Getting a dog to sleep in

1151 Views 25 Replies 18 Participants Last post by pawsnpaca, 12 d ago

pawsnpaca

Discussion Starter · 18 d ago

TL; DR: How do I get my older puppy to sleep past 5:30? 🥱

My puppy, Chill, is now almost 10 months old and is still waking me between 5 and 5:30 in the morning. Pre-puppy, my usual wake up time was between 6:00 and 7:00 AM, and I am NOT a morning person, so these early wake-up times are really starting to take their toll. My two older dogs have always (even as puppies) been willing to sleep as long as I wanted to, so I expected Chill to be following their lead by this age! I usually do “last outs” between 9 and 9:30 PM, with everyone in bed no later than 10. Chill has always been ready to rock n’ roll by 5:30 at the latest (even when it was still dark out), and with the sun now coming up earlier and the windows open and the birds starting to stir at 4:00… Chill’s wake up time seems to be getting earlier and earlier. He sleeps in a crate in my room, so it’s hard to ignore him once the barking starts.

This morning he started barking at 4:45. He sounded more desperate than demanding, so I got up, put him on leash, took him downstairs, then, because I wasn’t dressed to be outside, I took off the leash and sent him out Into the fenced yard. He peed pretty quickly (though not for all that long), and then wandered the yard until I was able to get him to come in again (yes, I’ve dropped the ball in teaching him to respond reliably to a recall 😕). When he finally came in, I gave him a treat to reward the recall, put him back on leash, and brought him back upstairs. A handful of kibble got him to willingly go back in his crate, where he settle for a minute or two, and I went back to bed. Within a few minutes, the barking began again… and continued for at least half an hour. I did my best to ignore him, and my occasional “No! Enough!” sometimes achieved a few seconds of quiet, before he started up again. He finally quieted down around 5:30 and stayed that way for about 15-20 minutes…and then the barking started again. At that point, my housemate couldn’t stand it anymore and got up and let him out of my room.

Things I’ve tried include covering the crate (sometimes helps a little), staying up to make “last outs“ closer to 10, ignoring the barking, and, as I did this morning, letting him out to pee and putting him back in. The only time he’s slept till 6 was after a super busy day where he almost didn’t sleep at all during the day (not practical as a daily thing, though I’m trying to figure out how to get him more exercise). The only thing I haven’t tried yet is making him sleep alone downstairs, where it would at least be easier to ignore the barking, but before I go that route, I’d figured it would be worth asking here… am I being unreasonable to expect a 9-10 month old puppy to let me sleep till 6? What has worked for others who had “morning dogs”?

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pawsnpaca

Discussion Starter · #21 · 15 d ago

Megora said:
I'm saying that your housemate moving around, letting dogs out, feeding them + is creating the whole routine where the dogs know 5-6 AM is time to get up, run around outside, etc. And the barking is getting encouraged as well, because pup barks... and housemate pops in and give them what they want.

It would be better if the housemate who I assume is getting up at 5AM or doing something that is waking the pup.... could just let her outside with the other dogs a little earlier, and feed them.... and then either bringing them back to bed, or just letting them hanging out in a dog-proofed area together (assuming they don't playfight/wrestle when loose, I wouldn't leave active playing dogs along together, especially if one is a puppy) while they go on to work or whatever and you enjoy the remaining 1-2 hours or whatever of sleep.

Just doing that on a regular basis - vs waiting for the dog to start barking and rewarding the barking by letting her out and starting her day.

OK, just to clarify… my housemate would also like to sleep in till at least 6:00, and only gets up earlier because the puppy is barking. The only things we’re doing that could be waking him is me starting to shift in bed, or possibly my roommate going to the bathroom and back to bed. He might also be hearing the cats beginning to meow for breakfast, but generally, all is quiet in the house until the puppy starts to fuss and bark. It’s not until Chill is released from my room that he and Castor race downstairs and are let outside. I believe my roommate takes that time to get my old girl downstairs, and to feed the cats. She then lets the boys in, and sends Moxie out (Chill’s been humping her lately so we no longer let them be in the yard together without us being out there with them). Once everyone is in, I believe my roommate lets the dogs hang out in the kitchen and living room while she does the morning chores (cleans litter boxes, washes dishes, watches TV and tries to wake up). After about half an hour she’ll feed the dogs.

In the meantime… I wake up when Chill starts barking. I do my best to ignore him, or give him an occasional “Chill! Enough!.” Once my roommate finally lets him out, he sometimes goes right out of my room, and sometimes jumps on my bed and licks my ears. 🙄 When my housemate finally gets everyone out and closes my bedroom door, I can finally doze a bit till my alarm goes off and I have to get up and get ready for work…

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Megora

· #22 · 15 d ago

Ah... If everyone is still sleeping than yeah, I'd not let the pup out. I'd holler for him to go back to sleep and sleep in until 6.

If you need to turn on a fan to blow on the crate and keep him cool + drown out any subtle sounds that are waking him up. Maybe that would help.

My impression had been the other person had been awake (ie showering, puttering around that early). If everyone is sleeping... pup should sleep too. <= I know this is easier said than done. Sorry.

I do remember a past dog who - saturday mornings I would lay completely still and keep my eyes closed because I could feel his beedy little eyes watching for the first sign that he could wake up and go play with our other dog. With him he wouldn't bark. He would just pant and squeak. >.<

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diane0905

· #23 · 15 d ago

I’d just ignore if it’s not time to get up yet. Set the rules. Logan sleeps in, but my Cavalier would boss me around if I let her. We let them out the last time around 11:00 p.m. My husband gets up around 6:00 a.m. and lets them out, but then puts them back in with me. I’m more like a 7:00 a.m. person. Logan will just come in and go right back to sleep with me on the bed. Abby will come to my side of the bed and try to pester me because she wants her morning treat. I’ve never seen a more food motivated dog. I am a good heavy sleeper and occasionally I’ll say ”No” to her once if she’s jumping up on the side of the bed, but mostly I ignore her completely and fall back to sleep and she gives up and goes back to sleep. She has to wait until I get up.

On the weekends we sleep in later and Logan does fine being free and Abby does well also with that schedule because, in that case, she’s still in her crate and sleeps in.

If your housemate is getting up, why not just let the dogs potty if that’s necessary and bring them (maybe crate the 10 month old) back into the room until you wake up? I think if they are taken out AND fed, they are just up for the day, so maybe your roommate can keep them while you finish sleeping. I get up at 7:00, give mine their morning treats, have my coffee, and they eat around 8:00 to 8:30 in the morning and then again around 6:00 to 7:00 at night. I know this is all according to whatever your personal schedule is, but I don’t think you have to answer you dog’s demands as long as nothing is going on physically. Having said that, we take ours out later at night.

Dogs get used to a routine. Set the reasonable one you want to happen that makes sense. If you need to sleep a bit more, do it.

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GrandmaToGoldens

· #24 · 15 d ago

I don’t think you’ll be successful in trying to out wait his barking. He’s already learned that barking will eventually be rewarded. I think you need to replace the reward with something mundane.
“He and Castor race downstairs and are let outside.” A game like that is exhilarating fun for a dog and a great reason to start the day early. If he was my dog, I’d make sure that Castor was crated or shut in a different room whenever Chilli came out of the crate. When he barked in the morning, I’d walk him downstairs on leash, let him out for a brief toilet break then walk him back upstairs and put him back in the crate. If possible, I’d practice some of the more boring elements of training on the way… stay and change of position (stand, drop, sit), for example. If he started barking again, I’d repeat the exercise, possibly without the toilet break.
Alternatively, you could set up a second crate downstairs and confine him there after his morning toilet break. If he continues to bark in the downstairs crate then, when you or your room mate are driven out of bed by the barking, you/they go downstairs, let Castor outside to toilet if necessary and train Chilli for a few minutes before he and Castor have an opportunity to play. The games should be a reward for working, not barking.

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jackson4

· #25 · 13 d ago

I think these are all great options to consider and try. I will just add that in our experience, a lot of the early wake up issues were just purely developmental. We tried everything under the sun to get our pup to sleep in past 4:30 at the age your dog is now and absolutely nothing seemed to help. I truly thought I would never sleep past 5:00 again! However, just like kids, dogs seem to have "stages" they pass through on their way to being adults. For us, just as suddenly as the early morning wake ups started, they stopped. Now at almost 4, he sleeps as late as we will let him and is often the last one out of the bed!

By no means am I saying not to experiment with some of the ideas offered here, I just want to reassure you that it is very likely that with time, your little guy's sleeping schedule will align with yours much more closely! Hang in there!

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pawsnpaca

Discussion Starter · #26 · 12 d ago

jackson4 said:
I think these are all great options to consider and try. I will just add that in our experience, a lot of the early wake up issues were just purely developmental. We tried everything under the sun to get our pup to sleep in past 4:30 at the age your dog is now and absolutely nothing seemed to help. I truly thought I would never sleep past 5:00 again! However, just like kids, dogs seem to have "stages" they pass through on their way to being adults. For us, just as suddenly as the early morning wake ups started, they stopped. Now at almost 4, he sleeps as late as we will let him and is often the last one out of the bed! By no means am I saying not to experiment with some of the ideas offered here, I just want to reassure you that it is very likely that with time, your little guy's sleeping schedule will align with yours much more closely! Hang in there!

Thanks so much! I needed that ray of hope!

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