There must be a solution to this or nobody would ever have a dog!

[inexcessive]

Can any dog owners help me? My 7 month old puppy has started waking up at around 4am (2am yesterday, went back to sleep at 4am). He whines and barks. I have to go to him as we have neighbours and i can’t just let him bark it out. When i go down he just wants to play. I am literally weeping from sleep deprivation. Currently i don’t feel much love for him and that makes me feel terrible. What the hell do i do?! Can anyone just tell me this will get better?

I think dogs are all different like kids are.We got our current dog at 9 weeks and he slept through downstairs from the start,no bother.Ive had previous dogs that needed to be with me at night so had to sleep in my room for comfort.

Make sure your dog isnt cold first,especially if short haired and try everything that is suggested on here.Good luck.

The answer to loneliness isn't more walks, its more interaction. Dogs arent designed to be alone, they sleep in a pile; put his bed or crate in your room and give him something to snuggle.

I've just moved house so have had the Patterdale in sleeping with me in my bed whilst she gets used to the new place.

How do people manage? She's up and down all night, fidget fidget, and then at around seven a m she comes and stares into my face, so I wake up with a tiny, toothy serial-killer half way up my nose.

Can't wait until she sleeps back under her covers on the sofa again.

Dogs are NOT pack animals! This is so outdated. Dogs are not wolves, alpha or pack animals. Saying dogs are pack animals is like saying humans are chimpanzees

Seven months is regression age. Your dog is going through adolescence. It has not taken him seven months to realise he is lonely he simply wants to play. Don’t change his bedtime, 10pm is late enough. He just needs to relearn that nighttime is bedtime. You will need to let him bark / self soothe. This should only take a few nights. Warn / apologise to the neighbours. And to the person who said letting a dog bark is akin to the neglected babies of Romania. Wind your neck in.

@BossAssBitch
Dogs ARE pack animals.
And anyone that says they’re not and uses this as an excuse to shut them in a cage on their own in a cold, dark kitchen all night shouldn’t be allowed to keep a dog.

I’m no expert, our pup is 6 months old and sleeps in the spare bedroom. Having him in bed with us would be the absolute last resort.

when I got our 7 month old rescue, she'd been rehomed already but have cause a fuss about being left in a kitchen over night.

When I brought her home she was like a limpet so on the first night I brought her bed up to our bedroom and she slept sound and has done ever since. 10 years on she sleeps in her own bed in our room.

Haha, you got me at enjoying The Lion King. I had visions of him on the sofa with some popcorn and a bottle of coke.

As for the pack animal thing? TomAtoes Tomatoes.

They may not live in animal packs like in the wild anymore.

But they are still very Social Animals who crave company, Whether that company is a single Humanbeing a family of Humanbeings or another dog/s or animals.

@CaptainButtock, lol @ ‘cold, dark kitchen’. They aren’t dungeons, you know. Most people have modern kitchens these days. Mine has underfloor heating which is kept at an ambient temperature. Dog is (happily) crated at night, his crate is lined with thick, cosy, pet safe VetBedGold, it is also covered to reduce any possible draughts and to give a cosy, safe haven, ‘den’ feel (recommended by lots of modern, ‘force free’ behaviourists and dog trainers). He takes himself to nap in the crate during the day too, so I’ve no reason to believe he dislikes it in there.

As for the. ‘dark’ comment, isn’t your bedroom dark when you sleep?

Dogs ARE pack animals

No, they are absolutely not. This is disproven, outdated nonsense. Social animals, sure, but 'pack' - NO. Very easy to find definitive peer-reviewed studies which confirm this. Google is your friend.

He wants to be with you. Why would he want to be all alone downstairs when you're in a comfy warm bed?!?

so we have a dog.
It never once occurred to me that the correct place for a dog to sleep was in/on my bed.

Not happening.
Guess what? He isn't allowed on the sofa either.

Much loved, well looked after, much cuddled dog.
He is fine sleeping in his warm cosy bed downstairs.

The kitchen is the warmest room in the house, they have soft beds not crates. They are quite happy in the kitchen.

Re the ‘pack’ thing.. I guess I am basing that a lot on our dogs behaviour. ie, she absolutely will not sleep until we’re all in bed at night.
If one of us is out, she will wait by the front door till we get in (There’s 4 of us)
When we take her up to bed, she does a little wander around the kids rooms to make sure they’re all in their rightful place before settling next to us (in her own bed)

She certainly considers us a pack.

Is it really just ours?

They’re all different. We have a beagle and three young children. By the end of the day he’s absolutely desperate for the ‘pack’ to go to bed so he gets some peace and quiet! Takes himself off to bed in the kitchen at around 9pm.
However as a pup he slept on his bed on the floor of our bedroom.

OP repost this in the Doghouse and you'll get some good constructive advice.

Dog doesn't need to sleep in your bed, he is just doing exactly what all 7 month puppies do.

In short - be boring. check he doesn't need the toilet, back to bed.
You can sleep downstairs on the sofa for a few nights, if he sees you he is more likely to settle down.

Is anyone else reading this and thanking the Lord that they don't have a puppy? Co-sleeping, night feeds, night squirts, this is all such a shock to me! I thought dogs were man's best friend and were just so happy to have your companionship that they just spotted into your life?

*Slotted into your life.

housinghelp101 ours is 9 now and a dream but I’m not sure I’d ever have a puppy again! They’re hard work.

I agree with the advice to be boring.

Also if you let him out to see if he needs a wee or poo and he starts digging and having fun, then take him out on lead.

Keep things as dark and as quiet as you can.

You may need to let him bark it out and grovel to the neighbours. If they know you are letting him do it for a reason rather than just putting headphones on and not caring they may be understanding so long as it does not go on forever. But if you do choose the bark it out route then you have to be utterly consistent. If you eventually cave in he will only bark longer, because he knows you cave in eventually.

*She certainly considers us a pack.

Is it really just ours?*

Not just yours. One of ours is just like that. The other is a new rescue and is slowly getting to feel safe around us so I think she'll get to that stage soon with her actions in the last month.

Our first has become so much happier since having a second dog in the house. I don't worry about his anxiety when they're both home alone. People can claim dogs are pack animals but one of my huskies is and the other is slowly becoming that now she's getting to know us.

But OP no advice on the sleeping/barking because ours are in the same room as us for a variety of reasons. But I will say it is normal to resent for a while. When our first was chewing up everything in the house, I started to resent having him (wasn't my choice to have him in the first place) but I decided to remember the good, find out why he was doing it, and figure out a way to help him.

Now my rescue is peeing everywhere in the house and I'm trying not to get mad. I just need my infection from having my wisdom teeth out to go away and then I can start house training her. Right now I'm struggling to do a lot of moving with my head up and down to do it.

It's hard having a puppy and you're at the stage of regression. I found training a lot of good, even if mine is a stubborn goofball at times and doesn't listen.

It sounds like he's just got cold and woken up. Perhaps try investing in a cave bed so he can settle himself back to sleep and not need to wake you up.

I assume he’s in a cage at night. Cover his crate with an old duvet cover so there’s no light getting in at all. Only do this at bedtime. Im convinced it’s like having a child with regards to routine (not the cage bit though😜). It sounds like going away has upset the puppy’s routine and you need to re-establish it. If it makes you feel any better our spaniel was a complete bell end when she was tiny. I could have happily given her away.

White noise might help? It could even be a bloody cat/fox rattling around outside that wakes him and then he realises shit I’m alone.. I’ll try n tell them kind of thing.

I always went through, took them out on the lead... ain’t no running n playing just business.. and back in. No fun no woo no treats just ok you can have any of your “needs” met but not a want. You wouldn’t crack Peppa on for a toddler at 3am who just didn’t want to sleep.

More activity things are an option too.. lick mats/puzzle toys if they’d be left alone till boredom sets in. Entertaining themselves is fine I’m not down stairs removing fluffy teddies at dark .

Ddog tis but a baby. Sometimes babies need us.. stinky gym tops work best if you don’t want to move him upstairs, which is understandable (blind tiny ddog could seriously injure herself if she gets to the stairs in an excited zoom)