Husky puppy not napping!

[huskyyuki]

Hello! I’m new to this forum and have really enjoyed lots of threads throughout our puppy journey so I thought I could ask some advice on our situation. 

 

Some background: We got our sibe Yuki when she was 8 weeks old (now 16 weeks old) and she was very shy and nervous upon arrival to her new home (totally understandable). She napped quite frequently and within a day she would make her own way to her crate for naps and sleep without any disturbance, this carried on for I would say just over a week. At night as expected she would cry for a while but after a couple days it stopped. 

 

So we were very cautious especially around covid to make sure we introduced her to be left alone for small amounts of time, if she was napping in the crate we’d pop out to local shops etc. However she stopped going into her crate during the day (obviously nerves had faded) and started napping either in the room you were in or the kitchen. This wouldn’t be a problem at all except for the fact if you did anything as stand up Yuki would immediately awaken (or stop resting) and start following you around!!! 

 

I tried to crate condition her, leave her there for 15 seconds and walk away, then give her a treat. Feed her meals in there (which she still does) but she would not go into her crate on her own! (If you tell her to go into the crate she will) So now we are trying enforced naps during the day, I still have a hard time believing she sleeps there. No one can be downstairs during these naps only upstairs because she just does not sleep unless you are dead still. She does cry tiny amounts when she’s first put in there or if someone is still downstairs but it stops when we leave, I can hear her move around after she wakes up but she doesn’t make noise herself. 

 

Is this a form of mild separation anxiety? She gets walked at lunch 30-40 minutes and in the evening around 35-50 minutes. With training sessions in the day and playtime. I know huskys require a lot of exercise and I thought for a 16 week old we are doing the right amount at the moment so she should be tired but she’s not!!! We have tried enforced naps for maybe 2 weeks now, will she get used to the idea of napping? Especially if someone’s around? 

[wolfpup]

What a stunningly beautiful pup you have!   At 16 weeks I would not walk her for more than 20 minutes at a time.   Over exercise at this age could lead to arthritis in later years and joint damage.    I have never been bothered whether a pup naps or not  - over the years I have just accepted that some sleep more than others.    It is quite natural for your pup to wake up if she hears movement, but in my experience (with babies as well as pups)  the quieter you are - the less noise it takes to wake them up.  Let her get used to hearing you moving around.   She will sleep when she needs to.      

[huskyyuki]

Thank you so much for your lovely response and the information!!