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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

To regret getting a dog

164 replies

katedan · 11/03/2022 09:21

I really love our dog and he is a dream in the daytime but he wakes in the morning earlier and earlier and it is now about 6am. We go and let him out for a wee but he then wants company and will woof until someone joins him downstairs. We do not let him upstairs and that is a given. I am Really tired and it us impacting on my ability to work etc, I did sleep deprivation when the kids were young and I don't want to do it for a dog! Really questioning if I can do this for the next 12 years. He is 18 months old.

OP posts:
OvOvO · 11/03/2022 09:24

That does sound exhausting! Would he settle if you gave him something to chew on stuffed kong or one of those raw hide things?

TedMullins · 11/03/2022 09:26

Personally I’d just let him upstairs.

Clymene · 11/03/2022 09:27

Can't he sleep in his bed upstairs? My dog sleeps in my bedroom and frequently stays in bed after I've got up.

Dogs are pack animals. They don't like to be left alone.

Didiplanthis · 11/03/2022 09:31

Is the room dark ? Our puppy was reliability sleeping through till seven till it started getting light earlier and then woke up with the daylight. We close all the curtains now and she is back to 7 weekends and is not impressed when we wake her at 6 on weekdays ....

GeneLovesJezebel · 11/03/2022 09:33

Black out the window in the room he is sleeping in, but I think this is normal for a young dog. It’s what mine used to do.

SmolCat · 11/03/2022 09:34

Honestly I’d just let him upstairs after his morning wee.

Mine wakes at 6:30, has breakfast and a wee, and then is fast asleep (in my bedroom) for hours and hours.

Original poster
katedan · 11/03/2022 09:35

No it is not dark in his room but it is open plan which he seemed to like as he does not like to be shut away behind a door but as it is getting lighter he is def getting worse and I do think it is the company he wants once he has had a wee.

OP posts:
Alliswells · 11/03/2022 09:37

I couldn't cope with that! I let my dog out for a morning wee and then we go back to bed for a delightful snooze.

GeneLovesJezebel · 11/03/2022 09:38

Like pp said, they’re pack animals.

AllThingsServeTheBeam · 11/03/2022 09:39

My dog has always had the run. Never had this problem. It would probably be an instant fix.

SprayedWithDettol · 11/03/2022 09:40

You need to get used to it, I’m afraid . My dog is old now and can’t get through the night without a wee or two (just like us as we age). We are often up twice in the night.

Newfluff · 11/03/2022 09:41

Why don't you want him upstairs?

Savvysix1984 · 11/03/2022 09:41

Either accept it is what it is or bring the dog upstairs. Our dog sleeps in his basket in our room or on the bed and I can hardly get him up in the morning!

Aquamarine1029 · 11/03/2022 09:43

I've never understood people who won't allow their dogs upstairs. Sure, maybe not on the beds, but the dog can have their own bed in your room. Your dog doesn't want to be alone downstairs, is that really so hard to grasp? Let him come upstairs and the problem would be solved.

Sisisimone · 11/03/2022 09:51

I think if you don't want him upstairs you'll just have to suck it up tbh. Ours has a bed in our room and gets up when we do. If he wakes earlier he just hops up on to the bed with us and goes back to sleep.

PlantsAndSpaniels · 11/03/2022 10:19

Ours wakes up when the other half goes down in the mornings at half 5 and then gets let upstairs for a cuddle with me and is very sad if I go downstairs before she's had a cuddle. At weekends when we want a lie in she sometimes wakes us up at this time as she is in a routine. Could you have a blanket for your bed to stop your bed getting dirty if this is the issue and only allow him up if you're upstairs rather than free roam?

AwkwardPaws27 · 11/03/2022 10:22

Take him for a wee, then give breakfast in a frozen kong?
Should keep him busy for a while Smile
We do this when we need a lie in!

Another thought - does he maybe need to poo, & need a little longer in the garden? DDog has to run around the garden for 5-10 minutes before pooing and can be quite restless until he goes.

SirVixofVixHall · 11/03/2022 10:25

@Clymene

Can't he sleep in his bed upstairs? My dog sleeps in my bedroom and frequently stays in bed after I've got up.

Dogs are pack animals. They don't like to be left alone.

Same. Expecting a dog to be happy alone is like expecting a horse to be happy alone, they don’t like it. My dog sleeps downstairs out of choice, as she likes the big sofa, but we leave our bedroom door open so I am sure she can hear us breathing. She will sometimes come up and check on us. When she was younger she would occasionally come on our bed if she was cold but now she never does, not sure why but I think she doesn’t like the jump off again.
NoSquirrels · 11/03/2022 10:30

We do not let him upstairs and that is a given

Why?

Our dog is a downstairs dog, but that’s because when we got her we had 2 cats, and their territory was upstairs.

Rules are relaxed now they all get on! The expectation is that she stays downstairs mostly at night, but we collectively turn a blind eye to the dog-shaped presence on the bed in the spare room and sometimes (if my DH invites her up) she’ll get to snuggle with us.

If you’re sure it’s company your dog needs then either you let them where you are (in bed) or you join them where they are, at 6am.

Dawnofthefed · 11/03/2022 10:54

I like my sleep too much to care whether the dog is upstairs or not. We tried downstairs for the first 2 weeks and then we thought sleep was more important than most things and just let him sleep with us. Ours is small, non shedding and non droolly. I wouldn't be keen for a big drooling beast on my bed but is still let them sleep on their own bed in the corner so I could sleep.

Kona84 · 11/03/2022 10:54

My dog is 4 and sleeps in his own room, but he scratches at his door bang into 6am every morning. When the clocks change this drifts slightly- we let him in and he then sleeps on our bed until we get up.
He loves it, he doesn’t refuse to sleep in his own room on a night. When we say time for bed he actually runs up with his bone and waits to be tucked in

Spaghetti0h · 11/03/2022 10:56

Could you just bring him back up with you after he's gone toilet?

PollyRoulllson · 11/03/2022 12:43

Dogs are NOT pack animals

Loads of people do not want dogs upstairs and that is fine just because some of you do does not mean everyone has to.

Op what is he like in the day when left alone?

What time is he last fed?

What time is he put to bed in the evening?

Original poster
katedan · 11/03/2022 13:06

His last meal is 6pm and he will go to bed when we do at about 11, he sleeps a lot on the day and is very good at being left in the day.

I did not realise how common it was for dogs to be allowed upstairs, he is a black lab and sheds hair everywhere so it is not possible for us to have him upstairs

OP posts:
nearlyspringyay · 11/03/2022 13:15

He wants to be with you. Ddog will sleep in for bloody ages in our bed, even once we're up. I think if you have a black lab hair is just part of it. I'd take the hair over lack of sleep.

We tried to keep ours downstairs but he just starting nudging at the gate at 2am, progressing to barking.

Now he starts of downstairs, heads up to the kids room around 1 and then 4 I get briefly woken when he jumps on our bed. He likes to know everyone is in the right place. If DH or I are away overnight he sleeps with his nose at the front door.

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