Puppy waking at 4:30am

[mollymoocow]

Please help, we are exhausted!!

Puppy is 18 weeks and sleeps in an (open) crate in the kitchen with a dog flap. The kitchen is pitch black, he has a heavy blanket over his cage, access to garden if he needs the toilet (which he happily uses) and big stuffed toy, ticking clock, soft bed and fleecy blankets. This has been the situation since we bought him home and he was sleeping happily until around 7.30am.

Over the last few weeks he has woken earlier and earlier to the point where he now wakes between 4 and 4.30 and barks and whines until we come down. At which point he will curl up on the sofa with us and fall straight back to sleep.

We tried leaving him to bark / whine (like we would a baby) but he took his protest to the garden which I am sure you can imagine is not good for neighbourhood relations!! In order to prevent this we tried locking the cage at night so he could not go outside but that has resulted in him barking from the time he wakes to around 6:30 when we get up.

Please, please, please can anyone offer us any advice on how to deal with this?

DH does a lot of long distance driving for work and we are both so completely exhausted I am worried for his safety

The only thing I can think is to when he wakes at 4am to get up and give him breakfast.

I have a 14 week puppy, she was getting up at 6am and barking, whining etc. Then sleeping on the sofa with us :)

Now when she gets up at that time and whining we let her out for a wee, fill her wee belly up with food, and she conks out again and sleeps till 8! Worked amazingly for us, and we only discovered the trick about 2 weeks ago.

Its a long time over night for them to have no food. and a full tummy encourages sleep. Prob if you fed him, and then spent 15 mins in the kitchen just "being there" washing some dishes, or ironing a few things, he'd eat his food and then be comforted that you were there and go back in his crate. You could then tiptoe out!

Let us know how you get on! worth a try?

No advice at all sorry, my pup has slept until we wake up ever since we've had him, but he does sleep with us

Just to redress the balance a bit and take away some of my smugness, I have a 7 year old child that has probably only ever slept a handful of times all through the night, so I DO kind of feel your pain.

If you let him cuddle up to you on the settee, I can see why he is crying so early in the morning!

When you get up to let him out, don't talk to him and definitely don't make eye contact. Its hard but its important to establish routines as quickly as possible, especially when its interfering with your sleep!

we persevered with the locked crate for just over a week and all he did was bark and whine from 4/ 4:30 until we get up at 6:30...

He doesn't need a wee, in fact waits up to half an hour to go outside when let out of his crate. Doesn't want food and won't eat his breakfast until at least 7:30 (his choice!!).

I didn't make it clear in my OP but when we were going down to him at 4am (to stop him going in the garden and waking the neighbours), I totally ignored him, other than opening the gate to the kitchen until around 7am when DH / DC come downstairs, although I did let him up on the sofa where I had all but collapsed - again to stop him from barking insanely!!!

I really don't want him to sleep upstairs with us but am beginning to feel like I have no choice. I have made his bed as comfortable and inviting as possible and he is more than happy in there - until the crack of dawn . What makes this more frustrating / baffling is that he was sleeping fine when we brought him home and is just getting progressively worse ...

Maybe someone should train you mutt not to be so bloody rude!!!

Forgive me for thinking that it was kind to allow him access to the garden to do his business rather than pissing all over my kitchen floor / his bed!!!

Loads of people I know don't lock their dogs in crates and have no problem so I don't think your 'advice' is particularly solid or helpfeul!!!!!

"NEVER get up to feed your puppy in the night" - I NEVER have!!

Food = reward to a dog. You are rewarding his whining and barking with a meal. - see above!!!

Firstly, you need to close the crate at night. - have been (read the full OP first!)

When he wakes at 4am you give him 10 minutes to see if he settles himself. If he doesn't you go down to him. DO NOT SPEAK TO HIM. He needs to know this is nightime, not playtime. Take him to the garden and give him 5 minutes to relieve himself THEN STRAIGHT BACK TO THE CRATE. Still no speaking.

• I DO NOT SPEAK TO HIM AND HAVE NOT BEEN GOING DOWN TO HIM IN THE LAST WEEK OR SO, HENCE THE HOWLING FROM 4/4.30 UNTIL WE GO DOWN TO HIM

You go back to bed (no lurking about behind the kitchen door) and then you IGNORE HIM. You DO NOT go back down to him until morning, proper morning - I DO IGNORE HIM

Take away his "access to the garden" at night. It does not help house-training, in fact in hinders it - IN YOUR OPINION WE / AND OTHERS HAVE FOUND IT TO BE HELPFUL

No giving in and going down to him to curl up on the sofa with him

• AS I HAVE STATED WE HAVE NOT GIVEN IN SINCE LOCKING HIM IN THE CRATE!!!

I thinkt he main problem is that the intial crying/barking and going down to him and then having him on the sofa with you, and then the shutting in crate and barking/crying until you get down to him has simply taught him he needs to cry/bark for a very long time and eventually you will come down.

You have a few options IMO.

1. Leave him to cry and only ever go down to him once he is quiet. This will probably be quite hard for you to do now, although intially it would have probably worked more quickly.

1. Have the crate in your room with you, with puppy shut in.

1. When puppy starts making a noise, let him out of his crate to go to toilet, but without talking to him, touching him or looking at him and then put him back in his crate until you want to get up, no letting out again until then.

1. When puppy starts making a noise, let out to toilet quietly and then put him back in his crate with a stuffed and frozen kong, which should keep him occupied for the next couple of hours of so whilst you go back to sleep.

It is really important to choose one method and stick with it until it works (which it will) and not give in and change your mind about what to do.

I have to say, I would definitely opt for confining in the crate at night and not allowing free access to the garden, because a) as you have found it means puppy can get outside and bark, which means you have no choice but to go down to him and b) he could be stolen from your garden and c) your puppy needs to learn to hold on all night without toileting really.

Thank you midori,thought we were doing the right thing not locking him in the crate but will definately persevere now. Much easier over weekend / half term to leave him until quiet as I don't "need" to go down to the kitchen .

Would it be worth speaking to your neighbours to let them know you are training him to sleep through the night and that he might be a bit noisy for a few nights (Hopefully thats all it will take!)

I might be imagining it, but is it true you can wake a dog just before they usually wake (in this case 4:30) to take them out for a wee so they don't wake themself up too much with all the whining? Maybe I'm wrong, I do know its recommended for kids having night terrors so maybe I am confusing the 2 lol