# Enforced napping--am I doing this right? Anxious new puppy mom!



## FergusMom (Apr 27, 2021)

Hi all! First-time poster here. This past Saturday, we brought home sweet Fergus, a roughly 14 week old golden/lab mix that we rescued from a shelter (pictured here doing his favorite thing in our yard). He is the first puppy I've had in a while--my last golden mix, who passed away earlier this spring at the age of 13.5, was an unusual puppy; super chill, kinda lazy, just very easy. Fergus is a very different dog: he is full of energy and curiosity for the world, wants to chew all the things, enjoys digging, has that mischievous glint in his eye. He is a great sleeper--sleeps through the night and goes in his crate well (though we have to throw treats in; still working on the "go to your room" command)--and he is super smart (in just 4 days, has "sit" and "down" and "look at me" down. Clicker + treats really works for him). And the potty training is going well, though the leash walking is coming along slowly (and we are only doing it in our yard/immediate dog-free street till he is fully vaxxed.) We have our first trainer session next week.

But here is the thing: he does NOT want to settle on his own. If he is with us, including when I am trying to work from home during the day, he will not settle. He'll want to play, explore, eat the couch and cords and anything else he can grab, despite having all the toys--normal puppy stuff, but he does this even after exercise + training + play sessions. And he tends to get a little overtired and bitey/whiny. So a friend recommended we do "enforced naps" in his crate, using a 1 "on," 2 "off" rule as a guide (but amending as needed). It seems to be helping, but I am worried it is either too much crate time OR too broken up. We have a playpen, but if he can see me when he's in there, and especially if he hears me talking on a work call, he whines and jumps up. I know things are all _so_ new for him, so I just want to make sure we are doing the right thing. 

So, what do y'all think? and especially for those who have worked from home with puppies, what schedules worked for you? Thanks so much in advance!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Congrats on your adoption of Fergus, he's a cute little guy.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

100% agree with keeping on a schedule that includes quiet time in the crate while you have to work. If you continue to train and play and add in some aerobic exercise (half hour or so) every day, there is no reason he can't have crate time while you work. He just needs time to adjust to the new plan  It's a process to get there, some puppies take longer then others, sounds like you're on the right track.


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## goldielynn (Sep 5, 2020)

I hope that this will help. It sounds like your 14-week old adjusted for newness and house breaking is more like a 8-10 week old. If so, this was a beat by beat schedule for our puppy when we first got him. Without it, I'm not sure we would have survived the first couple of months. I constructed it based on his natural rhythm of nap cycles and my work from home schedule. We don't follow it anymore, but I busted the board out to take a picture just for you. Good luck!!

**all naps were enforced in crate. we would also cover his crate to make it a little dark so that he could fall asleep more easily.


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## JulieCAinMA (Jun 19, 2020)

I am by no means an expert, as I have only had Archie (11-weeks old today) for 3 weeks, but I did do research on this Forum for about 10 months while I waited. One thing I learned is that baby dogs, like baby humans need lots of sleep and a steady routine. Having raised 3 children, I know that when they are tired they become cranky and get pretty wound up, so like @goldielynn I put Archie on a schedule. He has 2 scheduled naps in his crate in my bedroom)...one nap in the morning and one in the afternoon. He even has a bedtime! Archie goes to bed between 7:45 p.m.- 8 p.m. and sleeps until 5:50-6:20 a.m. (yep, I am very lucky!) His 1st nap is right around 8:15 a.m., because I have meetings at 8:30. He usually sleeps 2 - 2.5 hours. He goes down for his afternoon nap between 1:30p.m. - 2:00 p.m. and sleeps for 1.5 - 2 hours. I close the curtains in my bedroom and turn on a small oscillating fan (he gets hot) and a white noise machine. Sometimes he puts up a small fuss, but he usually settles himself. I have a camera near the crate, so I can watch him. I also have a small notepad that I keep track, daily, of the times that things happen...what time he gets up, meal times, potty times, nap times, play and training sessions, etc. This has helped me to begin to see patterns, which helps to anticipate his needs, especially his potty breaks...how long after a vigorous play session, or breakfast, etc. did he need to go do his business? There is still lost of spontaneity in the day, but it is book ended between routines. I hope this helps!


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## Coastal Pup (Jan 30, 2021)

My 4 month old Beckett gets enforced naps every day while I work- one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I usually give him a frozen Kong or carrot or similar to keep him occupied at first (also helps to associate the crate as a good/fun place to be). He sometimes puts up a small fuss when he finishes the Kong, but I ignore the whines and he falls asleep soon after. I make sure that he potties immediately before going into the crate so that he’s on empty, since it can be harder to settle him halfway through a nap. His crate used to be in another room where he couldn’t see me, but now he’s in the same room so I just drape a towel over the door. I found that he settles much quicker if he can’t see me. Unless it’s bedtime, I play the radio or one of those YouTube puppy sound videos as background noise.


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## FergusMom (Apr 27, 2021)

thank you all so much for the reassurance. And yes, he’s definitely getting the exercise he needs. Puppy play dates with a friend’s fully vaccinated puppy will be essential for a while, but I’m excited for him to be leash and recall trained (and a bit older of course) so we can go on hikes and swims!


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## FergusMom (Apr 27, 2021)

Coastal Pup said:


> My 4 month old Beckett gets enforced naps every day while I work- one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I usually give him a frozen Kong or carrot or similar to keep him occupied at first (also helps to associate the crate as a good/fun place to be). He sometimes puts up a small fuss when he finishes the Kong, but I ignore the whines and he falls asleep soon after. I make sure that he potties immediately before going into the crate so that he’s on empty, since it can be harder to settle him halfway through a nap. His crate used to be in another room where he couldn’t see me, but now he’s in the same room so I just drape a towel over the door. I found that he settles much quicker if he can’t see me. Unless it’s bedtime, I play the radio or one of those YouTube puppy sound videos as background noise.


Thanks for this! How long is he in the crate during those two blocks or work time?


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## Coastal Pup (Jan 30, 2021)

It varies- when I brought him home at 8 weeks he slept SO much and would do 3+ hours. Now that he’s a bit older and in the same room as where I work, he usually wakes up after 1.5-2 hours, but if I exercise him more beforehand he will sleep longer. As he began to become more reliable about potty breaks and Drop it and Leave it, he gained more freedom in the house and now naps under my desk on and off during the day, in addition to his enforced crate naps.


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