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The truth is that at the start, puppies just need to be near us. If you think about it, they\u2019ve come from their breeder where they spent all day and night nestled up close to their mother and on top or underneath their siblings. It\u2019s a bit wild to expect them to sleep on their own in a room, isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s no wonder they become stressed and cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But no stress, the day will come where they\u2019ll be able to. In this article we\u2019ll be helping you figure out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Whether or not you should let your puppy cry at night<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How to stop your puppy from crying at night<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
No more tears. Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"puppy](\"https:\/\/zigzag.dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/roberto-nickson-To57QlgkoIo-unsplash-683x1024.jpg\")
Photo by Roberto Nickson<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Should I leave my puppy to cry at night?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Umm, no. Research tells us that the \u2018cry it out\u2019 method doesn\u2019t work in babies, and it doesn\u2019t work in dogs either. In brief, it can just cause a huge amount of emotional damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leaving your puppy crying at night presents a few problems we could do without. For example, stress levels rising until quite some peaks, or them eventually stopping crying, but only because they\u2019ve given up from physical exhaustion after realizing that vocalization didn\u2019t work. In the end, we haven\u2019t really changed anything about how they feel about being alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This worry can start to manifest itself in other types of behavior such as pacing, scratching, and even less fun ones like stress-urination, defecation or self-mutilation. Don\u2019t want to ruin the mood even more, but your puppy will end up very anxious about there being no way of coping that doesn\u2019t have a positive result. Yikes, let\u2019s not go down that road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Humans are no good at listening to a puppy crying (of course!) – it\u2019s just heart-crushing. So eventually, when we can\u2019t take it anymore, we start to go downstairs to the puppy when they are crying. Most of us have big hearts, right? But just you wait\u2026your puppy will quickly learn that this strategy works, and that they just need to do it for longer each time. So in this case, you can see the opposite happening, instead of their vocalizations decreasing, your puppy learns that crying and barking is what they need to call us downstairs. Like a bell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\nCrying out for training solutions? Try our app! <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So as you can see, dealing with your puppy crying at night in the wrong way can undo a lot of the good work we do during the day. Not a great idea! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is always better to prevent any crying happening in the first place from day one. But if your puppy crying at night is something you\u2019re experiencing already, our advice is good to follow. Everyone will be getting a good amount of shut eye in no time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"puppy](\"https:\/\/zigzag.dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/roberto-nickson-s5WfAx74fM-unsplash-683x1024.jpg\")
Photo by Roberto Nickson<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n How to stop puppy crying at night<\/h2>\n\n\n
Let\u2019s get down to the nitty gritty\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Keep them close – let them sleep next to your bed.<\/h3><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
We don\u2019t mean they need to be in your bed, unless you really want them to be. We won\u2019t judge. But besides your bed or at least in the same room as you for at least the first few weeks will be a great place for them to start their \u2018sleeping in a new house\u2019 journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once they are happy in their new home and sleeping through the night, you can start to move their bed out inch by inch, that is if you want them to sleep somewhere else in the future. But there\u2019s no need to rush it, all puppies are different when it comes to feeling comfortable, and that\u2019s ok!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Make their crate or bed warm and snuggly<\/h3><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s make your puppy feel extra warm and protected at night to help drive the tears away. Products like the Snuggle Safe are excellent, they\u2019re microwavable heat pads which mimic their mother\u2019s warm belly. There\u2019s even some that replicate a heartbeat for your puppy to snuggle up next to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Don\u2019t forget to empty, and possibly empty again overnight<\/h3><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Puppies are small, so they have small bladders. You can imagine their need to wee is prominent. Before bedtime, make sure they\u2019ve been to the bathroom and to take them out again when they wake up in the night. They won\u2019t be able to hold it through the night for the first month or so, and you probably don\u2019t want to wake up to wet floors. If getting up in the middle of the night is challenging for you, then getting a puppy pad or indoor potty in a puppy pen might be your secret ingredient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Let sleeping puppies lie!<\/h3><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Now, let\u2019s get clear about something. Despite us saying they need to go out to the bathroom a lot, there\u2019s no need to wake them up to take them to the toilet if they\u2019re asleep. Some puppies can sleep for a long time overnight, so no need to disturb them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Your instincts are right – it\u2019s ok to comfort your puppy<\/h3><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Puppies often need some reassurance. Some gentle love and care. If you hear your puppy crying at night, it might be a matter of them needing to be talked to gently and comforted. Let them have a sniff of your hand until they settle, that will make them feel better. Some puppies need more support than others, which is completely fine – they should know they can rely on us for emotional support, especially when they\u2019re tiny. We rely on them for cuddles too, don\u2019t we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Make sure your puppy likes their crate in the daytime too.<\/h3><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Their crate should be a blissful sanctuary where all their troubles can be forgotten. Make sure they are happy to go in there in the daytime as this will help with them going in there at night too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have a good guide on how to crate train your puppy <\/a>if you need to know more about how to help such a jail-looking box seem so lovely to your puppy. The secret ingredients are fluffy blankets and treats, just so you know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"puppy](\"https:\/\/zigzag.dog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/t-r-photography-TzjMd7i5WQI-unsplash-1-767x1024.jpg\")
Photo by T.R Photography<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n We have lots of information in the Zigzag puppy training app all about sleep <\/a>and other common paw-nic moments at night<\/a> you might run into. You should honestly take a look, it will save you some sanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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