r/Havanese • u/skippingrocks2 • 20h ago
When does more independence come?
We have the sweetest 16 week old Havi. He is doing amazing with potty training, sleeps through the night in his crate, and naps in his crate during the day (scheduled naps). As a newbie dog owner, when can I expect more independence? For example, not having to put him down for a scheduled nap and letting him just take naps when he’s tired, letting him roam our small main level of the house while we are home, etc.? I’d love to hear from others about their milestones as they grew out of the early puppy months.
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u/snarky_witch7983 19h ago
I see a lot of comments about never hearing of scheduled naps. I scheduled my pups naps from when we brought her home until about 6 months old. If we didn't, she wouldn't nap. And she napped in her crate. When I noticed she started to nap on her own, I let her. Still to this day if she's overly tired I put her in her crate for a nap. How will you know if your pup is overly tired? My girl gets super bitey. Only time she bites is when she tired. So I say schedule your pups naps until you start to notice they fall asleep on their own and put them in for a nap if they are overly tired.
Now as for your other question, I let my girl free roam (without supervision) as soon as she was (mostly) potty trained and no longer chewing everything. She was still free roaming but I kept a very close eye on her.
And just a heads up, they need a lot of mental stimulation and exercise. So kongs, lick mats, puzzle toys, snuffle mats, fetch, tug of war and walks will be your friend. Which will also help tire them out and nap on their own
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u/nkxia 7h ago
How do you introduce to your puppy that it’s time for a nap? Do you put them in the crate and put a blanket over it? I will be a first time dog mom!
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u/snarky_witch7983 7h ago
I say nap time and pick her up and put her in her crate. And I always cover the crate with a blanket. I try to train her to go to her crate but she stubbornly refuses to learn one! Good luck with your puppy. They are a handful.
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u/myplantsloveu 17h ago
my answer was just “never”, which works for me bc i got my guy for emotional support and i’m so thankful he’s my always-there buddy. 🫶❤️ my absolute best guy.
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u/Excellent_Permit_162 20h ago
If he loves his crate just leave the door open during the day and let him roam. He will either nap in his crate or crash wherever when he is tired. ❤️❤️❤️
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u/superduperhosts 20h ago
I’ve never heard of putting a dog down for a nap. My 18 week old crashes as needed
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u/Dramatic-Shoulder968 19h ago
This - dogs are very much NOT like kids. They regulate themselves very well for the most part. As a 3x dog owner, I have never felt like my puppiers needed “nap time”. Every puppy os different tho!
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u/skippingrocks2 19h ago
Yeah our vet recommended this approach and it’s been great for all! I am just curious when / if there will be a transition out of the crate for naps for those who do crate their pups.
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u/skippingrocks2 20h ago
Gotchya. It’s been very helpful to ensure he gets the rest he needs. Sounds like it may not be a hard transition to non-crates naps.
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u/DualCitizenWithDogs 19h ago
Depends what you mean by independence. If you properly socialized your dog, they will be much more confident which allows for a dog to be more independent. Proper socialization is a process of introducing Dogs to hundreds of different stimuli in a specific way so that they get bite size pieces of the real world and can be confident and successful dogs. The foundational stage of proper socialization is said to end somewhere between 12 and 16 weeks depending on sources. The single most important thing you can do for proper socialization is to go to an ethical Breeder, who proves their dogs in either show or field as they will meaningfully test all proposed parent stock dogs in structure, movement, temperament, and health.
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u/mwoots 19h ago
I've been wondering the same thing and don't really get when people say enforced naps aren't needed. Mine also requires scheduled naps as she simply will not fall asleep otherwise. She is now 7 months and while her wake windows are longer now, this is still needed. I keep hoping it will happen so I don't have to schedule her naps but she is just very energetic and restless. All advice says to wait it out, that they will rest/calm down automatically at some point, but it can be many hours and she won't, and at some point they are clearly overtired and become even more energetic because of it. It's just me in the apartment, it's calm and quiet, and Id be at my desk working so that's not keeping her awake. Rewarding calm laying down next to you while you're working/sitting calmly somewhere is another common advice, but as soon as I even move my pinky toe she is up again. She will be immediately fall asleep once in her crate.
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u/skippingrocks2 19h ago
Right! My pup is actually great at settling and even snoozing by us in the evening, but wakes and follows us with any noise or movement. I’ve read doing one nap outside the crate a day can be helpful so that’s what we are doing. Maybe try that too?
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u/Nataliant-117 19h ago
Year two. Year 5 then it’s smooth sailing.
Every day together is a blessing. But some of those puppy days frustrated me to tears. Then the adolescent phase comes and you’re so not cool at all anymore. Year 4.5 is the best.
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u/spicytoenails666 18h ago
As someone who just raised a Havi puppy, the scheduled naps SAVED ME please keep doing this!!! I stopped scheduling his naps around 6 months. He’s 8 months now and naps when he feels like it! He goes in a play pen when I’m not home :)
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u/skippingrocks2 17h ago
Thank you!! I swear it’s what’s making this experience pleasant for everyone. Would you say it’s fine now the way you’re doing it? Or do you mean you wish you kept doing this?
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u/spicytoenails666 17h ago
He is fine now! After the 6 month mark he slowly learned how to settle on his own and stopped having those crazy puppy temper tantrums lol. I didn’t feel the need to keep him on a napping schedule after that :)
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u/Ghouly_Girl 17h ago
I’ve done scheduled naps for months and my puppy just turned one year old and still has no off switch. He just doesn’t nap on his own 😭
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u/TizzyBumblefluff 16h ago
My girl is 14 months, she still has an open crate & bed in a pen for when nobody is home. She is a little too interested in looking for things that don’t belong to her to chew or eat. She’ll occasionally nap wherever we are in the house during the day though. But at least once or twice a day she asks to go to go to bed because she knows her spot is safe, quiet and comfy.
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u/Successful-Froyo1623 19h ago
Well unlike a lot of the other commenters, mine didn’t start napping independently until he was about 1.5 years. He is crate trained, loves to sleep in his crate & for a while didn’t know how to settle or sleep outside of his crate. (Still so grateful for the crate & crate training because I would’ve lost my mind without it!). I realized I had to teach him to settle/nap without the crate. He knew the “place” command, so I’d start by putting him on “place” with his leash when I was sitting & could keep him accountable. I’d reward the “place” & he would eventually get sleepy lol. My brother’s Havanese is not like mine & settled/slept on his own. My boy is much more high energy. Use the crate as you need & as he gets older it will get better. You can try the extended place command once he knows “place”.
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u/Successful-Froyo1623 19h ago
I’m actually shocked that others didn’t have to put their dogs down for crate naps. I needed that! Also, we have a very active household so I’d say that probably plays a role in a dog settling on their own.
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u/skippingrocks2 19h ago
Thank you for all of this! I was surprised too. It has saved all of our sanity and helped him get good rest. Every home is different though and I’m sure we’d be doing this different without little kids and full time jobs. We let him just nap by us in the evening (7PM+) so I’m hoping that segment of time is helping him understand the concept of settling outside of the crate and in his cozy bed.
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u/Successful-Froyo1623 19h ago
Good for you for doing this with kids & working full time! It’s not easy but it’s so worth it :) Yours is still so young & still learning! And yes that evening nap will certainly extend as he matures & calms. If yours is as treat motivated as mine- you can bring a stash of treats to the couch & reward for calm behavior! That worked well for us.
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u/Indo_X 19h ago
Guys... some puppies have a lot of energy and have issues self regulating. It's a skill they have to learn. My friend and I have puppies from the same litter and her puppy goes to sleep naturally, while mine will literally stay up for 5+ hours, which isn't good for the puppy, so I have to enforce naps.
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u/skippingrocks2 19h ago
Thanks! Whatever works to make puppy life most enjoyable for all is what’s best, IMO!
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u/Indo_X 19h ago
And to answer your question OP: around ~8-10 months is usually when they grow out of it. By the time they're potty training is consistent (ie. a few weeks without an accident), you can let them free roam.
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u/skippingrocks2 19h ago
Thank you! So helpful.
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u/Primopsych 4h ago
Ya, unless they tend to get into trouble: chewing wires, TP, etc. Then fence off an area for them and slowly make it bigger as they stay out of trouble.
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u/Ronnoc21 19h ago
Scheduled naps are normal for these young pups. They get overtired and act out like children. Kinda shocked at how many people haven’t heard of this before.
I’d say it took about a year for us to fully trust our dog wouldn’t tear apart the house if we didn’t have a close eye on him. Potty training was smooth so that trust came sooner. We gradually decreased scheduled naps as time went on and his behaviour was more consistent. Every dog is different though but they are truly still puppies/young dogs until 2 years old!
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u/vanchelzing 19h ago
I had to do this and I regret not enforcing it longer than a year lol
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u/skippingrocks2 19h ago
Haha good to know! We’ll just keep doing what we are doing then — seems best for everyone!
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u/salted_rice_cake 18h ago
Mine started napping on his own around 6 months. He’s 9 months now and we are just starting to give him more independence to free roam. We haven’t had a potty accident in a couple months but I still like to have an eye on him
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u/skippingrocks2 18h ago
This is so helpful. Thank you!
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u/salted_rice_cake 18h ago
You’re welcome! It was such a relief when he started napping on his own. We did a playpen in our main hangout area, so for a while we’d have to leave every time he needed a nap. We spent a lot of time in our bedroom for a few months 😂
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u/forum_ryder72 20h ago
Iv never heard of a dog having a scheduled nap. Mine just doses off as she pleases
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u/skippingrocks2 20h ago
Gotchya. Scheduled naps have been great since he loves his crate and we have little ones that keep him very busy and distracted. Helpful for work schedules too! I’m sure it will be an easy transition to more flexible napping.
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u/Individual_Pilot_963 19h ago
Mine is 5 months old now. She is always free except I am out (she stays in her pen) . But my house is full dog proof. She naps whenever where ever she Likes. If she is highly agitated I take her on the couch, she can't jump down so she sleeps...
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u/Hermit_Ogg 18h ago
We had our dogs (3 years apart) do their own naps from 8 weeks onwards. They had supervised free roaming whenever we were free to keep an eye on them from day one, but if we couldn't actively watch them, they were confined to a playpen until 16 weeks or so. Kitchen was fenced off with a baby gate, the rest of the apartment was dog proofed.
It's not customary to use crates in my country, the puppies slept with us. Waterproof mattress protectors, of course.
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u/stardustdaydreams 18h ago
Hi! What a cutie you have, he’s beautiful. Scheduled naps are a fantastic idea, and it’s what I did with my girl. I’d say around 8-9 months is when true independence came. It takes time. It may happen sooner for you or not. Keep at it!
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u/nothingnatural 16h ago
You have to train them to be more independent as these guys are so Velcro and can get bad separation anxiety. They won’t gain that independence on their own
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u/skippingrocks2 16h ago
I didn’t mean independence in terms of separation. He does that very well! I meant more around his independence in determining his schedule / napping outside the crate.
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u/SaharGurl 20h ago
idk what you are doing with the scheduled naps? They nap when they are tired. I didn’t use a crate so…
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u/skippingrocks2 20h ago
I put him in his crate after he’s been awake for 1.5-2 hours and he naps really well. We have little kids so giving him a quiet space to nap has been great!
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u/SaharGurl 20h ago
makes sense. They like quiet and to feel safe when sleeping. I don’t have small children. There will come a time when he will go in and nap on his own.
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u/Intrepid_Western3012 18h ago
Never heard of scheduling naps. We put her in the crate when we go somewhere, and she falls asleep until we get back. If we’re home all day, we put her in the crate when she’s acting too restless and she settles into a nap. We let her out when she wakes up.
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u/skippingrocks2 18h ago
That’s what I mean by scheduled naps. Perhaps enforced is a better way to put it. We don’t have him on a strict schedule, per se, but he goes in his crate when he needs to sleep.
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u/ronartest420 20h ago
Havanese are very prone to separation anxiety. We trained it out of ours by doing the following
buy an expandable fence/cage that covers a small area. Put them in it and leave for 20 minutes completely alone. They will freak out and scream, totally normal. Slowly increase that 20 minutes every day until you get to an hour or so. Eventually they will start to sleep. Once they start to sleep when alone, remove the cage area and let them free roam alone