# Pup wont sleep past 5.30am



## JayneA (Jun 11, 2002)

Pup is just coming up on 16 weeks and has slept in his crate in our room since the first day we brought him home.

I shouldn't moan because he has been clean and dry since day 1 and rarely gets us up in the night to go to the toilet. The only problem we have is that for the last 3/4 weeks he has been waking earlier and earlier to the point now that he rarely sleeps past 5.30am (which I know isn't that early but it's earlier than we want to get up!)

We take up water at night at about 8-8.30 pm, he gets a last drink and loo break about 10.30pm and then into his crate just before 11pm. I tried covering his crate last night in case it was the morning light waking him but it didn't help.

Any suggestions gratefully received!


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Why are you complaining? Sounds pretty darned good to me. Pups are inconvenient. Get him used to going out then go back to bed if you need to.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Good morning! 

I am also up between 5-5:30 now with a foster puppy. He doesn't have to go to the bathroom so badly because he's 7-8 months old, I think he just likes to play and wants to start the day. Weirdo optimist happy dog. 

Worse, is that if I try the ignore, or tell him to go back to sleep (which works with my own adult dogs) is that he will sit in his crate and start to move his front legs up and down like he is running in place, with his butt in a sit. What that does is get my dogs all excited - OMG - he's running! WHILE HE'S SITTING! IN HIS CRATE! Bark, bark! Let's get up and run, too! 

And then I lose because no one wants to go back to sleep after such fun. So I have gotten him to go to 6am on weekends by tiring him out a bit more before bedtime - without getting him so wound up he can't settle. I discovered it's kind of nice on weekdays to be up so early, get some work done and since it's hot, the dogs get to play while it's cooler...so win-win?

So tiring could work. 

A special hard chew like a pizzle or antler in a bedside stand to toss in and let him chew while you sleep in (w/out rewarding him for waking you up to get it) might give you some time. 

Slowly moving up his waking time by 5 minute increments (which are easier to ignore than 30 minutes of puppy crying) could help. But this will be as he gets older - right now it is very likely that he really has to go. 

If he gets fed upon waking, moving that forward too. I swear my dogs want to get up for the ginger snap they get. *

---> Now - at 4 months - he is sleeping a very good long time and I would just get up and let him out and go back to bed once we got back in if I just had the one pup. <----* 

Good luck!


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## jetbootz (Apr 7, 2012)

My puppy does the exact same thing. I'm not sure but I think that any sign of the sun rising/birds chirping wakes her up!


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## JayneA (Jun 11, 2002)

I am only 'moaning' as we normally get up at 6am and it's surprising how much difference that last half an hour of sleep makes :laugh:. By the time we are up and then getting back to bed again there is only 10-15 mins before the alarm goes off.

He tends to start shuffling round in his crate, having a bit of a whinge, building to a crescendo, which then winds up my other 3 dogs are you say Jean. (Believe me I know that pups change your life and I was only asking for ideas jocoyn)

I was half considering biting the bullet and setting the alarm for 5.30 and getting him straight up for a few days, then setting for 5.35am etc and seeing if we can stretch him out a bit.

Thanks for the suggestion!


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

My apologies for being blunt. I know it gets better. ... I just toughed it out with Beau this fall when I got him. Got him up, no play just potty back in crate, and now he knows that until I have my coffee nothing happens...speaking of which I need to go throw some balls.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

My pup did the same thing between the ages of 4-6 months...I found it to be refreshing. I say refreshing because she was up, ready to go, and happy to be alive She would look at me like what is sleep? Then from 6-7 months old she slept until the alarm clock, but as soon as the alarm went off, she was right there in my face like "okay lets go". Once she hit 7 months she lays there until I actually get out of bed, I can even hit snooze once So in my situation is seemed only to be a phase.


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## lzver (Feb 9, 2012)

We are going through the same thing with our 4 month old pup. During the week, one of us just stays up with him. But on the weekends we take him out to do business and feed him and then we go back to bed. Works well on the weekends anyway.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

My husband gets up at 4:30am, the 3 dogs & the kitten stay in the bedroom with me until my alarm goes off at 5am.
On weekends the latest we (I) get to sleep is usually 6:30 am. Once is starts getting light out the kitten & Lakota (my youngest dog) figure it's time to get up. I try to go back to sleep but by then I usually have to go potty myself, so I get up.
I would stay in bed until you want to get up and hopefully your puppy will realize 5:30 isn't time to get up. 
We do get to sleep later in the winter when it isn't light so early, almost to 7am woo hoo!


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## JayneA (Jun 11, 2002)

Maybe we will go with the alarm approach then - and pop him back to bed. Hopefully it will just be a phase as you all say, I can't remember any of my other dogs doing this but maybe I have just blocked it out


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## ParkersPopLou (Apr 15, 2012)

Youre not alone...at 3 months, Parker gets up at 530am as well. Ive been told that it will pass, and that he's just a puppy with a lot of naps sprinkled with puppy play time. So like everyone said, tiring works. Not as good as i would hope, but better than waking up at 3am (which he used to do) 

i just take him for a walk around the block when i come home from work around 9pm and this makes him get a little awake at first but once he's in that crate, he just plops down and sleeps.

hope this helps! good luck!


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

JayneA said:


> Maybe we will go with the alarm approach then - and pop him back to bed. Hopefully it will just be a phase as you all say, I can't remember any of my other dogs doing this but maybe I have just blocked it out


You probably have. I've fostered a few puppies in the past few years and each time that I am getting up throughout the night it hits me that I'm doing it again...and then I hand the puppy off to someone else just as they hit the sleep all night stage!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

JayneA said:


> Maybe we will go with the alarm approach then - and pop him back to bed. Hopefully it will just be a phase as you all say, I can't remember any of my other dogs doing this but maybe I have just blocked it out


He's training you to get up when he wants to. So I agree that it's best you start training him that it's when YOU want to get up. 

Additionally, he's getting older so may be showing you that it's time to up the exercise and training/socialization. I know my dogs sleep later when I fix their daily schedule to make it more interesting.

DOG CLASSES and hiking should see a difference soon.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

If you use the old 1 month = 1 hour thing, he's probably actually got to go, I would imagine. He's only 4 months old, right? I'm always glad I am getting up, not cleaning up.


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## gmcwife1 (Apr 5, 2012)

Our 4 month old pup is getting me up at 5:00 am too. 

I take all three of them out to use the grass, then bring them all in, put her in her crate, give her a biscuit (for her empty tummy) and then we all go back to sleep until 6:30 

I think it would bother me more if like you, it was almost my time to get up, but not quite!


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