When Do Yorkies Sleep Through the Night?
A Yorkie is an energetic little dog who will be a joy to have in your family. With all that energy though, you may find that they struggle to sleep through the night. You may want to get more sleep through the night, but your Yorkie will keep you up. With all this energy and struggle with sleeping, you may wonder when your Yorkie will sleep through the night.
Your Yorkie will start to sleep through the night when they are four months old. By this time they have been able to adjust to being in the new home and are better at not needing to go to the bathroom as much at night. With a little bit of training, you may be able to get your Yorkie to sleep through the night before this time, but it will depend on the dog. Understanding the reason why your Yorkie may struggle to sleep through the night can help.
Let’s take a closer look at when your Yorkie will sleep through the night, why some Yorkies struggle with sleeping all night long, and some of the simple steps you can take to help your Yorkie sleep better.
When Do Yorkies Sleep Through the Night?
Each Yorkie is a little bit different I the way that they sleep. Some are able to pick up on their owner’s sleep schedule and will be able to sleep through the night earlier than others. And some are going to need a little extra help in order to get adjusted and stop waking up in the night. When the puppy becomes potty trained through the night, you will find that it is easier for the puppy to sleep at night.
For the most part, your Yorkie puppy is able to sleep through the night when they get to 16 weeks. If you work on some of the training for this, it is possible to get your puppy to sleep through the night before this time. The sooner you can get your Yorkie puppy to sleep through the night, the healthier it is for both of you.
Some Yorkies are able to learn how to sleep through the night a little earlier. If you have a Yorkie who gets easily anxious and worried though, or one who tends to sleep a lot during the day, then this may be harder than you originally thought. With some training and a few tricks, you will be able to get them to sleep better.
How Long Will a Yorkie Puppy Sleep?
When your Yorkie is a little puppy, they are going to sleep a lot during the day. Even though they may need to get up to use the bathroom quite a bit during the night so sleeping through the night is hard, they still need a lot of sleep. Many times your Yorkie puppy will need between 16 to 22 hours each day, including some of their naps in the day. Be ready for them to be energetic and active.
Even the adult Yorkie is going to sleep quite a few hours as well. Most adult Yorkies are going to sleep between 13 to 18 hours a day. As they get older and adjust some of their habits, most of those sleeping hours as an adult will happen at night, with some short naps during the day. If you find that your adult Yorkie is sleeping a lot during the day and then trying to stay up more at night, you will need to make some changes to their sleep schedule to help out with.
Why Does My Yorkie Have Trouble Sleeping?
Sometimes your Yorkie is going to struggle to fall asleep at night. There are a few reasons that occur only when the Yorkie gets older, such as vision trouble and canine dementia. These issues will not affect your puppy that much, but there are a few other issues that could make it hard for the Yorkie to sleep through the night.
One reason that your Yorkie puppy is struggling to fall asleep at night is because they are anxious. If they feel scared by shadows and noises in the home, or they do not like to be alone at night and away from their owners, then they may struggle to fall asleep at night. Crate training or moving them closer to you for the first few months can make a difference and will help reduce the anxiety and keep you from going insane when you can’t sleep.
Another issue is that your Yorkie is not getting the exercise that they need during the day. Your Yorkie is going to be active and need to get that energy out. They will have a lot of trouble sleeping at night if that have all that energy pulsing around all night. This is an easy fix during the day, you just need to get up and be more active with your little Yorkie.
Make it a goal to take the Yorkie out to wear that energy. They need exercise throughout the day, but try to do some of it shortly before they go to bed. If you only take them for a walk right in the morning when they wake up, they have plenty of time to sleep through the day and still have energy during the night. Doing a walk or playing with them around supper time is a better idea. This can get some energy out at night while making sure that the puppy will have some time to relax and calm down before you put them to bed.
Sometimes the issue is as simple as the puppy just sleeping too much during the day. If they are getting most of their hours of sleep during the day, then it is possible they will not want to sleep at night. Take some time to work on changing that sleep schedule and keeping the puppy up more during the day so they are nice and tired and ready to go to bed, and stay asleep, at night.
While it is more rare, it is possible that your Yorkie is struggling to fall asleep because they have an illness or an uncomfortable sleeping condition. If your Yorkie did a great job at sleeping through the night and then seems to develop sleeping problems later, this could be a sign that something is wrong. Consider taking them into the vet to get evaluated and see what the problem could be.
How Can I Help My Yorkie Get to Sleep?
When your Yorkie is struggling to fall asleep, you will need to work with them to help them get to sleep at night. Luckily this is a problem that is relatively easy for you to handle with a little bit of planning and by recognizing what is keeping your puppy up at night.
For example, many Yorkies are going to struggle with falling asleep because they are nervous and anxious. There are a few things that you can do to help with this. Leaving a light near their bed can help them see a little better and can prevent some of the shadows that may make them feel bad. Sometimes some soothing music can keep out the noises and will help your puppy fall asleep.
Crate training can be a good way to help your anxious puppy. This will give them a safe spot to call their own so they can be comfortable when they go to sleep. If they are in a new home with lots of noise and other things keeping them up, then it makes sense to work with the crates so they have the one place they can go to when they are scared or anxious. This can be good whether they are anxious at night or during the day.
If your puppy is dealing with too much energy because they sleep during the day instead of at night, then you may need to do a little work to get this turned around. Keep the puppy active during the day. A little nap here and there is not a big deal, but do not let them spend long stretches of time asleep during the day or you will be up at night. Long walks with the family, play time, and training can help wear your Yorkie puppy out during the day so they will sleep better at night.
Helping Your Yorkie Get to Sleep
It is important to get your Yorkie on a good sleep schedule as soon as possible. This will keep them healthy and can be good for both of you to get your sleep during the night. Some Yorkies do struggle to get to sleep when they first move in with you, though most will start to adjust by the time they are four months old.
With a little bit of training, keeping the Yorkie puppy busy and active during the day, and some patience, you will find that your Yorkie puppy can fall asleep without a lot of problems.