Do dogs grow out of early mornings?

[Pringle89]

He’s almost 15 mths and small
Dog so technically not a puppy anymore but morning is anytime from 5-6am, I get up at 6 so would be happy for 6am everyday, I’m not exactly asking for a lay in! Any chance this is I’ll change when he gets older or is this my life now 😭

He was worse in a crate so how has a comfy sofa in the kitchen, we’ve tried letting him in a bed in our room or on our bed and he was very unsettled so that’s not an option. We don’t feed or do anything exiting straight away in the morning. I’m reluctant to ignore him incase he needs the toilet - if I get up and let him out for a wee and go back to bed he just starts barking again ten mins later.

Any advice if anyone has succeeded in teaching them to lay in later? 🙏🏻

[TeacupRex]

Ours are 2 and nearly 5 years old, they usually wake up and want their breakfasts around 6-7am on most days, 8am at a stretch. After they've been outside and had some food, they usually go straight back to sleep though 😂

[Gottobefree]

Depends a lot on the breed. Some breeds are a lot more comfy in bed and happy to sleep forever, but some are all excited and energy as soon as they wake up !

Mine goes outside at 6am or 7am for a wee and then goes straight back to bed for another 2 - 3 hours ! but is a lurcher so very lazy and loves sleep.

[BiteyShark]

Mine is an early riser but he will come back to bed for a few hours before getting twitchy for breakfast and play at the weekend.

[DivaRainbow]

I agree with pp, It depends on the breed. Our Dog is 3years old and wakes at 6am everyday and has to be kept active until bedtime.

[Nettleskeins]

mine's a poodle bichon and he lasts till 8am very happily (he is fast asleep when we go into living room at 8am) unless we go down earlier, he wakes when he hears us essentially. Last pee 10.30. Last food 5pm. Water in room with him.
Could your dog be cold?
We also have practised quite successfully the get up, let out for toileting before and 10 mins after food, then return to bed for an hour and a half So up for 30 mins getting kids off to school and go back to bed. He is fine for another little sleep then if he has had a bit of company/stimulation about breakfast time.

Could you feed him a bit later, so he isn't expecting breakfast first thing? Could he have a chill or some kind or uti if he is wanting a pee so early? (mine 10kg and a year old and lasts ages at night but has iron bladder perhaps)
I think you would probably have to consistently get up later to re-condition him. I find the longer I am out of earshot the less programmed the dog is to wake early.
But when dog woke earlier it was cold, too light and there was something waking him, milkman, cats, humans, combined with cold and light. So any stimulus really. In the summer black out blinds worked miracles. In the winter, a nice woolly rug on the sofa or a really warm dog bed.

[quickkimchi]

Mine are adult rescue dogs, so not quite the same, but we had a similar problem. One seems very sensitive to light changes so in the spring he wants breakfast earlier and earlier.

Can your dog respond to commands (sit, down etc)? Some dogs prefer to communicate by barking. Ours would bark for everything if we let him. Now, after lots of troubleshooting and a bit of training he's better at sitting to request stuff.

I think there are two schools of thought on this. One says you should get the food down before the dog can demand it. It tells the dog you're in charge of the food and will dispense it when you want, not when the dog pesters you. This may be more appropriate for a puppy, as they have genuine needs for food and toileting early in the morning.

The other school of thought says to ignore the demands until the dog gives up. You can combine this with other training so you can get the dog to sit before you give him anything he wants. Eventually he should sit when he wants something, you reward him and he stops barking for stuff. Ours loves praise, he loves doing the right thing, so this helps.

We did the second one, and eventually it worked. We did have to push through the barking though, which became more frantic when the usual wasn't working. We used a spray bottle when necessary (very late, very early) when we couldn't just let him bark.

I used to do their meals at the same time every day, but it just meant you could set your watch by when he started barking. Now their mealtimes are less predictable and it works better.

[LadyGuffers]

At no point did early morning barking, whining, scratching, pacing ever result in a human getting up here. It's tough to ignore but the result is dogs that never try to wake us up.

We get up at 5.30am some mornings, 9am on others.

If you've let him out for a wee already then the barking is not beause he needs the toilet. Buckle up, put some earphones in and ride it out

[Nettleskeins]

Definitely my dog goes back to sleep after a nice big breakfast...Although if I am around to go on a walk then he doesn't mind jumping up and going for a walk then.
I wonder whether too much routine gets dog into a bit of a fixed pattern, ie he is waking up early because he knows it is nearly time to wake ifysim, whereas if you could come down a bit later, say 6.30 over time he might relax and sleep longer. I now get ready upstairs sometimes to avoid him waking too early - so avoid having breakfast or putting kettle on till a more normal time even if I am ready to do so.

[Nettleskeins]

We have never ignored our dog barking. As a result he barks very little and we can go back to bed when we want nor does he bark at night.
there are definitely two schools of thought on this.
I think you can recondition in a more positive way.

Or you could come down before he wakes (sorry even earlier!!!) and give him his breakfast and let him out then. So that he is cued to get up when he hears you come down, and doesn't demand that you come down. That is possibly how we did it without realising it. Dogs after all cannot tell the time, only feel what time it is. So if he waiting for you and cannot be sure just what is happening he will bark.

[adaline]

We have a 22 month old beagle. DH wakes up for work at 5.45am and wakes the dog t the same time - dog goes down with him and goes for a wee and has a cuddle on the sofa. When he leaves an hour later, the dog comes back to bed and will sleep until I get up - this morning I woke him up at 8am to take him for a walk before the rain hit and he wasn't too impressed!

He's been in that routine for about six months now and is quite happy. Sometimes he will try and get me up earlier but if I turn my back and ignore him, he soon settles down (with a huff!) until I get up. We've never fed him first thing in the morning or given him attention for barking which I think has helped. Beagles are quite vocal and we didn't want to end up with an overly loud/barky dog.

After an hour's walk and a chew, he will happily sleep until about 4-5pm most days. If we go out, he's happy with that as well but if I'm home and doing very little, he'll sleep/mooch/play with his toys quite happily. Some days he gets a second walk mid-afternoon but if not, he's quite happy not to go.

[DogInATent]

Yes. A dog will grow into the schedule you provide. Ours (adult rescue) was an early riser and keen to get out because that was how we started with her. A year and a half on and some mornings if I'm planning on walking her a bit later on because I have some work to get done first thing then I have to put her out mid-morning because she's got the bladder of a supertanker and would lie in bed all morning if I didn't.

[Girlintheframe]

Our pup is coming up for 18 months. He tends to get up when ever we get up. Week days this is around 5 but at weekends could be 7/7.30.
I've never gone to him when he cries/barks (I went to him but always waited for a moment of silence before opening the door), he sleeps on his own with black out curtains.
He doesn't tend to need a wee straight away in the mornings so that probably helps too.

[Pringle89]

Thanks for all replies, forgot to mention I’m reluctant to let him bark due to him waking the kids!

Once he’s had a wee he will happily go back to sleep on the sofa or our bed, but sometimes he doesn’t need a wee so I think it’s just our company he wants!

Has anyone had success with setting an alarm Earlier than he wakes and then move it gradually to a time that is more suitable - I might try this but the thought of setting my alarm for 5.15 makes me feel a bit sick 🤣

[adaline]

Thanks for all replies, forgot to mention I’m reluctant to let him bark due to him waking the kids!

It might have to be something you suffer through for a bit - short term gain for long term gain! The last thing you want to do is teach him that barking gets him attention, otherwise you'll have a dog that doesn't shut up.

[narcissistseverywhere]

My girl's lazy, she might pop downstairs when DH gets up, but then comes back to bed and sleeps until 10/11am, actually she sleeps most of the time inbetween walks. She sleeps on our bed though

[Dora26]

My girl happily sleeps til 10 or 11 if i want a lie on. She is a apringer so this amazes people. She is very tuned into the fact that outside is the place to be energetic and inside is for calm. Her predecessor- also a springer - was just the same. A barker would drive me insane i think

[MadameLeFunky]

Has anyone had success with setting an alarm Earlier than he wakes and then move it gradually to a time that is more suitable - I might try this but the thought of setting my alarm for 5.15 makes me feel a bit sick

Yes, we did this. Other than the beginning of very early mornings it was very succesful!

[StarlightIntheNight]

Hmm is the dog getting enough exercise/stimulation during the day? I guess its true also, it depends on the breed. But I have always been lucky with my dogs (two dachshunds growing up) and now a labradoodle. They never woke me in the mornings...not even as puppies. When my current dog was a puppy (I am talking 8-12 weeks) I would get up at 5am to take her out and spend time with her on the couch as she slept again while I had coffee. Now she is 20 months and never wakes us up or cries. She is mainly in the crate over night (sometimes we allow her in the bed, but don't want it every night, as we are expecting a baby). Anyway, during the day she gets walks, time in the park, play time with other dogs (or just with me throwing the ball so she runs around and gets tired out). Mostly she is out like a light by 8pm and sleeps until 7pm (or 8pm during the weekends if we lie in). However, if we don't take the time to let her play/exercise well during the day, she will be more active in the house until 10pm at night...but then sleep until we are ready to take her out. She might just be a very easy dog though, but I do think it makes a difference that she gets proper play outside and exercise.

[Pringle89]

@StarlightIntheNight he gets at least an hour off lead walk each day, he’s only small (9kg) also gets lots of play time in the house too with us and kids. Not on his own as hubby works from home.

I honestly think he’s lonely, as he will go straight back to sleep on sofa when you are up, sometimes doesn’t even need a wee!

I wish he would settle in our room as when he has slept on our bed he doesn’t get up until we do, however we have a crappy sleep as he is very restless in the night! Can’t win! 😩

[Boristhecats]

I used to let mine out of where he slept ( he slept in the walk in wardrobe with a gate across which he loved. He would then jump on the end of the bed until we got up. He did this by the time he was one. I guess each dog is different

[nicannie]

We have a pug and frenchie. Ones 4 and the other is 2, they are early risers for breakfast, 6am. Even at weekend 6am. Usually they have breakfast then out for the toilet then they will happily come back to bed for however long we stay there. We get up at 6am for work so it doesn't really bother us though.

[dalmatianmad]

My Dalmatians have always been really lazy and slow to wake up and move in the mornings.
I have to drag them in the garden for their first wee. They love to be warm and snug.
On sunday we had a very long lie in and woke up at 1pm (unheard of) I dashed downstairs to the dogs and they barely looked up at me 🙄

[Daffodil101]

I have an 18 week old pup and he wakes at 6am.

I had very early rising children, who are now much older. My daughter woke at 4am for years and I don’t feel I’ve ever recovered from the pain of that (never got a night away, no family to help) .

As you can imagine, this early rising pup is really grinding my gears. I don’t want to get up at 6am seven days a week. I’m honestly thinking if it doesn’t stop I will have to rehome him eventually, which is not helping me to bond with him. And of course, not bonding with him is not helping how I feel when I’m up at 6am every day.

I don’t think I’d have got him if I’d known this. I’ve spoken toots of friends with dogs and they all say ‘my puppy wasn’t like that.’ It reminds me of their ‘my kids don’t do that’ when my daughter was up at 4.

We’ve tried every trick in the book to no effect.

[BiteyShark]

Daffodil you really need to ignore the 'my puppy didn't do that' as it just makes you feel worse.

Lots of puppies do get up early and it sucks but it typically gets better as they get older. Yours is still very very young and actually 6am sounds good when I compare it to BiteyDog as a puppy.

[hiredandsqueak]

Bella is a pain in the backside tbh. She likes me to get up at six to watch her sleep until nine. If I don't get up she just scratches at the door until I get out of bed so I give in quickly.If I allowed her to sleep upstairs then I suspect she would be happy to stay in bed for as long as I wanted but she snores and farts like a pig so there is no chance of that so I'm resigned to early mornings.