How Do I Stop My Cockapoo Crying At Night?

It can be a very testing experience bringing a puppy into your house. One of the most distressing and frustrating times during a young cockapoo puppy’s life in its new home is bedtime. While some dogs seem to settle just fine, others can be slightly more dramatic. How, then do you deal with a cockapoo that won’t stop crying at night? You first need to take a deep breath and calm down because taking an aggressive or frustrated approach will only distress your dog more.

In the following post, we have put together a list of some great suggestions that could help your cockapoo settle at night and stop crying at bedtime.

Tips for Bedtime Training

As we said, you need to be relaxed and understand that there is no real right way or wrong way to do this. Whatever works is the best way for you, your family, your household and, obviously, your cockapoo. Some people prefer having their dog sleep downstairs, while others will be happy for their cockapoo to curl up on their bed. All these options are acceptable. Before considering different suggestions for settling a crying cockapoo, remember what you have on your hands.

Why Cockapoos Cry and Find it Hard to Settle

It may be that you have collected your new cockapoo puppy from their breeder and therefore, this is the dog’s first time away from its littermates and mother, as well as the only people it has known so far. A car journey may have been involved, with lots of strangers.

When you consider all the above, it’s not surprising that your new cockapoo puppy will be distressed when you put him or her into a strange room.

Tips for Helping Your Crying Cockapoo Settle

• Ready yourself for sleepless nights like you would with a new baby. Things will get better eventually.
• Give your cockapoo a chance to relieve itself before you put it into his or her crate or bed. Stop all exciting activities and play and have quiet time before bed. There is no way your dog is going to want to sleep if you have been encouraging it to play just before going to bed.
• Some owners suggest a ticking clock and hot water bottle inside the crate or bed could help your puppy to settle.
• It may be worth considering sleeping downstairs with your puppy for the first few nights until they familiarise themselves with your home.
• While others suggest that it is a good idea to have the crate or bed beside your bed, so you can reach in and stroke and reassure your dog throughout the night.
• Another effective way to deal with a restless and crying cockapoo would be to make their bed comfortable and use a t-shirt or another piece of clothing with your scent. Get a Kong and fill it with food your dog really likes, and then keep some more food in a bowl. Place your dog into its crate or bed and give him or her the Kong. Using the “bedtime” or a similar command, see if your cockapoo will settle. If they do, leave them to sleep. Talk quietly and gently if they start to cry or show signs that they might. If it quietens, offer some of the food you have in the bowl.

Our Experience With Luna

For many people, this is a very tricky and controversial subject, as some people are against letting a puppy cry at night until they settle. While I appreciate that might not be right for everyone, from personal experience, the only thing that worked at getting Luna, our cockapoo to stop howling the house down was to let her cry it all out. That was after we had tried everything else.

Conclusion

As we highlighted earlier, there is no right or wrong way to do this. Take a calm and methodical approach if your cockapoo has a problem with crying and not settling at night. Remember to be consistent but adaptable, changing to suit your dog and your needs as necessary. Eventually, your new cockapoo will settle, and you won’t have the frustration of a crying dog at night.