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Original poster

Odd question to those of you who have dogs

102 replies

VladmirsPoutine · 13/11/2021 19:56

Question: Do your dogs follow your own sleep habits? In that do they usually wake when you do or are they barking at 3am for no apparent reason? Is 'sleep training' also part of general dog training?

OP posts:
NoSquirrels · 14/11/2021 00:17

@VladmirsPoutine

Is there any training involved wrt sleep? It seems everyone's dog somehow just 'gets it'. But is there any training? I'm asking because we are thinking about a dog - I'm not necessarily for it so I told my family I won't for a second entertain a barking dog at the dead of night.
Don’t get a puppy.

But bar very occasional issues - poorly (dodgy tummy), not well exercised in daytime so too much sleep throwing schedule off- ours has been all-night-through since day 1 as an adult rescue.

NoSquirrels · 14/11/2021 00:19

@KurtWilde

Mine only bark during the night if they hear the fox or a cat in the garden. If I happen to go downstairs for a drink during the night I use my phone torch because putting the light on leads to disgruntled humphing and sighing and 'the look'.
‘the look’ Grin

Literally all that rouses our dog is the sound of the cat getting breakfast biscuits! (If the cat would refrain from bleating from 6.25 onwards that would be perfect)

NoSquirrels · 14/11/2021 00:20

@Pumpkinsonparade

Our ddogs know when it's 10pm and last wee /bedtime. 2 sleep in the kitchen and 2 get tucked in like this and are still there at 6am when dh gets up.
Adorable

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Dogs
APJ1 · 14/11/2021 03:52

Mine gets audibly huffy if we aren’t in bed by 10pm

Haha, I get the impatient huff from mine too!

dalmatianmad · 14/11/2021 05:34

My Dalmatians settle down on the sofa at approx 7pm and I have to force them out for a wee before I go to bed.

They look at me in disgust when I come down at about 6.30am and often don't move till mid morning.

They have a very active day and I tire them out at the stables, they run around the fields with the goats and they come out with me when I hack out and do several miles with the Horse.

Recycledblonde · 14/11/2021 06:15

I slept downstairs for the first 3 nights with dog number 2. After that he slept peacefully all night without any accidents. Dog number 1 slept all night without accidents from 8 weeks old. They were both crated at night until they were one and used to take themselves off there at 10am and glare at us if they were disturbed.
They now sleep day and night, one barks very occasionally if there’s a noise outside, very happy he does that. The other barks possibly once a year if he has an upset tummy.
Strangely I have 3 children who slept really well from very early, perhaps I’m just really, really dull at night.😆😀

Recycledblonde · 14/11/2021 06:17

10pm, I meanI like my sleep but not to the point of going at 10am

Prattypitel · 14/11/2021 06:22

@LaurieFairyCake

Mine follow my own sleeps habits (curled into my back)

Any slight indication of awakeness means the two fuckers right in my face staring at me demanding breakfast Grin

Exactly the same hereGrin
Prattypitel · 14/11/2021 06:26

@VladmirsPoutine

Is there any training involved wrt sleep? It seems everyone's dog somehow just 'gets it'. But is there any training? I'm asking because we are thinking about a dog - I'm not necessarily for it so I told my family I won't for a second entertain a barking dog at the dead of night.
No,there is no training involved.If you get a puppy,you have to be prepared to get up at night,because puppy cant hold wee that long.if you get a rescue,the dog will soon slot into your sleep routine.
DarlingFell · 14/11/2021 06:34

Our two know when we say ‘shall we go to bed?’ They get up and then wait for me on the stairs to turn everything off and switch the alarm on. They will cuddle up with us as we will watch a little TV and then when it’s lights out, one of the dogs sleeps on the ottoman at the foot of the bed and another in between our pillows.

They sleep v soundly all night although we have to have white noise on as we live rurally and the owl and other nocturnal sounds put them on edge. I wfh in the main but if I’m going into London and getting up at 6am, they move into the warm spot that I’ve left. Their ‘natural’ wake up time is 8am, thankfully, as at the weekends, DH and I would hate to be woken earlier than that. We have done a certain amount of ‘sleep training’ which I believe has helped.

Tumbleweed101 · 14/11/2021 09:13

You may get a few unsettled nights in the early weeks or if the dog feels unwell but otherwise mine have always slept fine.

They recognise the going to bed routine. I put mine out as I’m going to bed and they then go straight to their beds. They get up when we do but if I’m up in the night I get glared at and they don’t move 😂.

Pumpkinsonparade · 14/11/2021 10:05

I am very lucky my ddogs don't bark unless they new to remind dh it's mealtime . One does a 20 second warble.
Def says feed me you neglectful man!!

ivfbabymomma1 · 14/11/2021 10:09

My 2 chihuahua sleep on my bed and they will come to bed whatever I do and stay there until we wake up. Even then they go out for a wee and back in there dog beds for the rest of the morning! They generally emerge at lunch time for food Grin

KurtWilde · 14/11/2021 10:24

Ironically, as I said in my post mine only bark if there's something in the garden, or occasionally if there's a cat wailing somewhere, we had the fox in last night.

Cue 2 minutes of frantic barking, me looking out to check if it was human intruder or a 4 legged one, and running downstairs to tell them to be quiet. Which they do straight away and beck to sleep within a few minutes.

Tbh I'm glad they bark during the night when something decent sized moves around in the garden. I live alone with my DC and I'd much rather have an alert to the possibility of someone on my property than not. They only ever do a short burst to alert me, have never woken the DC, so it's not the end of the world if I get an occasional bark during the night.

Sgtmajormummy · 14/11/2021 10:26

Mine sleeps in the sitting room from 10pm and goes to bed in the kitchen no problem when I turn in.

But he’s up and wide awake at 6am. Whimpering and scratching at the door.
7 days a week.
Dammit.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 14/11/2021 10:35

Mine puts himself to bed (in the kitchen) at 10pm on the dot and then is awake and talking to himself, making Scooby Doo noises at 7:30am, so it’s time to get up and walk him.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 14/11/2021 10:37

And yes, that is the result of training, just building up habits and a routine. When he was very little he had to get up a couple times in the night for a wee or reassurance but that’s a very young puppyhood thing and they soon grow out of that stage. There’s loads of good advice out there about night time training puppies.

Sebastianthecoo · 14/11/2021 10:50

Mines are in bed before me but like out at 5 as that’s when my husband leaves for the work. I don’t appreciate the wake up on my days off when he is away and can’t let them out.

Rubyupbeat · 14/11/2021 10:55

Our dogs follow our sleep pattern, very rarely needing to toilet at night, or if there are foxes.
They also know the exact time their dinner is due, even when the clocks change!

LadyCleathStuart · 14/11/2021 10:57

My dogs don't bark in the night. The eldest was adopted at 5 and just came that way. The youngest we got as a puppy last year and while he is a total arsehole in sooooo many ways he has actually only barked once in the middle of the night and it was because he had a sore tummy and needed out asap so the barking was better than cleaning up mess in the morning.

Joystir59 · 14/11/2021 11:02

Gets up when I get up. I'm usually up by 8ish. If I'm late getting up he may ask to go into the garden for a wee/poo. In the evening he goes to sleep much earlier than me- he likes to be put to bed (sleeps in his own bed in my bedroom) with a snack at about 9pm, but will come into the living room once in a while later on to see if I'm still there, and see if he can persuade me to go to bed.

FOJN · 14/11/2021 11:03

They also know the exact time their dinner is due, even when the clocks change!

Unrelated to thread...

I was looking after a friend's dog once, at dinner time he came into the kitchen to find me, looked at me and then looked at the clock to to tell me it was time to feed him.

Joystir59 · 14/11/2021 11:03

He very rarely wakes in the night. Sometimes if he's got a poorly tummy and needs to go out, or if there have been fireworks in the evening which prevented him for going out for his bedtime wee.

Softwonder · 14/11/2021 11:10

Big dog sleeps in her bed in the kitchen but the 2 little dogs sleep in our room. One by my feet on the bed and one her her bed down my husbands side in the floor.

The one who sleeps on the bed will often get off the sofa and stand in front of me and bark at me come 10pm, telling me she wants to go to bed now so please can I stop watching tv and go to bed with her. She's v old though so I do as I'm told. 😁

MintyGreenDream · 14/11/2021 11:12

Mine sleeps through and I usually have to get him up Grin