Sleep training

When I was bringing up my children in London, we were fortunate to have so much choice of things to do, past-times and extra-curricular activities – sport, arts, music and dance lessons. One could easily fill the time between coming home from school and bedtime with a busy schedule, so children could be fully enriched and never bored. But is that a good thing? Not necessarily. I think being bored and learning to relax should have its time too.

One of the things I advise new puppy owners is, how to help their puppy grow up to be calm. And this is not through constant enriching activities but letting him rest and sleep. Don’t worry about him being bored.

Young puppies need to sleep approximately 18 to 20 hours over a 24-hour period. This means he is awake for a total of only 4 to 6 hours a day, broken up into spells of 1 or 2 hours. Whilst he is awake, he will be eating, toileting, taken out for a couple of short walks and having a few little play and fun, practical training sessions with you (keep it simple, don’t frustrate him with algebra yet). And then he should be given time and a place he can relax peacefully and fall back into a deep slumber.

If he doesn’t get enough sleep, and gets over-tired, it could make him cranky (just like it can with us) and this is sometimes why puppies bite.

Instead of thinking, “cabin fever”, I must exercise him more to wear him out.; consider that maybe “less is more”.

There is a guide for the amount of exercise recommended for puppies. The recommended amount for a puppy is - five minutes for the number of months old eg. four months old = 20 minutes exercise, twice a day. This guide is to help ensure he develops physically healthy and does not put too much strain on his limbs and ligaments whilst he is growing.

Mental health is also very important in a developing puppy. It is important for him to learn about his home and outside environment, so that he is calm. Therefore, exposing him gently to the sights, sounds, smells and what it feels like to walk on different surfaces, as part of his daily exercise and training, will provide him with a healthy amount of mental stimulation. He should then be allowed to relax afterwards, somewhere that he is not going to be disturbed for the duration of a good sleep, when he can digest all that he has learnt.