While for most new owners, the early nights pass fairly incident free, what can you do if things don’t go entirely to plan?

Make sure you are setting your puppy up to succeed. Your puppy is more likely to sleep if they are tired, so in the hour before bed, have a game, play session or do some training (not too active but still engaging – you want them tired not hyper-excited!).

Don’t make their final meal of the day too late, and take them out to go to the toilet last thing before bedtime so you know that the need to pee or poo will not keep them awake. Be prepared to wait until you know your puppy has gone to the toilet (and of course has been rewarded for doing so). This can take some time, as puppies can get distracted by the great outdoors and forget what it is that they are out there for so be patient!

Having made sure you are ready for bed beforehand, you can put your puppy in the crate beside you – and immediately put the light out to go to sleep (so the puppy doesn’t think that you are awake so there’s the chance for more playtime!).

On the first night with the new puppy, you might notice him squeaking or even barking – as his body clock isn’t in a routine yet and night-times are a bit boring! You can soothe him with your voice – and even put your hand on the crate – but give him the space and the time to settle down (it may be worth warning your neighbours in advance if they are close by – and buying them some wine, chocolate and earplugs!).

While you can comfort your puppy in this way, don’t be tempted to get them out and cuddle them or play with them – otherwise they have just learnt the perfect way to make night times more fun and so will be even more persistent in trying to get your attention!

If they really won’t settle (and you really have been patient about this!), you can put a Kong toy with something tasty and puppy-appropriate smeared around the edge and inside, to encourage them to chew. This will distract from the barking but also relax and tire the puppy so they are more likely to fall asleep.

Having something like a blanket or a towel in the crate that smells of their mother and littermates can often help them feel secure and so sleep better. Give something to the breeder when you visit the puppies and ask them to keep it in the puppy pen until you bring your puppy home for the first night sleep.

Some puppies feel more secure when they can tunnel into a bed or be surrounded by soft sides (think about how they sleep bundled up with their littermates in a puppy pile) so consider getting a small doughnut bed to put in the crate).

If you do have to get up in the night to take them outside to the toilet (as you may well in the first couple of weeks), make this as boring as possible with no interactions beyond rewarding successful toileting.

It is way too late to tell you this but ensuring you get your puppy from a breeder who rears in the home and so who has puppies that are already used to a domestic sleep/wake routine will make the puppy’s first nights so much easier.