Hi, I'm new here - trying to find infos on the sleeping schedule of a 6month old chocolate lab!! Billie has always been used to sleep in her cage - she doesnt mind it at all. Except at night ! I wonder if it's because she doesnt exercice enough (but we walk 1 hour in the morning - then i go to work and a dogwalker comes in around noon for another 1hour walk, and another one with me at night ) I put her to bed around 10pm and everynight she will start crying (either around midnight) or 3-4am !! I try to ignore her but when she starts barking, i go open her cage and she jumps in my bed. Its not because she needs to pee or anything... We usually wake up around 5-6 am in the morning. I'm just wondering if this is normal for a 6month puppy and if not - could it be because she is hungry? Thanks!!
Hi and welcome! No, she's not hungry - she's crying because you have inadvertently taught her that barking at night means that you let her out of her crate and into your bed! If you ignore her for a while, and then give in, that is just teaching her that she has to bark longer and more loudly, but that in the end you relent. You can do three things: You can just give up and let her in your bed from the beginning. You can put her to bed in her crate but leave the door open, that way she can come to you when she wants without waking you. Or you can start re-training her to sleep in her crate, which will mean when she barks just going to her briefly, telling her to go to sleep, then going back to bed and leaving her there - and not giving in. I know what I'd do...
I ditto the above advice from Karen. We ended up having Harley on our bed and she slept amazingly after this, but I know not everyone likes dogs on beds, it's a personal choice.
Oh boy, this was like reading my own posts about Corona who is also 6 1/2 months old. I was desperate for advice and most all SLEEP! In fact I just posted a couple of days ago that she's FINALLY sleeping thru the night, it's been a little over a week. It was a lot of consistent hard work and at first, meant more broken sleep. Corona had tons of medical issues that contributed to her awful sleeping patterns but we made it way worse mainly because we were so desperate. We decrated her around 4 months old, at night only, and put her on her pillow next to the bed and she's gated in that section, hoping she would sleep better. It helped a bit. But she was still getting up around 4:30am. I would take her for a bathroom break but then let her on the bed. She went back to sleep but I never did. That was the problem. We went back and forth with different sleeping options, ultimately confusing the heck out of Corona. Finally, we practiced some tough love and banished her to her pillow by the bed. The first week, she'd put her paws on the bed about 15 times a night. I sent her back to her pillow everytime. It quickly dwindled down but she always wanted that one pee break. So I thought. It was all me. One night, I sent her back to bed at her 5am wake up call, AND SHE WENT. Slept thru ever since. It's bliss. You need to decide and stick with it NO MATTER WHAT. That's the hard part but sooo worth it in the end! Good luck to you, keep us posted!
Hi can't add to any of the above, but Bailey was decorated at night from quite young as he outgrew his first crate and we really don't have room for a larger one. Initially he kept getting up on the bed, but with persistence this reduced each night. Now we have an arrangement we are all happy with - he chooses where he sleeps, but he is not allowed on our bed until the early hours of the morning (mainly because he likes to lay with his head on our legs or back) usually around 4am. He just snuggles up to the back of my legs and sleeps until either a) my alarm goes off at 6.30am on days that I have an early start or b) usually around 7.30am/8am when he feels I have been asleep long enough and it is time to be awake and give him some attention! Fair play, apart from we come downstairs have a trip to the garden, a play, then we sit down for our morning cuddle which ends up with him sprawled over my lap snoring his head off while I am sat like a lemon wondering why I got up! All a personal choice really.
Sorry but I keep seeing this typo on here, and it does make me chuckle ! What was the colour scheme?!!! No intention to offend @Samantha Jones
I always think "decorated" like awarded honours. I can just imagine the pooches, lined up to receive their medals, chests puffed out with pride
