Keeping Puppy Warm At Night

[Nushie]

Brandy is 18 weeks old and she has always been a good sleeper at night. But lately as it has been getting colder she has been waking up more and crying a few times during the night. I originally thought that she needed to go out for a wee but she never seems all that interested. And now that she is waking me up all the time, I have noticed that its not her normal "let me out I need to pee" cry. Its more of a slow whimper. And if I ignore her for 5 mins eventually she goes back to sleep. Its usually around 2 and 4am every night.

She sleeps in her canvas crate next to the bed at night, she has a hot water bottle that I fill up before bed, she wears Jager's old fleece weatherbeeta jacket (Velcro close at front and Velcro belly strap), and the crate has a towel in the base with a fleece blanket on top. She also has a panda bear from her breeder that I think she snuggles with.

I assume 2am is probably about the time that the hot water bottle starts to cool down, also the house, as the heater gets turned off when we go to bed.

Any ideas of what I can do? She has always been a good sleeper, and she goes to bed fine at night its just those wake ups. I thought about a heated mat but I don't like the idea of wires around a puppy. I looked at those snuggles safe heated pads, but I didn't know if they would get warm enough? I know they are supposed to provide 10 hours of warmth but she is used to having a hot water bottle, would a heated pad be warm enough if she is getting so cold?

[The Spotted Devil]

The problem with hot water bottles is that they do go cold - I am guessing that's why pup is waking up. Snugglesafes are great - I'm about to get one for my babies for when Em wants out of the whelping box for a bit.

Edited April 29, 2015 by The Spotted Devil

[westiemum]

Yep snugglessafes are great as are little Gifts jumpers. mac wears his jumper overnight on really cold nights as well as plonking himself on the hot water bottle.

[juice]

i use the heated discs you put in the microwave.

i wrap them in a pillowcase , and put them under a blanket and they are still warm in the mornings.

[persephone]

She should not really be cold indoors with a coat on, in a canvas crate! She has more bedding than I do ;) I am indoors- window to outside open - have one blanket (and a cat)

I prefer something like the snugglesafes, as H.W bottles can be chewed/leak, and do go cold. :)

[Stressmagnet]

Hmmm. I wonder about Ernie (Labrador). Having him seen him jump gaily into icy waters, I hadn't thought about this. He's in my bedroom, in a covered wire crate with a snuggle pillow.

He's my first dog who slept inside. Am I not doing enough??

[aliwake]

I think Ernie will be fine. I have jammies for Nixon, but mainly because they look cute and make me feel a bit better. I usually only use them if it's a particularly cold night. I think he quite likes them though :) Or sometimes I'll tuck him in with a blankie :)

Labs are tough though, and neither Nix or Ernie are baby puppies anymore - they can probably regulate their own temperature just fine.

[Dame Aussie]

My two sleep on their beds with no blankets and no heating and they're fine!

[Nushie]

I think she is just being a big sook. But she has always had her hot water bottle in her bed at night since we got her in Feb (except for the really hot nights) she just sleeps better with it, settles quickly and then didn't wake up until my alarm. So this is not normal for her.

I bought a snuggle safe from Ebay, I guess we will see how that goes.

[flame ryder]

If she isn't a chewer you could try some sort of bed that has the foam beans in it (as in like a bean bag). Have you ever relaxed in a bean bag yourself? If you have then you would notice how incredibly cosy and warm they are. Both my dogs have their Ambient beds. Expensive but sooooo worth it

http://www.ambientlounge.com.au/bean-bags/gold-class-bean-bags/pet-lounger-bean-bags/pet-lounger-bean-bag.html

[SchnauzerMax]

Max is tiny for a miniature schnauzer and wears PJs. Even with fleecy blankets and a nice gas heater in the evening before bed time, he still gets cold and PJ's were the only thing that helped him.

I think it is a small dog thing - the smaller the dog, the harder it is to keep warm. Our standard schnauzer Remy has no problems keeping warm.

[VizslaMomma]

Hmmm. I wonder about Ernie (Labrador). Having him seen him jump gaily into icy waters, I hadn't thought about this. He's in my bedroom, in a covered wire crate with a snuggle pillow.

He's my first dog who slept inside. Am I not doing enough??

Ernie would tell you if he needed more warmth.

I have found my boys were vocal about feeling chilled when it was time of sleeping!

Mind, same dogs loved the Mid West of the USA in Winter & thought snow was made for them.

[Little Gifts]

We've spent a couple of years perfecting the art of keeping our pei girl warm. She seems to lack any natural ability to do so herself once the temperature drops. She is a horse coat and seems warm enough to touch but can shake the whole bed with her shivers. She also wont settle when she is too cold.So even though temps up here are not exactly freezing she is already wearing a coat at night and it does help her stay asleep the whole night. As it cools further she will switch to her double layer coats, then it will be a blanket over that and on those really cold nights her side of the bed will also be filled with snuggle safes.

[Dogsfevr]

I would just put more bedding in that snuggles around ,small doesn't mean it feels the cold anymore & sometimes we just mentally presume they do because there small.

[Steph M]

Gus in -5 snow last year? Bliss.

Gus in +15 without his blankie? Basically dying, or so he says.

Gus is also a 36kg retriever who likes his creature comforts. I think its sweet. Whatever helps him.sleep in...

[suziwong66]

Hmmm. I wonder about Ernie (Labrador). Having him seen him jump gaily into icy waters, I hadn't thought about this. He's in my bedroom, in a covered wire crate with a snuggle pillow.

He's my first dog who slept inside. Am I not doing enough??

He'll let you know if he needs more i reckon...my labs do. Once Wilbur starts jumping on beds in the wee hours, i know it's time to drag out his winter bed (During the warmer months he has a Snooza futons and in winter he has a Snooza Jack bed. For the 'pup' whose still in a crate in our room, i add op shop woollen blankets so she can snuggle - she'll get her own Jack bed when she's no longer sleeping in a crate, but we're way off that time.

For the record, i was told by Miss22 that Wilbur has been jumping on her bed in the wee hours this week So i'll be washing the winter bed ready for action.

[Sabbath]

My Amstaff sleeps with me in bed all year round. Come the cooler months he snuggles into me and even sleeps with his head over my neck. So he feels the cold, even here on the Gold Coast.

[Taliecat]

Yep, my boofy amstaff ends up hogging the pillows in winter. He'll sleep on the floor or even outside on the patio (he won't come in even for cheese) on a really hot night, and creeps higher up the bed once it starts to cool down.

I'm trying to get him to sleep in his lovely cosy crate instead of putting my neck out..

[Little Gifts]

Don't get me started about my silly sbt girl! She has a lovely thick coat of fur and ever since she was a pup loves to have a coat to wear even though I doubt she needs one (she paws at me while I put coats on the other dog). On top of that she will actually get inside the bed with me, under all the bedding. I have no idea how she breathes or why she doesn't overheat but she has already started to do it this year and we haven't even gotten cold enough to put her coat on. And yes, she is a spooner whether she is on top of the covers or under them. I am never fur or heat free when I sleep.

[RedFeather]

I keep feeling like a bad puppy mother for not trying to get my Lappie to keep warm. Little bugger insists on sleeping on the coldest surface he can find. Arctic dogs...what can you do, eh? :)