Hi, my 14 week old puppy is waking round 5.30am, never any later. She snoozes on the sofa in the evening and at times I really want an early night but stay up as not to let her out too early before bed (10pm ish) but I'm now thinking if she's asleep then I might aswell be too and get that early night! I get up then about 3am to let her out then straight back to her crate, no fuss. I have two 4 year olds so when she starts whining at 5.30am I get up to prevent her waking them up too early (sometimes she does wake them though!) Is this just how it is this early on with puppies or is there anything else I should /could be doing so she doesn't wake so early!? xx
Could you set your alarm for 5 am for a few days to beat her to it? Take her out for a wee and back to bed for an hour?
Hi Zoe, Welcome to the forum! Your puppy is still very small and it's early days, so hopefully this will naturally just become a later and later start to the day as she grows. 5labs suggestion is a good one to help encourage your pup to expect to be woken rather than wake you. You can find some more ideas for getting a longer stretch at night here too.
Thank you Lucy! 5labs I did a couple of nights where I got up at 4.30am but she whinged, then settled then started whinging again at 5.30am. I've had a lab before but I guess I've forgotten about this stage!
Toby has always been an early riser. We are up at 6 during the week and there is no such thing as a weekend in his eyes. He gently reminds us with a little whine when it is 6 at the weekend. Better than the 5 it used to be! I started setting an alarm that he could hear to just before 5 then increasing it every few days until he wasn’t pacing until the 6 o’clock alarm. I think part of the problem is feeding. I was in the habit of feeding him as soon as I got up so he was waiting for his food. Now I mix it up and sometimes he is fed and others he waits. Depending on when you feed the night before your pup may be hungry. It does get easier and if I really want a lie in I pop downstairs and feed him and go back to bed or send my husband. He usually settles for another couple of hours with a full belly.
My My lab pup Sam is almost 15 weeks. At 7:50 pm we shut off the lights and he goes to bed. I have to work at keeping him awake from 6:30 on, otherwise he’d be up at 3:00 am.
Kyko woke around 5.30 till he was about 15/16 weeks, then would sleep till alarm went off at 6.45. Now we don't have the crate anymore & he sleeps in bed with us he would sleep much later if the alarm wasn't set. One weekend he finally woke at almost 9am
we go to bed around 10.30ish but he really sleeps almost all evening......he's always liked his sleep this one
Luna is 8 months and I am up in the morning before her. She sleeps most of the evening and comes to bed with me when I go about 10. She will sleep until I get up anywhere between 6-6.30. At the weekend tho she can go until 7 until her stomach wakes her up! When Luna was younger she was waking about 4.30/5 as she needed to pee and it was hard to get her to settle again after this. It will get better as she gets older. In the evenings I turn the main light off in the living room and have a lamp on so that it is more relaxed and she is able to unwind.