Sadie the night owl: all suggestions welcome

[Becka]

I apologize for the length of this, but I wanted to make sure I included all details that seemed pertinent.

For the last week or so, Sadie has been waking me up regularly between 1:30 and 2:30 in the morning to go potty. She's done this before, on very rare occasions, but usually because she had loose stools or she hadn't gotten in her last poop of the day before bed. What's new about this is that she doesn't have to poop, and it's starting to seem more like habit than need.

I try to make the whole event as "businesslike" as possible--I take her into the backyard, tell her to go potty, praise her when she does, and go right back in the house. I don't let her run around or play at all. A couple of times I've taken her out there on the leash just so that she understands it's not time to play, but it takes her much longer to pee when I do that. I've considered taking her in the front yard on the leash because she only ever goes in the front yard to pee (it's not fenced), but I'm not that thrilled about the idea of hanging out in my front yard in the middle of the night.

We usually go to bed around 11:00, and I take her out to potty right before that. She gets at least a couple of hours of exercise a day--more if she's in daycare that day. Up until May she was sleeping in my room with the door shut, but after I had shoulder surgery and had to sleep on the couch for a month she got free rein of the house at night, and has generally been good with it (no accidents). Sometimes she sleeps in my room and sometimes in the TV room. She always wakes me up between 6:15 and 6:45 in the morning (I'd be getting up that early anyway). Could the middle-of-the-night peeing have to do with her moving around more in the night? Should I be taking up her water at night? She is only a year and a half, so I know that in many ways she's very much a puppy.

A couple of times she's tried to wake me up a second time, maybe an hour later, and I've told her to go to go lie down and she has given up (and there were no signs of any accidents in the morning).

Your thoughts and suggestions are most welcome. I do realize that she is probably manipulating me and I need to figure out how to be tougher with her (and yet I don't want her to have an accident...)

Thanks for reading!

[Becka]

Walked over to the treat jar? Really? I have a spine of steel compared to you, Laurie!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

LOL...I am sucker for those dogs :)

[Becka]

Oh, I'm quite certain that she's playing me like a violin. Have you seen her?

I will take her to the vet next week, but I'm not as worried about it being a UTI because she's not peeing more than usual. In the evenings (around 7 or 8) she wants to go out to play in the yard, and doesn't even pee at all.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Becka, I know this will surprise you, but I wrote a blog a while ago about Vern the night owl. I feel your pain.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/blogs/hoo-hoo-is-a-night-owl-v...

[Becka]

A blog? From you? About Vern? No way! ;) I look forward to reading this.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I knew you would be surprised :)

[Meridith and Lola]

Lola slept in my room uncrated at a very young age because she didn't like the crate and would cry for a long time.  She got house trained very quickly and was able to let me know when she needed to go out.  She always slept on the floor or on her bed and didn't want to sleep in my bed until she was a little older (it it is a very high bed so this was a good thing to prevent injury).  At some point she did start sleeping in my bed but would get up and jump off.  She then started to wake me up so I thought she needed to go out.  I would get dressed and take her down the elevator and outside in the wee hours of the night/morning.  While she may have gone, I finally figured out that wasn't the reason for her waking me up.  It was because she wanted to go back on the bed but wouldn't jump in it unless I invited her up so now when that happens, I move my legs and pat the bed and she jumps up and we both fall back to sleep.

If it is not a UTI - she may just be trying to tell you something and it is not I have to pee!!

Good luck.

[Becka]

Thanks, Meridith--I'm pretty sure that what she's trying to tell me is, "I run this household and you are merely my servant!"

[Diane and Alma]

That's so funny!  I keep telling my kids that I am NOT the maid and now even my dog thinks I am.