Sometimes that surge of energy flows within your dogs, and there is nothing you can do but watch them run, play, and go crazy, hoping they would tire out and sleep.
It can be stressful, especially for working people, to be woken by a barking ball of energy.
Luckily, we are here to help you resolve this issue concerning your pet dogs.
This post will feature nine simple steps by which you can finally satisfy your dogs to fall asleep, thereby giving you time to rest and recuperate as well.
Keep on reading, and we will learn the simple steps in the following narratives.
Sleep is essential both to you and your pup.
Although it will simply occur to dogs to sleep when they feel like it, humans do not have the same liberty.
If you need to hustle during the day, sleeping is not an option.
Ergo, making it a system where you and your dogs can sleep simultaneously without any distractions would be golden.
9 Steps to Make Your Dog Sleep
Here are the nine simple steps you can do to train your dogs to sleep at night.
1. Establish an evening routine
Dogs will have a better time adjusting to the time when it needs to sleep if you become consistent in your schedule.
The same applies to meals and exercise. They must have a regular time for each person to adapt to the said schedule and be comfortable with them.
With that in mind, setting the mood for each evening in preparation for bed will help them associate evenings with resting and finally sleeping.
Try to make evenings silent, ambient, and relaxed.
Avoid exciting activities and meals or treats before hitting the hay.
The peacefulness of the evening will surely get the best of your dog and finally knock him out till the morning.
2. Please provide them with a comfortable and silent place to sleep in
Dogs are like humans too. It would not be ideal to sleep in a place where many people are walking or running around, nor would it be relaxing to sleep when the lights are all on.
Please provide them with a place where they can relax, have good ventilation, and not be isolated from the household.
This way, they can rest their hearts out while not being worried about their owners’ absence.
A small mat would be nice to have a bit of warmth when nights are cold.
3. Do not share your bed
It is optional, and we believe there will be individuals who will argue against it.
Be reminded that it is your personal preference whether you want your pups to join you in bed or not.
Nevertheless, the reason behind this is that it will be disruptive to the owners’ sleep to have their pets beside them.
They are likely to wake up prior to their owners, and their tendency to before up is high.
Moreover, people with skin problems or trouble breathing can be affected by the dogs’ coats, especially the shed ones.
4. Give them plenty of exercises
The principle behind this is simple.
Do you know how parents try to tire and exhaust children’s energy throughout the day to give them uninterrupted sleep at night? It is the same with dogs.
When you give your dog plenty of playtime and exercise, you provide them with an outlet to expend their stored energy.
On top of that, it will also be effective for them to meet other furry friends and be used to seeing strangers.
Do not forget to set a definite schedule for your dog to exercise.
It is best if it is before and after work.
5. Let them relax through chew toys
Chewing and licking are both relaxing activities for dogs, like babies suckling on pacifiers.
Go for the relatively soft and chewy toys rather than the hard and rigid ones.
As the latter will possibly get them bored, but the former will work wonders as they can enjoy chewing the stuff.
A gentle reminder that chews toys will not necessarily make them sleep but will make them feel relaxed.
6. Play some calming music to them
Whether you buy a CD dedicated to dogs or pop open YouTube and play some relaxing music to them, whatever is convenient for you is good enough.
Stick with meditative music or yoga tracks with background sounds of flowing rivers and birds chirping to imbibe the vibe.
7. Administer supplements that can aid in their sleep
Since we are talking about drugs here, it would be best to consult with your vet before experimenting.
They are more used in this field than you are and will possibly know which to suggest based on the dog’s temperament.
It can range from over-the-counter drugs or simply relaxing chewable treats.
Some of the supplements include Composure by Vitrescence Laboratories, Quiet Moments Calming Aid by NaturVet, and Rescue Remedy by Bach.
8. Train them to relax
Dogs can be very jumpy and excited to see people; there is nothing wrong with that.
However, it can be difficult for them to relax if they used to be like that, even during the evenings.
Karen Overall’s Relaxation Protocol teaches dogs to be chill and relax on a mat.
It is done through a series of positive reinforcement for the attitude to form.
Let your dog lay on the mat and reinforce it by giving them chicken or any treats.
If they get up, they lose mat privileges for 10 seconds, but no more carpet and snack time for the period if they repeat it.
The mat becomes a place of relaxation and chill for dogs after a specific time frame.
This way, they can relax and be peaceful laying on the carpet when nothing important is going on around.
9. Determine if they have any medical problems
If you have done these things and still cannot get them to relax or dial down during the evening leading up to bedtime, try to check out for any medical problems.
Or better yet, hire a professional that can instill the practice into them.
