Nacho sleeping habits (or lack of!!!)

[Welsh_Wizard]

I posted a while back about Nachos sleeping habits and I'm sorry (and tired) to say that haven't changed.

We are crate training and there is no doubt he likes his crate to sleep in. The issue arises when he is in there overnight - he will wake me up every 2hrs or so religiously. 95% of the time it is for a quick wee so I don't have that much of an issue if he is actually going but I find it hard to believe he needs the toilet so often at night when he doesn't throughout the day.

I have lifted his bowl at about 8pm to try and stem the tide but that has had zero effect in fairness.

Any suggestions or similar problems off anyone here? Due to him recently being really ill I've given him a bit of leeway to get over the drama but his staples come out this week and it's time to get back on the wagon per se!

Thanks in advance

[Pop-Star]

No advise but soooo pleased to hear that Nacho is up and about and over his drama

[mooching]

hi there, glad Nacho is doing ok now.

Could you just tell me what you are feeding him on now, how much and at what times? (I am wondering if he's hungry and that that's what's waking him up).

[Welsh_Wizard]

Hi

The vet has given us Hills Science Plan ID, canned meat variety and kibble. We are slowly weaning him off the meat and just onto the kibble. In terms of volume it's normally a table spoon of meat and a handful of kibble 4 times a day. This is probably still significantly less than the 3 meals he was having previously. I hunger can keep a dog awake, this could be my issue. We are back to the vets today to see about having his staples out so I will have a word about upping his food. 

[aliceandlouis]

Good Luck at the vet's today - and nice to know that Nacho is now well enough to be a little pain in the a**e 

With regard to night-time weeing, I know that many other COL'ers disagree, but neither of my two have access to water overnight (and this included Louis after about 12 weeks of age when all he did was spread it around overnight) - they are both in crates and I don't have a clip-on water dish in either.  I do make sure they are reminded to drink after their late pm meal (by running a fresh bowl of water which seems to be irresistable  ) and in the early evening again, but no water overnight.  Neither of them are desperate for a drink in the mornings - in fact they tend to wait until after their morning walk and breakfast before going near the water bowl.  Not sure if that would help?

[julie1]

Sooooo glad Natcho is on the mend.
I don't know if this will help but it may be worth a try
When we first had Kez she was very "mardy", really terrible in her crate at night, we tried ignoring it for about a week, it didn't work, so we tried a "dummy" just like a baby & we have never looked back, infact she still has it at 8 months  (we may never wean her off it).
The dummy is a medium sized "Kong" with a small smear of peanut butter around the large opening.   I stand it upright in the corner of her cage & that is it until 8 or 9 hours later.   She does NOT have water in her cage, I just shut the door & switch off the light & say "night-night"     Hope it works  Julie

[Welsh_Wizard]

Thanks for the ideas.

His meals are : brekkie between 0700 - 0900hrs
                      Lunch between 1200hrs -1400hrs
                      Dinner between 1700hrs - 1900hrs

He hasn't been getting any treats at the moment due to his stomach so his training regime has gone up in smoke an' all !

If we could just sort this night time issue out we'd have ironed out everything pretty much!

[bracken]

When he wakes you what does he want? ...is it always a wee.
does he have toys in the crate?
So pleased he is well on the mend 

The latest I feed my pup is 4.45  and she has brekkie at 6.30-7 

[mooching]

His meals are : brekkie between 0700 - 0900hrs
                      Lunch between 1200hrs -1400hrs
                      Dinner between 1700hrs - 1900hrs

Just curious: how come there's a 2 hour variation in the timing of all his meals?

When Alfie was between 3-4 months old, he was waking very early (4-5am) for a poo. I spoke to my vet about it and she suggested bringing his last meal of the day FORWARD, so that his poo following that meal would have plenty of time to work its way out well before bedtime. Once we did that (we brought it forward to 6pm then to 5pm) he started sleeping in till 7am or even later.

So, he had his meals at 9am, 1pm and 5pm, plus a very small handful of kibble at bedtime.

Now, at 7 months, his meals are at 9am and 4pm, plus the bedtime kibble at 11pm. He sleeps through till at least 8am, sometimes 9 or 10am, if we haven't got up, and he has ALWAYS had water in his crate at night, in a little bolt-on bowl.

[Welsh_Wizard]

The difference in times is simply down to our work patterns. When my OH and I are off, it's a stable routine however because I work continental shifts, sometimes it can get awkward.

Now the vet has given him the all clear for more volume of food hopefully the hunger issue will sort itself out.

For a dog that's 4 months old and 5kg how much would you suggest? I have thought about 150g all day. 3 x 40g portions then a handful for just when he is about to go to bed.

[mooching]

The difference in times is simply down to our work patterns. When my OH and I are off, it's a stable routine however because I work continental shifts, sometimes it can get awkward.

Wherever possible, I'd suggest leaning towards the earlier time for Nacho's last meal of the day, and then taking him out for his evening walk at least 2 hours later than that.

For a dog that's 4 months old and 5kg how much would you suggest? I have thought about 150g all day. 3 x 40g portions then a handful for just when he is about to go to bed.

Is there no feeding guide on the Hills ID pack? (my initial thought would be that it is likely to be rather more than 150g, based on what Alfie was having at that age)

For the bedtime snack, I usually give no more than 20g.

If you're going to use his Hills kibble for training treats initially, remember to take them out of his daily allowance (once you decide on it) as well.

[Bluebell]

So gald Nacho is well again 
TBH I doubt whether he actually needs to go to the loo every 2 hours at night, it is probably more of a habit, maybe just checking you are still there I guess how you deal with that is up to you, and how much noise he makes, and how long you are prepared to listen to it
If the Hills food is that mousse stuff, when I had to give Lillie that after a bowel op when she was 14 months old she was starving all the time.

My dogs all have a bonio at bed time, I find it really settles them - (youngest is 6 months)

FWIW my puppy is crated every night at 10.30, next to my older dogs, and she has never had access to water at night time - she is still alive and well

[Welsh_Wizard]

Working it out exactly it's more like 170g so we are going to try 3 x 50g and a 20g treat at night.

We are also stopping sleeping on the settee with us now between evening meal and bed time. I wouldn't be surprised if he has slept all he needs too by the time bedtime arrives which is why he is so unsettled.

What do your dogs do in the evening when the family have relax time? Do they just curl up in a ball somewhere and sleep like mine? Or are they occupied right up until bed which makes them absolutely knackered?

[bracken]

Mine get their tea at 4.45 and then just curl up on the sofa all night ..even my pup (6 months) then its out for a wee and their bedtime biscuit. Mine all sleep upstairs with us in their own beds too so they have no water until the morning either

I have never weighed my pups food really but i do weigh them weekly to check for progress..its only a guide really and all are different so if you think he needs more than stated just add it anyway  My pup is 6 months now and weighs 9.3 kg 

[Bluebell]

Mine have tea at about 4 ish then maybe a few chews whilst I cook tea so by 6 they are chilled for the rest of the evening until bed time at 10.30. Teva my 6 month old pup needed a little convincing that this was a good thing to do as she wanted to be a pain in the bum charge around the house until 9pm but has now seen the error of her ways and thinks chilling is fab 
Set a routine as much as you can and stick to it