Early dog blues... (just need to get it off my chest)

[Sheepscheeks]

Freddie, 5 and a half months, is a very good pup in so many ways - hardly any accidents in the house, not a manic chewer, very friendly, recall not brilliant if dogs are around but he is still learning, can be left on his own without going bonkers, biting not completely erased but he definitely knows it is not allowed. There is just one thing that is wearing us down - the early mornings. I know there are posts on here about this issue and I have read them all, I think I just need to get things off my chest. It doesn't make any difference what time he is put to bed (crate in kitchen) or whether he has an evening walk - he is more often than not awake and barking between 5.30 and 5.45am. We leave him til 6 just so we are not getting up when the clock says 5 something! He is pretty manic in the morning but I  guess that is normal - he hasn't seen us for 7 or 8 hours. The other problem for me is that I am not sleeping briliantly because I know I am going to get woken up so early and I am fine tuned to his bark. We do take it in turns to get up (me, OH and 2 DDs) but the kids can't really cope with his energy early in the morning so usually one of us adults ends up getting up too to help.

I know many of you have early rising dogs, I just wondered how many of you had early risers who got later as they got older and how many have perpetual early risers. I know I should go to bed earlier but I am usually asleep by 11 at the latest. Just don't get any evening otherwise once kids have gone to bed.

Thanks for listening anyway.

[supergirl]

This sounds so much like Roly - however, he tended to howl in the early hours between 3-5am, usually needing the loo.  You had to admire his stamina, he could keep it up for ages .  The one time I ignored him, he pooed in his crate and then continued to howl which taught me a lesson.  As he was a summer puppy I did think it was the early light mornings, but in the end it turned out to be his food making him need the loo more often during the night.  Once his food was changed he was better, but we still had fairly early mornings - 5.30am to 6am.  I did exactly the same as you and would wake up at the slightest wimper - very tiring and very stressful.  At one point I sent him to a friend who had outdoor kennels, just so that I could get a couple of good nights sleep - when he came back he was actually a bit better and I felt better too.  At kennels he could howl to his hearts content and no one would pay him any attention.

What totally solved the problem (you won't want to hear this) was when he came to sleep in my room - I get to sleep in until 7am, sometimes 8am now.  However, I didn't have him sleep in my room until he was sleeping to a fairly reasonable hour downstairs (about 6am and that was with me going to bed at midnight).  He will sleep downstairs now if asked, but you will get a few whimpers at bedtime and a few more in the morning at about 6.30am, but nothing too bad.  He'll be two in May and if he sleeps in my room there are no problems at all.  I used wonder whether it was a "boy" thing as neither of the two girls have a problem with sleeping downstairs, but now I think its just a "Roly" thing .

The things I tried were a Dap plug, snugglesafe hot water bottle wrapped in an old unwashed and recently worn T-shirt (he loved this), which to varying degrees helped.

Completely understand what its like and there is nothing worse than a cumulative lack of sleep for adding to stress levels - hope you find something that works.

[Marialh]

Not sure I can help, but is it light in the early mornings where Freddie sleeps?

I definitely noticed a difference between the clock changes and at weekends Bracken thinks that 6am is a good time to get up because it's light outside! Fortunately for me, I'm more of an early riser, but I've trudged downstairs at 6am, told him off for whining and scratching and then gone back upstairs again. Usually gets me another half hour of peace!

Another thing we do is leave some toys with Bracken - the ones we're fairly sure he's safe with - and I can occasionally hear some bumping and bouncing as he plays with them in the kitchen where he sleeps, but that's much better than the whining!

Anyway, as one sleepy-eyed person to another, you have my sympathy!  

[Geordietyke]

I usually go to bed around 10-10.30pm and my OH brings Odie up around 11-11.30pm.  As he sleeps in his crate by my bed, I have a full night sleep.  He wakes sometimes between 3.30am-4.30am to go to toilet then settles back till around 6.30/7.00am.  He then 'tells me' he wants up to snuggle his mam and dad in bed (which we do  ). He's then fine till up time at 7.30am!  I'm not sure what his pattern will be when he is moved from crate to his own bed in the future though...   

[Karma]

Honey wasn't as early as Freddie, but she was still pretty early, and pretty persistant...  generally around 6.15 I think....
She HAS improved with age... once she was about 8 months or so, we started really working on pushing her getting up time back, 5 minutes at a time, until it was at a point we could cope with.
She will now sleep until 7.30 on a weekend - I actually think she would sleep later now, but this is the routine we've got into.... 

[black taz]

Kira is getting earlier and earlier, she is waking us at 3am now.  Although it is just to go out, she wont settle back in her crate.  I am afraid i have relented now and she starts off in her crate, then when she wakes in the night, she goes out then comes up stairs into our bedroom (Taz already sleeps in the room with us).  Our original plan was to wait until she was dry through the night before we let her upstairs, but this is the only way we can get a good nights sleeps.

I must say though, she settles in our room brilliantly and doesnt even attempt to get on the bed.

[aliceandlouis]

Really feel for you because I am one of the 'if-I-don't-get-my-sleep-I-will-murder-the-next-person-who-talks-to-me' brigade  - and if I am aware that I may be disturbed I find it really, really hard to sleep well - so I do understand how exasperating this is.

Not sure I can help, but is it light in the early mornings where Freddie sleeps?

We have installed a blackout blind in the room where our two sleep and it does seem to help (also has the added bonus in the summer of keeping their 'bedroom' a bit cooler.  I bought ours for about £8 from Argos so it might be worth a try?

Good Luck

[MaggieR]

Maggie used to set an alarm I'm convinced of it, to go off every morning at 6.... and there was no way I could ignore her.  I used to get up let her out and then lay down on the sofa in the extension for another hour or so, being used as a tug toy and springboard as required (amazing what you can doze through) till she decided maybe it was a nice idea to settle down with me.  It was only truly "fixed" tho when she had a bad bout of sickness etc when she was about 5/6 months old.  She was quite poorly and I ended up taking her upstairs with me.... the rest is history!  Now she sleeps until I wake up  Generally speaking during the week we're up by 8 but weekends sometimes I get to 10am  

You have my complete sympathy tho - it used to knock me out getting up with her...

[waggytails]

You have just described our life.  Hattie is 2 yrs old and starts to cry around 6am,  before this it was anytime between 3am and 5.30am, like you i could not sleep well knowing i would get woken early.  I know that i contributed to this as when we had Millie she needed to get up early for toillet and i would feed her and Hattie and go back to bed, now Hattie wakes wanting to be fed.  So i like you wont move before 6am, i get up, feed her, send her out to wee and then take her back to where she sleeps, tell her night night and shut the door and there is not a sound until 9am.  Even when my oh gets up she ignores him and just sleeps.

It would be great if i could get her to wake later but i don't think it is going to happen, I am dreading the clocks going back as it will mean we will be back to 5am and that kills me.

[Sarah1985]

Im up for work at 4.30 most mornings (so i can be home in time for the dogs afternoon walk) As a reuslt I get my dogs up at this time and they then go off and have a kip on the bed with my OH. This works weill in the week but it means that at weekends I never get a lie in.   

Your all wimps (kidding)   

[Jayne1968]

Oh poor you!! When Coco first came home she was getting up around 6am, desperate for the loo (she never goes during the night and I go to bed about 10.30ish). I'm not an early bird myself and standing in the garden in the dark at 6am was NOT my idea of fun!!

Then 2 things happened. I had a night out in the local pub (lucky me!) and left her at home. At about 11.30, I came home and took her down to the pub. She stayed out until about 1.30, had a poo and pee on the way home and the next morning didn't wake up until 9!! Result!! (and she had been asleep in her crate that evening while I was out)

Around the same sort of time, I also covered the sides of her crate with an old blanket. Whilst light (and fresh air) still got in at the front, I think it helped her fell more secure and snuggly.

Since those two things, I've rarely been woken up by her. If I get up and go to the loo in the morning she hears me and starts crying. If I cross my legs she'll stay in bed asleep. On easter sunday it was nearly 9.45 when I finally came downstairs. She slept for over 10 1/2 hours with no waking up and no accidents..clever Coco!!!! SHe is 17 weeks now.

So, cover em up and wear em out!!! Thats my motto now!!!

Jayney x

[Hurtwood Dogs]

To give you hope!

I'm rubbish without a decent nights sleep I'm afraid. I'm not very good at tips for how to get there, but all 3 of my dogs have learned to wait until we get up. Currently OH gets up for a shower about 6 during the week and goes down and lets the dogs out about 6.30am... I get up about 7.30am with the kids and by then the dogs have gone back to sleep and don't want to be hassled  At the weekends we don't hear anything out of them until we go down - which is a bit earlier than it used to be because of Maggie but otherwise they'd be happy until 10am + if we needed them to be. My last dog was the same too so I think it's whatever they get used to.. it's likely my lot have been 'ignored' a bit in the process of getting there but there doesn't seem to be any toileting issues and they're happy snoozing if that's what we're doing 

This is 3 different dogs two different breeds so it can't just be luck

Oh, forgot also that even a friends working lab that I used to look after when she was traveling (he lives in New Zealand now) was happy to fit in here even after I'd been told in no uncertain terms that this dog HAD to get up and go for a walk at 6am EVERYDAY or he was impossible.... he wasn't impossible, he was absolutely fine and stayed quiet until we went down like the others. There was no way I was dragging my little boy out of bed at 6am to go for a walk

[Mel]

Gosh, I'm so sorry to hear this. Tali from day one has slept through the might except for a midnight mad fit which is getting less. As he is locked in my room he does have some accidents but he will sleep in til whenever, greets me on waking then I let him out of the babygate and he does his business on the puppy pads and comes back to bed. We are in a flat so he can't go downstairs at the moment.

He sleeps right through and doesn't bark or whine. For that I am thankful.
I read somewhere the bedt thing to do is daily extend then time you go to them by a few minutes a day so puppy gets the idea of waking later. Please remember their little bodies are not correctly developed yet so they don't have great control.

[Sheepscheeks]

Thanks guys for the kind words. I know I could try getting up at about 4.30am to let him out for a wee then putting him back to bed but OH is really not keen on me doing that as the alarm will wake him as well. I think I just need to accept that is the way he is for now and go to bed earlier!!

[blueroanlover]

Our pup is nearly 5 months old - he has been dry at night for ages now. Before the clocks went forward he woke up at 5.30 am or 6am, now he wakes at 0645 almost every morning. Barks and whines, as he wants ta wee... we get up, let him out, feed him and then he goes for a poo.

Then back in his crate for about an hour whilst we take a cuppa back to bed.

I guess he is good really because he doesn't object to that routine.  We would still like a lie in if only till 8am at the weekends!