Just like human babies, puppies can get overtired very easily and don’t self-regulate. Overtiredness in puppies can manifest in excessive mouthing, barking, and activity (the infamous zoomies!). This behavior will only get worse in an overtired puppy and turn into habits that will then take time to unlearn. This is why it is ideal to get them into a nap schedule that prevents these behaviors from occurring in the first place.
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Have a consistent routine. Arrange for scheduled naptimes (ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours) several times during the day. Routines will help the puppy learn when to expect their active time and downtime, and their bodies will start to adjust as well. View a sample schedule here.
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Take advantage of those waking hours! Anything that increases their activity/mental stimulation level during waking hours is likely to help them nap when it’s time. Short 5-minute training sessions, short 15-minute outings, shaping games, tug & fetch games, and puppy playdates are all good ideas to expend energy in productive ways!
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Manage water intake and time potty breaks prior to scheduled naptimes so your puppy can comfortably rest for up to 2 hours.
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Create an environment where sleep is more likely to happen (reduce noise, bright lights, etc.) Ideally, this is in a quiet, dark room away from other activities in the house. You can also use calming music, a fan, or white noise to help mask household noises that might wake your puppy.
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Licking, chewing, and sniffing have a calming effect on puppies. You can use these things to help a puppy settle and get more relaxed prior to bedtime. We can’t expect them to go straight from romping around to sleeping! The repetitive nature of these things is self-soothing to your puppy (much like knitting, coloring, or gardening is for us). A few ideas could be snuffle mat, licki-mat, stuffed kong, benebone/nylabone, puzzle toys, a sniff walk, cookie search & rescue, zen exercises.
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