How Long Will A Puppy Cry The First Night?
This is the question I fear when I bring home a puppy. The answer is it depends, every puppy is different.
We’ve had puppies sleep through the first night for 8 straight hours with no crying.
We’ve had other puppies cry the majority of the first night with only short respites (I’m looking at your Stetson).
However, you probably want to know what I consider normal for how long a puppy will cry at night?
ANSWER: the average puppy will cry 5-10 minutes in his crate before you go to bed. At which point he will likely settle down and go to sleep. Over the next 8 hours, most puppies will wake up 2-4 times and will need to go outside and potty. When you get back from the potty break most puppies will cry for another 5-10 minutes before they go back to sleep. After about 8 hours of sleep, your puppy will want to wake up and eat breakfast.
Should I Let My Puppy Cry The First Night
Hopefully, your puppy loves the crate and sleeps through the first night without a peep. Most likely he will wake up crying 2-4 times at night.
What happens when your puppy starts crying? Should you let your puppy cry the first night?
That question is more complicated than it seems. The answer is YES and NO. I’m going to give you a couple of most likely scenarios.
First, as mentioned earlier we crate train our puppies. If at the end of the night our puppies start crying in the crate they will most likely settle down after about 5-10 minutes of whining. Therefore, yes we let our puppies cry.
Second, if our puppy wakes up in the middle of the night and starts crying we take him immediately to his potty spot. After he goes potty we take him straight back to his crate to go back to sleep. This generally happens 2-4 times a night.
Those are the two most likely crying scenarios with your puppy. However, there are an infinite number of other possibilities for puppies crying in the crate on the first night. If you’re having issues please leave us a comment.
Take things slowly on your puppy’s first day home
No matter how excited everyone is about the puppy’s arrival, keep their homecoming low-key. It’s so easy to shower the new dog with affection, particularly for the younger members of the family. While the new pup is getting used to their surroundings, always supervise excited children and give your dog some much-needed time out from all the excitement.
Start off by having them in one room and let them explore in their own time discovering the scents, sights and sounds of this new world. Allow your puppy to settle in gradually and in their own time. This is far better than overwhelming them with enthusiastic games, cuddles and play while they are still trying to find their paws.