Puppies and Early wake ups

[free780]

Hi

We've recently got a puppy. He's generally well behaved and my arm was twisted to get him.

 

He wakes at 5am sometimes later. I'm a really light sleeper. He just naps throughout the day where as for me it's work/dad's taxi/DIY etc.

 

Do other dog owners get woken up this early after the puppy stage?

 

Sometimes I feel like a zombie when life isn't exactly quiet with 2 tweens and a dog.

[elsiegee40]

I’m not a dog owner, but my next door neighbours have a very young puppy. From what I can gather they have the same problem and they’re talking like he will grow out out of it as he gets older.

 

It sounds like it’s the same problem as you get with small children. They don’t appreciate that just because it’s light it doesn’t mean everyone wants to be awake. And nights are very short right now.

 

Good luck!

[XiJ]

From experience with ours it is just like having a new born hooman and they do get better. But similar you have to be strong and not let the puppy rule you.

 

With our Collies we had a good play with them at bed time to try and tire them out. and then Into their cage overnight.

[nicholab]

Hi

We've recently got a puppy. He's generally well behaved and my arm was twisted to get him.

 

He wakes at 5am sometimes later. I'm a really light sleeper. He just naps throughout the day where as for me it's work/dad's taxi/DIY etc.

 

Do other dog owners get woken up this early after the puppy stage?

 

Sometimes I feel like a zombie when life isn't exactly quiet with 2 tweens and a dog.

 

Ours got up early at first but now both lie in too a normal time. We have 2x minute dachshund and 5x 6 week old puppies

 

We crate trained both our Dogs and that worked well. Our crate is under the stairs in the hall with curtains and the crates have blankets over.

Edited June 12, 2022 by elsiegee40

[HPlum78]

My puppy wakes up at first light at the min and will make sure that he gets me up so he can go for a walk!

[free780]

Thanks for all the replies. We are not using a cage. The early wake ups are probably just the time of year. I have vague memories of kids doing the same.

[penfold]

To be honest, while it was tiring to be getting up, it did mean that they could go outside rather than the toilet in the house. I'd rather be doing that than clearing any mess. He grew out of it quite quickly though....at least compared to the kids

[jnfarmer]

Oooooooooooooo puppy! What have you got yourself? Night times were a b***h for us when we got ours, but we crate trained from the beginning (highly recommend) and stay disciplined when they cry, which is easier said than done! The real trick is getting down to them before they start crying so you're not re-enforcing their crying which makes it worse and worse. I just hope you like coffee!

[XiJ]

The whole crate thing seemed a bit ‘cruel’ to me but wife is an ex vet nurse. She assures me it gives them comfort and a safe place - which I could see actually. It made a huge difference.

 

Although they were threatened to go back in it during the chewing table leg stage 🤣

[Jawloms]

Our dog likes her crate. She's been used to it since just a few weeks old. If we're going to be spending time upstairs (she can't do stairs due to disability) she'll sit at the bottom of the stairs and whimper. If we crate her, not a peep! Crate every night too, and if we go out without her. And we always call it a crate, "cage" sounds mean. When she was a young pup she'd get us up in the night or early morning, but it soon passed.

[HPlum78]

Yeah I too have put it down to time of year and also remember my kids doing the same. As for a crate that's all very well and the conversation of right and wrong is one for another day for me.. I don't crate my puppy as it would stop him being able to grab hold of anyone stupid enough to not have me invite them in, 50kg 6 ft on his back legs @ 14 months old GSD needs to be able to do the job that he is here for and ensure that johnny robber falls in to the business end of making that mistake! :-p

[Koldov]

We have rescued ex-racing greyhounds.

 

They get up between 05:00 - 05:30... every morning... no matter the time of year... or weather... every... morning....

 

I guess that's what they've been used to for most of their lives and the oldest one now being nearly 11 isn't going to 'grow out of it' anytime soon. As has been said we tend to let the initial whining subside before going downstairs so as not to reinforce the behaviour (and let them think that whining = winning). Unfortunately we've found that sometimes the old girl is actually telling us she really needs to go out and you ignore that at your peril...

 

The OH gets up early for work so she does the 'early shift' during the week (although it means she goes to bed at about 21:30) and I do it on the weekends and yes, it is annoying that they then proceed to pretty much sleep the other 23 hours of the day...

 

We don't crate them obviously (not against it as such, my sister crates her GWP dogs and I don't have a problem with it if it's done correctly), but as we've decided that after spending most of their life in a cage, the point of recuing them is to let them sleep on the couch and generally just have a lovely life.

 

Sadly we lost one of the other old girls recently and hope she spent her last couple of years loved and in comfort. She was in such a sorry state with a torn ear, scars on her nose, a leg that had been broken and not healed properly, corns on her pads (yes really, it's a hound thing), bad gait/posture from her injuries and teeth worn down to little stumps with the canines being worn into small points (we are told from from chewing the cage bars), head tremors etc. Although she was very timid and head shy (from beating) and had been absolutely hammered as a racer, after that she was bought by some (*@$%) kept in a shed and used for god knows what (flapping - unlicensed/unregulated racing or lamping are the most common).

 

Although she didn't have time to be completely fixed physically (although we had little boots for her poor feet and hired an animal physiotherapist), emotionally she was improving, had started to come for affection occasionally and even got on the sofa (although she wouldn't cuddle up, she liked to be near you), she had even started doing little zoomies in the garden when we came home... I could go on about her for a while, but I'd better not, I just hope we made her life better for a couple of years even if we couldn't make up for what happened in the previous 8.

 

Anyway sorry to hijack your thread, but safe to say discipline and routine are key, it 'should' get better if you are starting with a puppy and put in the time and effort... the thing is to a puppy (well any dog actually) YOU are their world and once they are awake, what could be better than being with their pack, going for a walk and getting fed! Plus, he's been used to being surrounded 24/7 by his previous family of brothers and sisters, who didn't mind being woken up and he's a PUPPY! Everything is fantastic, who can blame him for wanting to start the day as early as possible!!!!

 

Just to mention, that one of the old girls suffered with terrible separation anxiety. I guess once she found herself in a home she was worried about being abandoned again. The OH is able to WFH and this reinforced someone being around all the time and so when leaving it seemed twice as bad. Anyway, after much training by the OH (even going out and sitting in the car or garden for 10/20/30 minutes) we've managed to get to a good couple of hours now.

 

I only say this as it may be relevant, we were told to not make the return (or in your case the morning greeting) exciting in anyway, hard as that might be! On the weekend I get up and pretty much ignore them, let them out in the garden if they want while I have my coffee. The old girl goes out to do what she needs to do then goes back to bed, but the other two stay in bed now (as they know the score) until I start getting ready to take them out.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Koldov

[djm968]

We have rescued ex-racing greyhounds.

 

We lost our rescue Greyhound just before lockdown, wonderful animals. He made his own "crate" under the stairs when we first got him, it was somewhere he felt safe, then he learnt how to climb the stairs! He suffered with corns, I think most ex-racers do, they are not used to walking on hard ground.

 

As others have already said, this is about showing your puppy who is boss. You need to be strong, don't give into his attempts to get your attention (as difficult as this is) or you will be making a rod for your own back.

 

I was going to apologise for hijacking the post when I see Greyhound, but I'm not, I will never apologies for giving a rescued Greyhound a happy ending to their often traumatic life story.

Edited June 13, 2022 by djm968