It's still feels like night time to me?

[kid]

My 8 month old pup has recently started waking me up far too early. He used to wake at whatever time we hit up which was great as we'd get a lie in at the weekends.
Just lately, he has been waking me anytime between 4 and 7. It's too early for me!
Puppy makes me get up by eating things he isn't allowed to such as the stairs for instance!

He is let out in the garden and does his business but then seems ringing it hard to settle again. I do have a cage but I consider it too small for him so would hate to lock him in it. I'm guessing he is leaving me no choice though.

Ringing = find it (stupid predictive text lol )

Ooh, I'm starting to worry I'll get in trouble as this will be my 5th post and it's my first day of posting on Mumsnet! Oh well, hopefully nobody will mind.

I'm just finishing up a qualification in canine behaviour so maybe I can help. What are you feeding him and when? This may be causing a problem which makes it harder for him to go through the night.

What are the curtains like where he sleeps? Could he just be reacting to the earlier sunrise? Maybe blackout blinds could help.

I don't mind cupcakes, I never knew I was so opinionated until I came on here and I've only been here about 2 weeks lol

I had the same idea about the sun, maybe he is getting up with it. If you want to crate him you should get a bigger crate as one too small can cause all sorts of serious problems for him.

Maybe it's as simple as him needing more exercise/play at night now that he's getting a bit bigger it's going to take more to tire him out.

He sleeps where he likes except the living room and dc's bedrooms. We have Venetian blinds on all the windows but nothing on the bathroom, toilet or street door window.

He gets fed dry food with some meat mixed in (meat varies and is sometimes tinned meat or meat I've cooked.
I had a dog trainer visit us last week and I was advised to remove his food after 20 minutes unless he was still eating it.

Once someone is up, he settles down again, not on their lap, just on the floor. I came very close to letting him on my bed for a cuddle this morning but I knew it would be a bad, bad idea as I don't want him on my bed (he is too hairy!)

I am very happy to hear your advice, especially as I am off work this week and can lay in bed longer. That was my plan anyway lol

welcome cupcake

It might be a dietry problem - what brand of dry food are you using? If it's complete, and you're adding more meat, he's probably getting way too much protein. 20% should be the max, really (maybe a little more if he's very active). I recently worked with a lady who had a similar problem - her dog didn't wake her up, but he soiled nearly every night. She's changed the food and the problem cleared up totally in 6-8 weeks.

Aggree about the activity levels too - what breed is he and how much exercise does he get? What type of exercise - swimming, walks, mental stimulation?

I feed him wainwrights from petsathome twice a day. I add a small amount of meat as he stopped eating it. If I don't add meat, I add some water which often encourages him to eat it. He is 100% house trained.

He is a springer spaniel and gets approx an hour walk every day most off lead. He plays with dcs and I do training with him, teaching tricks and reinforcing what he already knows as well as playing tug with his toys.
He sleeps a lot during the day, he is sleeping right now. Would it be better to prevent him from sleeping so much during the day?

He is a very calm, placid pup, completely different to the typical mental springer. He is a show type which could make a difference to his energy level?

It would be good to keep him more active during the day. Is he 8 months now? I would be giving him at least 40 mins twice a day off lead and training in between so that may help.

I would crate him though - although at this stage this may not be easy. The reason I would crate are many but all for the benefit of the dog!

Busy dogs, working dogs or very intelligent dogs dont have a great off switch. Although they cat nap and sleep they still have an ear out or even a nose out for what is going on around them.

If they are crate trained you will find that they totally relax in their crates. Their sleep is deeper they are more relaxed and you tend to have a contented chilled dog. Not slow or not up for fun just relaxed and totally rested.

Also if anything changes eg go on holiday, they have to stay with someone else or even day visits to the vet are less stressful if they are used to their crates. Crates = chill.

Who knows why Teddy is waking early - a later meal may help a late night walk may help but if he is free to roam you can guarantee that he will stir and think "Oh I'll just give that a chew, ah what's that I'll give that a sniff etc etc.

If he is crate trained he can just chill - he does not have to be on guard at all.

However at 8 months you will have to work hard and slowly to get him used to his crate but personally that is what I would do.

Also I would not be adding meat or water to his food. The one benefit of dry food is that it helps to clean his teeth so by adding meat or water that takes always that advantage. Also it is hard for dogs to digest meat and dry food in the same meal.

If he does not eat it - tough - he will when he is hungry. He is slightly manipulating you by getting you to add extra. In the same way he may find himself on your bed in the morning

I agree though 4.00am is just way too early! Shame you can't just send him downstairs to watch the cartoon channel. (I of course never ever ever did that with my DC's)

Thank you for that fantastic advice minimu1, it's so hard to know what to do for the best at times.
I put teddy's food down but he hasn't touched it. There is no meat added as I didn't have any but I feel bad if he doesn't have any dinner.
His last walk is usually about 6, I think I'll take him for a walk now just to see if that makes any difference.

He does get locked in his crate sometimes and never ever causes a fuss in it. However, he has never been locked in at night so I'm not sure how he would feel about that!
How do you know if the crate is the right size?
I'm sure his one is too small to kick him in it, but maybe that's just because I feel bad about locking him up? He is my baby but I should remind myself he is a dog!

I really do appreciate the advice. I want a happy healthy dog and I want my sleep too!

Stern talking to Kid Repeat after me you do need your sleep and you lovely dog needs his sleep too.

Can I come and live with you (not in a weird stalkery way!) just you seem so nice and care about everyone more than you.

The crate needs to be big enough that he can sit upright in it and lie flat widthways and turn around in it.

If he does get shut in sometimes then it should be easier. Could you put his crate where he usually sleeps or even in your room cover it with a cloth and he may well settle.

Dont worry he will eat - again sometimes dogs just find more interesting things to do except Labradors of course.

I am pretty sure you do have a happy dog!

Is it obvious I love my dog dearly?
I think I love him more so after losing Moby the way we did
It took me quite a while to really bond with him, I guess I was afraid of getting so hurt again.

I'll see how much space he has in the crate before I decide about locking him in it. We went for a nice long walk tonight and he didn't pull too much. I'm now using the stop, check, continue method and it seems to be working.
He ate half of his dinner and then watched me throw the rest in the bin. He didn't look very happy lol

I post mainly in this section even though I have a dd and ds too!

Kid you are right springers from show lines are less manic than their working cousins. They are generally less leggy too and have better coats

I have only just been woken up
Maybe the later walk worked or maybe shutting him in my bedroom limiting his roaming space made the difference?
I'm just glad I got enough sleep. He didn't even attempt to jump on my bed all night!

I don't have any suggestions but would like to sympathise with you. Rory still gets up early, but luckily not 4.00am. He is usually up sometime between 5.45am and 6.15am. Yawn! I think I have got used to it now.... and am eagerly awaiting the clocks going forward in the hope his body clock will stay the same! :)

He is crated at night. He is not woken up by the daylight - here the sky is only just starting to get light at 7.00am - and I still have to use a torch to pick up poo at that time.

If he gets up too much before 6.00am, he gets the silent treatment, a quick visit out for a wee, and is re-crated while I go back to bed. He usually only settles down for another 30-40 minutes though. He doesn't get his breakfast before 6.45am. So why does he want to get up at that time? He very rarely looks desperate for a wee when I open his crate....

I think he is just bored and wants company. I have suggested to dp that we should teach Rory to knit or do sudoku ... but he just looked !

I was all set to get my own back on my pup back today
I had to set my alarm for 6:15 so I was going to wake him up nice and early for a change.
But my plan didn't quite work out as he woke me at 5am when he fell down the stairs!
He didn't hurt himself thankfully, but he might a right racket. It then took me ages to go back to sleep but he got straight on his bed and was out for the count.

I don't mind him waking me that early this morning, I'm just relieved he didn't injure himself.

Mine woke me at 5.30am this morning.....

I was back in bed at 5.40am, though, after a quick visit outside, but he started barking again at 6.06am. Yawn!

Only 26 more days until the clocks change....

Hi OP :)

His last walk is at 6 - just checking you do let him out again before you go to bed? ( sorry if this sounds patronisng!)

He sounds Gorjuss ( apart from the early waking thing!)

Yes, he goes in the garden around midnight on my way to bed.

I can confirm he is indeed gorjuss