So....I know I’ve been lucky, Arnie has slept through pretty much from the start....but has now decided around 4am he wants to be up.... We’ve had a couple of issues with Giardia which has disturbed our routine over the past 2 months and this past week he’s just getting over a bout (fingers crossed)...which has meant this past week I have had to take him out in the middle of the night a couple of nights as he’s needed to go....he does a high pitched Yelp when he really needs to go - I can usually tell the difference between that and this 4am “hello I’m awake you should be too” more whiney bark.....but I did make a mistake the other night (was fast asleep and woke up to some sort of bark) and I took him out and all he did was have a sniff and little wee....each time we’ve had to go out I’ve made it clear it’s not play time and it’s straight back to bed for both of us.... He sleeps in our bedroom in his puppy pen which is where we want him....so no change there. Last night we told him no and he settled back down....anything else we could do to reinforce it’s not playtime? Also he’s unfortunately been on antibiotics - they seem to make him thirsty - does anyone know is that a thing? I haven’t been told of that particular side effect before.... Anyway if anyone has an advice on what else we can do? Thank you
When Luna was on antibiotics a couple of weeks ago she was super thirsty and was drinking far more than normal. I never gave it a second thought but now looking back it must have been them as she is back to normal now. Has something change around your home? Maybe a neighbour going to work earlier or lorries passing? This could be something waking him up and making him think it is morning. If not then unfortunately it would be a case of ignoring him until he settles again. Luna was really unsettled last night due to the wind and heavy rain, she was awake almost every hour crying not knowing what it was. It was the worst it had been last night and think it spooked her. She finally settled when I was being 'big spoon' and she snuggled into me - best puppy cuddle ever!
Thanks for your reply.....nope nothing has changed...I had been letting him on the bed for snuggles on a weekend morning, but we’ve been doing that for a while - not just this past week or so when this 4am barking has started....I was thinking he may be letting me know he thinks he should be on the bed ....I love puppy snuggles but not all night!
Really you have to decide (in advance) if you think he really needs to go out during the night. If you think he does or there is a chance of it, then you need to set your alarm clock to take him out BEFORE he wakes up and makes noise - in order to avoid reinforcing it. You can then make your alarm later every 2-3 days by about 30mins. If you think he doesn't need to go and he's just having it on, then you need to ignore any and all noise that comes from him before what you decide is wake up time. You should avoid responding to his noise, or you will only reinforce it and end up with it happening more...
