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Puppy exercise and sleep


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I have 2 separate questions that I'm hoping you all will be able to give me some information on - for background, my puppy, Ivy, is my first dog, and she is now about 6 months old. I don't know a lot about her parentage as she came from rescue, but I do know that her mother was a border collie originally from Montana (so maybe working bred? but who knows, really...)

 

My questions:

1.) Ivy will almost never sleep out of her crate. I think she's fallen asleep out of her crate or in the crate with the door open maybe 3 times total since she was 12 weeks old or so. I know she's tired because she gets crazy and if I put her in the crate she falls asleep right away, but she just won't go to sleep on her own. Is this normal? At what age do dogs usually develop the ability to take naps without the crate?

 

2.) I love hiking and live near many great hiking trails. I read a lot about not overtaxing growing puppies and waiting for more challenging exercise until the growth plates are closed around 1 year. However, I don't want to miss the entire hiking season this summer. Do you guys have any mileage and/or elevation maximum recommendations for hiking with puppies?

 

Thanks!

 

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When my puppy was young she had to sleep in her crate. I would put her down for naps just like I did when my children were babies and toddlers. If I didn't put Nattie in her crate for a nap she would just keep going and going. At about nine months I was able to slowly wean her off her crate naps and she would find someplace to nap on her own.

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It took Bandit a while to start sleeping when he wasn't in his crate. When he would get hyper and mouthy, I knew it was time to put him in his crate for a nap.

 

I honestly can't say exactly when he started to make the choice for himself to shimmy behind the futon (his favorite down-time spot) to nap by his own choice. Definitely by the time he was 8 - 9 months old, I would say. Definitely by 10 months old. But I wouldn't worry about timeframe. When you notice that she starts to settle on her own without the crate, you will know she doesn't need you to put her up for naps anymore.

 

And, yes, you can do easy hikes with a 6 months old. I'd start with short distances, and gradually build.

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I'm with the others. It took Molly a good while to start chilling out and sleeping out of the crate and for a good portion of her puppyhood her being mouth and hyper and basically a demon dog meant it was nap time. I'm not sure when it changed, either, it just did. Don't worry about it, you'll get there.

 

I definitely hike with my dogs - usually starting at 4 months, even, just short, easy, hikes with lots of breaks at that age, and gradually building.

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Kolt was 7-8 months old before he started napping on his own. Before that he got put in his crate regularly for naps. He's just over a year now and settles nicely on his own most of the time. If people are over and he's too excited then I'll still stick him in his crate and he settled right down.

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  • 2 years later...

How much is too much crate time? Merlin sleeps in his crate from 9:00 pm to 7:00 am then naps at 10:00 and 4:00 for about three hours each time. When the time comes he heads to his crate .

 

He rarely falls asleep outside those times. If he does he'll wake and head to the crate.

 

Otherwise he he a healthy alert and active 11 month old puppy. His morning walk is probably double the five km I travel with him. We are careful to limit his free play in the yard and other exertion. Having puppy zoomies in the evening has diminished of late.

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Kate is 18 months old, and it was only the other week that she started taking naps on her own, when there are other things to do, instead of always being busy.

 

My dogs have never gone into their crates without being told, with the exception of one dog who didn't want the other dog going in his crate so went in and hunkered down to not let her in.

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Bob is coming up on 8 months and will settle down and either nap or just flop over and watch when we're in the house and I'm busy. It's been a slow process with him picking up the idea room by room and it's still only in certain contexts - when I'm doing the washing up or cooking etc. - and it's only ever with me, not with anyone else even if he knows them well.

 

It's mostly come about through rewarding him when he did it of his own accord on the rare occasion (capturing calm), training a good down, sticking to a relatively consistent schedule, and refusing to give in to him pestering me with toys. Next step is to build up the time he relaxes in the pub ;)

 

With hiking we go to relatively flat places where I can safely let him off lead for the majority of the time so he can set his own pace and rest when he wants (not that he often does). A hike is also instead of frisbee time or run arounds for the next day or two as well.

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