When do puppies sleep through the night?

Most puppies start sleeping through the night at around 16–20 weeks (Zoetis Petcare), and Agria puts most puppies at 4–6 months, while VCA notes some still need a night trip until about 5 months. A puppy that has just come home at 8 weeks almost always needs at least one toilet trip a night. The way there is simple: a fixed bedtime routine, quiet night trips, and moving those trips later as your puppy's bladder grows. Every puppy is different, and some sleep through far sooner.

Night-time potty trips by age

Puppies hold on longer asleep than awake, because they aren't eating, drinking or playing. The usual rule of thumb is about one hour per month of age while resting (AKC), and some sources add one hour (AKC, PetMD). The table puts that next to what the sources say about nights.

Hours are the AKC rule (months of age) to the "months + 1" version (AKC, PetMD), rounded. Our potty schedule calculator uses the same rule to plan night trips around your own bedtime, and how long a puppy can hold its pee goes through the rules in detail.

Why sources give different ages

The ages don't line up perfectly because they describe slightly different things: when the bladder can last a night (AKC, PetMD), when sleep becomes continuous (Zoetis), or when most puppies in practice stop waking (Agria). The advice on night trips differs too. Battersea and the PDSA plan for them; Agria Sweden writes that many puppies sleep the whole night from the start if they sleep close to someone, and that night trips aren't needed if the puppy goes out right before bed and straight after waking.

Both can be true for different puppies. A small or very young puppy is more likely to need a trip; a calm puppy sleeping next to your bed may surprise you. Let your own puppy's dry or wet mornings decide.

How to get your puppy sleeping through the night

1. Keep a fixed bedtime. The PDSA recommends a set bedtime and a regular routine as early as possible.
2. Make the last trip the very last thing. Out right before lights out, and straight out again when your puppy wakes in the morning (Agria).
3. Let it sleep close at first. The PDSA suggests sleeping in the same room for the first few nights; Battersea suggests a baby monitor if your puppy sleeps in another room.
4. Set an alarm rather than waiting for crying. A planned trip means your puppy doesn't have to wake up desperate.
5. Keep night trips boring. Battersea: low light, quiet, no play, straight back to bed.
6. Move the trip later, then drop it. When mornings are dry for a week or so, push the alarm later. When that works too, skip it.
7. Protect daytime naps. An overtired puppy settles badly. The puppy sleep calculator shows how much daytime sleep your puppy still needs on top of the night.

If you use a crate, check the rules where you live. In Sweden, SKK explains that a dog may not be kept in a crate indoors, even briefly; a crate at home can only be a bed with the door removed or fixed open.

When night waking is about more than the toilet

Not every wake-up is a full bladder. Loneliness, hunger and being too hot or cold all wake puppies; our guide to puppy crying at night helps you tell them apart, and your puppy's first night home covers the very first nights.

When to ask the vet

Ask your vet if an older puppy suddenly needs to go out more often at night after it had been sleeping through, if it strains or pees tiny amounts, if there is blood in the urine, or if it drinks much more than usual. The Royal Kennel Club lists urinary tract infections, diabetes, bladder stones and kidney disease among the causes of a puppy peeing more, so it's worth ruling them out before treating it as a training problem.

See the nights getting longer

The quickest way to know when to drop the night trip is to write the nights down: bedtime, any wake-ups, and the first pee of the morning. After a week or two you can see the longest dry stretch growing. DogsLife logs sleep, pee and poo with a tap each and shows them on one timeline.