation Method
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Toys
Spend a few minutes each day playing with toys in his bed. You want to make his bed a fun place that he looks forward to spending time in. You can also leave the toys in his bed overnight. This will make it feel even more like his own private space.
Evening treat
Leave a treat in his bed each evening. This is a fantastic way to get him in his bed to start with. He will soon begin to associate his bed with tasty treats and look forward to going there.
Morning treat
When you come downstairs in the morning, head over to him and wake him up with another treat. Make sure he gets the treat in the bed. If he knows he will get a treat there each morning, he will soon have an incentive to stay put each night.
Toilet
Make sure you take him out to the toilet before bed each evening. Puppies have weak bladders and bowels to start with. He may be waking you up each night because he needs the toilet. So, make sure those needs are tended to.
Food puzzles
Try giving him food puzzles in his bed in the day. They will keep him occupied for hours. But more importantly, they will make him associate his bed with food and fun. This will ensure staying there each evening will no longer seem like such a chore.
Written by James Barra
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 02/07/2018, edited: 01/08/2021
Training Questions and Answers
Sheero
Labrador Retriever
6 Weeks
Question
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
Why is my dog whining at night and he bites and jumps over me a lot what should i do and when can i take him to public parks?
March 5, 2022
Sheero's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1133 Dog owners recommended
Hello Shruti, Check out the free PDF E-book After You Get You Puppy that you can download by clicking on the puppy picture at the link below. That book will cover most of your questions and more. www.lifedogtraining.com/freedownloads As far as the night whining, almost all puppies do that the first two weeks, especially one so young. They aren't used to being away from litter mates or alone, and haven't learned to settle on their own. Additionally, a puppy that age will need to go potty a lot during the night, and might even need to eat one time during the night for another week or two (ask your vet. I am not a vet). Pup might be crying because of a valid need. The biting and jumping is also normal. That's how pup would have played with littermates. Check out article I have linked below on biting. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bite As far as jumping, check out the Sit method from the article I have linked below. Also, try getting down on pup's level a bit more at this age. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-australian-shepherds-to-not-jump Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
March 7, 2022
Lea
Labrador Retriever
4 Months
Question
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
He is walking continually untill he tires , this happened this in the second time
Aug. 28, 2021
Lea's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1133 Dog owners recommended
Hello Sairam, First, if pup isn't sleeping in a crate, I would start by crate training pup and crating pup at night. I would skip to the part where the crate door is closed, practicing this proactively during the day. https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Did you recently bring pup home? If that's the case, then know that what you are experiencing is completely normal. Pup is getting used to sleeping alone and that's an adjustment. Usually the first five days are the worst. It typically takes about two weeks for most pups to adjust completely; however, you can help that adjustment be as smooth as possible by doing the following. 1. When pup cries but doesn't have to go potty (like after you return them to the crate when they just went potty outside) be consistent about ignoring the crying until they go back to sleep. The more consistent you are the quicker the overall process tends to take even if it's hard to do for the first couple weeks. 2. When pup does truly need to go potty (when it's been at least 3 hours since pup last peed), take pup to go potty outside on a leash to keep pup focused and things calmer. Don't give treats, food, play, or much attention during these trips - boring and sleepy is the goal, then right back to bed after. This helps pup learn to only wake when they truly need to go potty and be able to put themselves back to sleep - helping them start sleeping longer stretches sooner and not ask to go out unless they actually need to potty. Pup will generally need 1 potty trip at night even after trained for a couple months though due to a small bladder. 3. Wait until pup asks to go potty by crying in the crate at night before you take them - opposed to setting an alarm clock, unless pup is having accidents in the crate and not asking to go out. This gives pup the chance to learn to start falling back to sleep when they wake in light sleep if they don't really need to go potty, instead of being woken up all the way when they could have held it a bit longer. 4. Practice the Surprise method from the article I have linked above to help pup get used to crate time during the day too - so that there is less crying at night due to pup adjusting to being alone. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Aug. 30, 2021