r/puppy101 • u/Princee_Of_Narnia • 1d ago
Crate Training How to get puppy to nap?
Hi! We’ve bought our first puppy home today! He has been with us for 5 hours (including the 1 hour drive) and we’re trying to put him down for a nap, as we’ve heard he should nap often but we can’t seem to get him to settle down.
If we aren’t next to the crate he’ll cry so we’ve tried sitting right next to the crate both with door open and closed but he just won’t settle and sleep. Is there any tips to get him to nap? He lay down for twenty minutes at one point but didn’t sleep
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u/beckdawg19 1d ago
Just let him do what he wants today. It's day one. If he's up, he's up. You can start trying to enforce a schedule in a few days.
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u/pizzagal_69 1d ago
He’s just really scared to be away from everything he knows.. he’ll probably cry a lot today and the next few days when you put him in the crate. My pup did the same thing. He may not settle well because it’s all so new and scary to him, but sitting next to the crate can help. I did this until he eventually fell asleep after crying for a good 30 minutes or so. Don’t worry he will get used to it pretty soon they are very adaptable little creatures! Patients is key(:
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u/Fast_Insect6321 1d ago
The first few nights with my puppy, I slept with him on the couch as I knew it was traumatic for him to be away from his litter and on his own. He turned one yesterday and sleeps great in his crate by himself now. So a few days in the beginning of extra loving and spoiling didn't impact crate training one bit. Congratulations on your new puppy!
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u/Altruistic_Plant7655 1d ago
Try classical music and put a blanket in the dryer or a shirt you’ve worn and put it in the dryer too!
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u/DublinBoston 1d ago
When I first got my last dog, we used to have her nap in her crate in our bedroom with a quilt draped over the crate to settle her. When I'd go in to check on her a few minutes later she'd always be fast asleep! Enjoy it, I miss those days so much!
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u/lettiebee123 1d ago
I started feeding my puppy in his crate. Lots of treats given in his crate and he is 14 weeks old and absolutely loves his crate now. Will go in there by himself occasionally!
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u/Financial_Carpet8961 1d ago
He will nap. Right now he is probably scared and confused. He will eventually fall asleep. Try not to stress too much the first few days. Our girl is now 16 weeks and we got her at 8 weeks. I would sit outside her crate to comfort her, put my fingers in the crate so she could touch me and leave (but be close) when she fell asleep. We still cover her crate, leave a sound machine on with white noise, music or tv, and feed her in the crate. At the beginning we used a snuggle puppy which I highly recommend. When I look back, I wish I had been a little more relaxed around her at the beginning. Not saying that you’re not but I wish I had been conveying calm energy to my girl. Enjoy it - it goes by so fast!
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u/Plantlady5775 1d ago
Hey!!! a general rule of thumb with any dog of any age is that they need that 3 day adjustment period, with very low stress stimuli! Let him smell around in the spaces you are allowing him to go & let him be a crazy pup atleast for today! haha after a goodnights sleep you can try to work on a positive association with the crate by feeding them their food inside, or giving them a high valued item. If your puppy is experiencing a lot of fear/anxiety you can get a puppy stuffed animal that has a heartbeat it really soothes young pups but that all depends on age :) After those 3 days you can start to enforce more firm structure/schedule!! remember that your puppy still barely knows you aswell
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u/paralegalpebbles 1d ago
I put a nightgown I'd been wearing (for scent) inside the crate along with a wind up alarm (for ticking/heartbeat sound)... Cover the crate. Feed in the crate. Don't open the crate while she's whining or you will teach her that if she whines, you'll let her out. She will nap when she's tired, but she will whine the first couple of nights. My Sadie turned 12 weeks yesterday.
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u/TenaciousNarwhal 1d ago
I used to turn on music and zip up the crate cover. Still works and my girl is over a year.
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u/Illustrious-Bid-2914 20h ago
He has a lot to adjust to. I found Susan Garrett’s information to be super helpful (she is an internationally known positive reinforcement trainer). Here is her blog post and she also has some YouTube videos on the topic. I found this really worked. https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2020/03/dogs-sleeping-in-the-bedroom/
I put my new puppy’s crate on my night table, making sure it was secure and stable, and it worked like a charm, once I had it up from the ground. We also used Don’t Wake the Mams. Since he was 12 weeks he actually was able to sleep through the night but if he did wake and cry to go potty, we followed the instructions to a tee. This only happened one or two nights.
Good luck!
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