Bringing a new Cavapoo into your home can be an exciting time. Their loving nature and bubbly personalities make them perfect pets for families, and they are ideally suited for both families with and without children. But one of the challenges new owners experience is how to manage sleep time with your new Cavapoo and where exactly they should sleep.
Getting your Cavapoo to sleep is a combination of choosing an inviting location, providing a calm environment to encourage sleep and recognizing your Cavapoo’s sleeping requirements, which will vary by age.
Getting each of these elements right for your home is crucial to ensure your Cavapoo gets the rest they need while also ensuring your home suffers minimal disruption. We’ll dive into each of these areas in detail to ensure you can create the perfect environment for your Cavapoo to sleep and also choose the best locations for them to sleep.
How Much Sleep Do Cavapoos Need?
Cavapopo puppies sleep for between 18 and 20 hours per day, while adult Cavapoos will eventually sleep for between 12 and 15 hours per day. This sleep will not occur in one hit, and will be spread across the day.
Over time your Cavapoo puppy will find a sleep routine and will usually end up having a long stretch of sleep over night. But they will still sleep during the day, taking quiet opportunities when you are relaxing or when you are not home to have some rest time.
Cavapoo sleep needs are also related to their exercise levels. If you spend a long day out with your Cavapoo at the beach or on a hike, they will be worn out and need extra rest time to recover. As we talk about here, Cavapoos are not suited to long bouts of exercise so it is important to make their exercise levels suitable to a dog of their size.
How do I Encourage Cavapoos to Sleep?
Usually Cavapoos will require little encouragement to sleep with they are tired. Because Cavapoos need a large chunk of time to sleep each day they will naturally seek out sleep during the day.
The challenge many owners face, particularly owners of new Cavapoo puppies, is how to get their Cavapoos to sleep at night when the rest of the family is sleeping.
To encourage Cavapoos to sleep you should consider:
- Providing an inviting environment for your Cavapoo to want to sleep in. This could be a warm dog bed, or a crate with soft blankets
- Making sure they lights are dim or off in their sleeping area
- Keeping your Cavapoo away from distracting noises such as busy washing machines
- Establishing and stick to a sleeping routine for your Cavapoo
- Keeping children away from your Cavapoo when it is sleeping time – as much as they want to play, you need to give them time to rest
Where Should Cavapoos Sleep?
Selecting where Cavapoos should sleep is one of the most debated questions between Cavapoo owners. Where a Cavapoo sleeps is ultimately a personal choice made by a family and taking into account their preferences and needs.
For some families, the laundry room or mud room becomes the dog’s room. In many homes families will put a dog door from the laundry to the yard so their Cavapoo can relief themselves as they wish. The room can be made inviting for the Cavapoo by the inclusion of blankets and a dog bed and can also be the crate’s location, if you are crate training.
For some families the bedroom becomes the Cavapoo’s sleep area. For families with children there may be some debate over whose room the Cavapoo gets (and in some cases the Cavapoo themselves will choose!)
Having your Cavapoo sleep in a bedroom will generally be very popular with the Cavapoo themselves; it is the closest they can get to sleeping with their ‘pack’. But it’s wise to make sure that such arrangements are managed to make sure it is the right choice.
For example, you should be very careful about bedroom sleeping before your Cavapoo is toilet trained. Having to deal with a wet bed from your dog in the middle of the night is not a pleasant experience.
You also need to ensure your Cavapoo is not a dominating character. This can lead them to assume a position of authority which they do not have, which can lead to behavioral issues. Provided your Cavapoo knows who is boss, this can be fine.
You also need to establish some ground rules if your Cavapoo is sleeping in your bed. Unless you want them to be curled around your head, you should encourage them to sleep at the end of the bed by placing a blanket down for them to sleep on.
Allergy sufferers should be aware of dander allergies before getting their Cavapoo to sleep in their bedroom. Dander allergy sufferers can experience sneezing, coughing, congestion, itchy eyes and scratchy throat. Many Cavapoo owners believe that Cavapoos are hypoallergenic. While a Cavapoos lack of shedding does reduce the potential for allergies, they are not truly hypoallergenic dogs.
Sleeping with a Cavapoo on your bed can be very rewarding. They feel especially loved and it may be something you cherish too. However, one downside of having your Cavapoo sleep on your bed is their nighttime routine. They may walk around the bed, they may change position, they may become a ‘dead weight’ on top of you or behind your knees, or get up to other undesirable behavior.
Remember, where your Cavapoo sleeps is your choice so you should do what works best for your family. Also, their sleeping location does not need to be set in stone. If you try bedroom sleeping and they are disturbing your sleep then change the location. After a short amount of training they will get the idea.
The final word on Cavapoo sleeping locations is to be aware of what we at Oddle Dog call the “SLEPT” principle. SLEPT stands for Starts Laundry Eventually People Trained. Many Cavapoo owners start with lots of good intentions, including that their Cavapoo will sleep in the laundry every night, no matter what. But slowly, over time, they give in to the puppy dog eyes and finally allow their cute Cavapoo to sleep with them.
For some people the SLEPT effect happens very early as they cannot stand the puppy cries in the early days, for others it may be a particularly cold winter which prompts them to reconsider sleeping arrangements. For some it may be a partner or child pleading for a ‘one off’ occasion of having the Cavapoo in their bed. Whichever way it happens it is very common!
Funnily enough it’s often the people who “aren’t dog people” who are the first to cave and allow their Cavapoo in their bed!
Getting Your Cavapoo into a Sleep Routine
Getting your Cavapoo into a sleep routine is important for everyone’s mental health. It is particularly important to start this when they are young when they are most likely to adapt to the routines of your home.
Some tips to establishing a routine include:
- Make bedtime the same time each night
- Put your Cavapoo to sleep in the same spot each night
- Make the few hours before bed a quiet time to encourage sleeping
- Ideally provide a location where they can go to the toilet themselves in the night
- Remember that puppies take time to adapt so be patient when establishing a new routine
Last (Important) Word
Getting into your Cavapoo into a sleep pattern is a necessary part of bringing a new dog into your home. It will lead to a more positive environment for everyone, including your Cavapoo.
One key thing to remember is, even if things get tough with your Cavapoo waking in the night, or any struggles you may have getting your Cavapoo into a routine, just be sure not to resort to having your Cavapoo sleep outside. Cavapoos are indoors dogs, bred to be with people.
Stick with it, and you will have a happy sleep-filled home before long!