Why is my crate-trained puppy suddenly waking up at night?
Around 14 weeks old, puppies can hit a sleep regression where they wake up multiple times a night ready to start the day, rather than actually needing a potty break. Because the puppy will instantly wake up and cry at any noise or movement, owners are forced to stay completely silent in their own homes and lose hours of sleep.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
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Why is my crate-trained puppy suddenly waking up at night?
- 1Offering a potty trip each time to rule out an upset tummy or UTIDid this help you?
- 2Keeping nighttime trips short, dark, and boring with no talking or playingDid this help you?
- 3Returning to previous bedtime routines and adding a comfort item that smells like the ownerDid this help you?
- 4Completely covering the crate with blankets to block light and movementDid this help you?
- 5Running a fan or white noise machine in the roomDid this help you?
- 6Placing a heartbeat simulator toy on top of the crateDid this help you?
- 7Laying down soft rugs to muffle the sound of footsteps when sneaking awayDid this help you?
- 8Waiting a few extra minutes after the puppy falls asleep before trying to leaveDid this help you?
- 9Moving the crate to another room and leaving immediately after putting them inDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have a 14 week old dachshund puppy. I’ve had him since 8 weeks, and one of the first biggest hurdles we faced was getting him to sleep overnight in the crate. It took some time and work but eventually he accepted that his crate is where he sleeps overnight. Recently, he even dropped down to one overnight potty trip. That was until last night.”source ↗
“He proceeded to wake up at 1:30AM, 3:30AM, and 5AM. I responded and offered a potty trip each time because this was so unusual for him, and I was worried he might have an upset tummy or a UTI. Not once did he urgently need to go. He woke up each time as if it was time to start the day.”source ↗
“Has anyone else dealt with a sleep/crate training regression around this age?”source ↗
“If I get up she instantly wakes up.”source ↗
“I have this problem too! I would sit in the same room as the crate to relax and have quiet time while she napped. Now I’m working on getting her use to being alone in her crate without me in the room.”source ↗
“We used to have to be silent otherwise he would cry to get up.”source ↗