Hi all, Our 23 month old fox red Labrador has suddenly started waking between 4-5am, jumping and banging at our doors to go out. There are no noises or disturbances that are prompting it. She has free reign downstairs with the door shut and happily sleeps on the sofa (has 2 other dog beds to choose from as well) She has never done it before and was regularly sleeping until 7:15 until summer came. Once summer came it changed to 6:30 which is understandable but this latest change is a real struggle. When we go downstairs she does want to go out to the toilet and will come back in and go to sleep, but i am struggling to get back to sleep myself and just can't understand what changed. We have watched her on the furbo and she wakes, stretches and walks straight into the kitchen and starts jumping at the glass door, almost trying to get the handle to push down. Her routine is typically: Wake 6:30am - have a handful of kibble, go to the toilet (poo and wee) and have an hours walk off lead, fetch/playing with other dogs, recall treats 8am breakfast (75% of daily allowance). 8-11:30: potter about/nap 11:30-12:15 - off lead walk - usually has a poo! Handful of treats for recall 12:15-4:30 - potter about/nap 4:30-5:15 - lead walk, sometimes a poo sometimes not. Dinner 5:45pm. Remainder of food often quite small. Whines until gets a chew, normally around 7pm. snoozes until we go to bed, around 10-10:30. Let out for a wee and given 2 dog biscuits We have been struggling to ignore her as we are worried about her jumping and smashing the glass door. Our plan is: Barricade the door so she cant injure herself or damage the house. Omit the handful of kibble in the morning (stop her moaning for a snack?). We started doing this as she was running off on walks to eat junk from bins, it solved it but it was when she was much younger. Late night stroll (15 mins) just to give her a stretch and a chance for a poo if needed. (worried this will stimulate her and stop her from settling?). Ignore her whining until 6:30am no matter what (dreading that part). ANY comments or tips would be appreciated. We are convinced that come winter she will go back to normal, but if it goes on much longer it will surely become a habit?
Hi - just a thought, but could it be that she's hungry in the morning and waking for food if her evening meal is quite small? Perhaps try less for breakfast and increase the dinner ration at 5:45pm? Or perhaps it is just that she needs to toilet? Our Monty is only 7 months old so I'm sure there are more experienced people who can offer advice on the forum.
If there was a sudden change in urinary habits, then I would be suspecting a UTI. Has this been ruled out? If your dog really needs to toilet, which is what you observe, then I don't think it's fair on the dog to let her just whine to be let out. She is trying to do the right thing and not toilet inside your home. Would a dog flap in your back door be an option? I would be inclined to take her for a walk in the late evening. In doing so, you might delay the early call to toilet the next morning. It should not unsettle her. For what it is worth, I would not be giving her things to chew in response to her whining--you are reinforcing whining.
