Secrets To A Good Night's Sleep (for puppy)

Well, something worked right last night! Jazzy had her medicine a few hours before bedtime (Albon), had a soothing bath, and we removed her food bowl 3 hours before bedtime.

She fell asleep out in the living room, so I just carried her to her kennel at around 11 p.m. Then we dropped off in a sound sleep (being the sleep deprived puppy parents we are!). Next thing we knew, it was 3 a.m. and Jazzy was ready to go potty. This was the longest she had slept through the night, so we were happy-happy! She tinkled, but nothing else.

She fell back asleep, so I put her back in her kennel, and that is when we had an hour of "dealing with her." She just wanted to be with us. We thought it was because she was cold since we sleep better cold-so we put a little space heater near her (the safe ceramic kind). That didn't work. She kept pacing around the bed, whimpering and wanting to be with us. I kept putting her in her kennel. Nothing worked. I took her back out to see if she needed to use the bathroom. Nope. So, Russ decided to try a "Super Nanny" trick. He put her back in the kennel, then petted her and helped her fall close to sleep, saying nothing. Then he stayed there for a while, and she fell further asleep. Then he backed away slowly-and it worked!

She woke me back up at 6 something-and I was so asleep I can't remember if she went potty or just wanted comforted. I held her for a while out in the living room, then put her back to the kennel. She stayed.

Usually she wakes up with Russ, but today, she just slept through it all. I woke up, and she was still in her kennel. She finally woke up around 8:45 a.m., had a big appetite for breakfast (she had not really wanted breakfast any day we have had her), and she did her business like a good girl.

I would say this was a night of real victories, and true sleep is just around the corner for all of us!