Sleep
Nap transitions are chaos
They wake up biting, frantic, immediately at 100. The nap made it worse somehow.
The moment
Marlowe just woke up from a two-hour nap and instead of being rested, she's immediately in overdrive. Biting, running, barking. She went from asleep to chaos in under a minute. You're starting to think the naps aren't helping.
What's actually happening
Nap transitions are hard because a puppy's nervous system doesn't come online smoothly. They wake up in a state of arousal and need time and structure to regulate before they're ready for the world. If the crate door opens and they immediately hit a stimulating environment, kids running, TV on, toys everywhere, they skip calm entirely and go straight to manic. The nap worked. The transition didn't.
What we do
We don't rush the crate door. When Marlowe wakes up, we wait until she's calm before opening it. Even 30 seconds of quiet makes a difference.
First stop is always outside for a toilet break. No play, no excitement. Just the business trip.
Back inside, the first activity is always low-key. A sniff mat on the floor. Water. Maybe a short chew. Nothing that spikes arousal.
We keep the first 5-10 minutes after every nap deliberately boring. The energy can build gradually. It doesn't need to start at the top.
If she wakes up hot every time, the nap might be too short. We experiment with letting her sleep an extra 15-20 minutes.