Puppy waking up at 5am

[M102024]

Hello
Our puppy is 5 months old now and we've been struggling with all the normal puppy issues.

We tried crate training which he absolutely hated so had to give up on that, but he now sleeps happily in the hallway (I don't want him in our bedroom or upstairs as he hasn't got toilet training 100%.)

He was sleeping until 6/6.30am which I could cope with, but he now wakes up at 5am without fail and barks/howls until either me or my husband comes downstairs. Once one of us is downstairs he settles down again.

Any advice on how we can get him sleeping until later??

Honestly it’s just time, routine & practice more than anything else. Our Lab was like this on & off until he was 1 year ish but even after that he’s always been an early riser. He only started sleeping in later when we had our daughter earlier this year as her crying etc disrupted his nights sleep😂

If he wakes bang on the same time everyday, is something disturbing him? Lights outside, the heating or a neighbour?

Is the area he's left in nice and dark with a radio or fan on to help muffle any outside noise?

Thanks both. The only thing I can think is that a fox sets off the porch light which is a possibility- might try to remove it and see if it makes a difference. Can't think of anything else that could be waking him.

The other thing is that he could be cold? Does he have a blanket or something to bury himself under?

Wouldn't that depend what sort of dog he is? I mean, a small short coated dog could be, but anything double coated is unlikely to be cold indoors.

My dogs are thin coated. Getting them more blankets and some fleecy pjs made a huge difference to them sleeping later in the morning. They were just waking up early as a bit cold!

In agreement with @Mrsttcno1 It's probably just age and routine.
Our pup was still waking very early at 5 months, but now, at 9 months, she sleeps through until 7. It will get easier.
I would advise creeping back upstairs once he settles though, so it doesn't become too much of a habit. We'd get up, settle our girl then leave the room again. She isn't crated but she sleeps in the kitchen, which is probably easier than central location of hallway... We also use the word "sleepytime", and she now understands that means being calm and quiet.

Can you walk us through your crate training attempt please @M102024 ?

I quite agree...I can tell when it's cold at night as I feel a great inrush of chilly air as a Whippet noses her way under the duvet at 3am.

Of course, which is why I just raised it as a suggestion. My beagle really feels the cold, but give him a duvet to bury under and he'll happily sleep until 11am

@M102024 When I had my first ever dog, the RSPCA home advised having her in my bedroom ''otherwise you will never get her clean''..She had never lived indoors as was found {in a terrible condition} after Travellers had moved on.

She was about 16 weeks old at the time, looking at her teeth they said.

Crates weren't a thing then, so I did as RSPCA woman said, and had her in my bedroom so I could hear when she woke up {there was a lot of newspaper on the floor}
One poo on that first night, but I set the alarm for every two hours, and took her out without fail into the garden {a cold, hard January} and used a key word for doing a wee or poo.

Reward the second the poo/wee is done..and she cottoned on really fast. No more poos indoors. Wees took 14 days to be reliable.

Routine with dogs is so important.. Dog's bladders and bowels get used to ''Garden'' at specific times.

Dogs also get lonely...

Of course he wants to be with you! I'd rather have a dog upstairs getting my zzzzzzz than being woken early by barking and howling.

It’s not at all true that dogs have to sleep in bedrooms to get clean!

Our old Lab slept in the kitchen all his life and was clean very quickly and did not wake us up early either.

Current pup is the same but wakes us up a bit too early… at 5.50 each morning which is when the central heating comes on.

Ah he’s still a baby! If you take him out at 5 dies he settle again afterwards?

Toilet training isn’t an issue if they are asleep…which they tend to be if they sleep in your room with you 😉 My dog was sleeping through by 11 weeks in our room in her own bed. A good 8 hours most nights. No need for sleeping issues in young dogs.

Again, that depends on the type of dog @oakleaffy
With a small dog such as yours, it is very easy to allow them to sleep in the bedroom, it's not so practical for those with giant breeds or multiple dogs though. Ours have always slept perfectly happily in the kitchen. They've never disturbed us at night and have all been exceptionally clean.

It gets better, honest. Ours did this on and off till 6 months. Now it's only if she has an upset tummy and normally she doesn't surface till about 10.30 am.

Normal puppy behaviour, gets better with time/age