Can't get a full nights sleep...help!

[Shianne Mack]

So my pup is almost 5 months old and what he just recently started doing is waking up every hour or so, in the middle of the night, and whining and barking. I was use to maybe waking up once to take him out to use the restroom, but for some reason he wants to go out all the time! The first night this happened I was so confused and thought that he might have some bladder problems, but nope...he just went outside and was exploring. The next night, I tried to ignore him but I feet like his barks got louder and louder.. I let him outside again and he went pee, but then just went to explore again. I am getting frustrated because I haven't gotten a good nights sleep for about 4 days now. Any suggestions as to what I can do or why he is doing this? 

[Lisa & Sunny]

I wish I had some answers for you....I am new to raising a puppy, and mine is only 14 weeks old.  She sleeps well most of the time, but since she rings her bells to go outside so often, I often wish I had a puppy mind reader so I could tell when she really needs to go out, and when she just wants to explore (i.e. try to eat a bunch of things that aren't good for her!)

[Jacki Glattfelder]

I would take him out at 11 p.m. and then just ignore him until 6 a.m.  

My puppy tried to do this around that age and i took him out and realized he just missed me and wanted to play.  So, i wore an old shirt for  4 days straight.  i know gross,  i would put it on after work and try and sweat as much as possible.  then i put it in his crate.  it smells like me so he was calm. 

My puppy schedule he is restricted water at 9 p.m. and his last going out at 11 p.m. and he wakes up around 6:30 a.m.  He is also in his crate from 8-1 p.m.  

Good luck,

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

If he is in a crate I would tap the top of the crate and say "quiet" Or "nite-nite" or "enough"...whatever word you want to use in a commanding voice. When he cries again (and he will). Tap the top harder and repeat. If you think he really needs to go outside. I would take him only once in the middle of the night. Be sure to put a leash on him (its not playtime), do NOT speak to him at all. Dont make eye contact. Just let him go pee and then take him back inside for bedtime. He will learn that its not really fun going out late at night.

[LORRY SWETLAND]

I have had Turbo since he was 3 months old and 30 lbs. I too cut his water off at 9 pm and took him out at 10pm. He has always been in my bedroom with the door closed so he could not roam around the house. I never used a crate. In fact my other pups were only 4 lbs and 28 lbs full grown and they always slept in my bed. Turbo is too hot blooded and he prefers the floor under my desk or the end table. He has never gotten me up in the middle of the night nor has he ever had an accident potting in the house. However he won't let me sleep past 6/6:30 am. Sometimes I would enjoy sleeping until 7/8 a but I don't think that will ever happen...lol...Turbo is not just shy of 16 months and he is just under 85 lbs and is 29in tall to the shoulders. Good luck

[Emery & Watson]

sounds like you've got a smart cookie there.  He's learned that he can go out, sniff around, and explore if he makes enough ruckus.  We tried to train our pup to ring a bell to go outside and it worked too well.  Around the same age, 5 months, he was ringing that bell every 30 min to 1 hr.  He was crated at night at this age so we left him and the crate in the living room when we went to sleep at night and ignored if him so we could sleep and not suffer through more bell abuse. :)

Like Jacki mentioned, we also restricted his water by 9 pm and took him out around 10:30 or 11pm, and he usually got to go back out first thing in the morning (around 6 am).

We would also try to keep him up in the evening so he would sleep through the night

[Lisa & Sunny]

Bell abuse....ha ha.....very accurately describes what is going on at my house with my 15 week old puppy, only thankfully it is mostly during the day, not so much during sleeping hours!

[Shianne Mack]

Hello everyone! Thank you for the replies! So I took everyone's advice and decided to limit the water intake, allow him to use the restroom one last time, and also ignore him when he whines and tries to wake me up. The first night I decided to try these he was whining sooo much that I had to get up because I thought, "Maybe he really does have to go pee." So I took him out but while on a leash and he looked at me like I was kinda crazy hahah he was expecting to run free and I didn't say anything to him and didn't look at him and he just went pee a little then stood there, so I took him back in. After that I just ignored him and even though it was hard, it worked!! It's been about a week now and no more interruptions. Thank you all so much!! I was losing my mind.

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

Thats awesome! Im so glad you are getting the rest you need. I know its hard to ignore him because he's so darned cute but they are smart little boogers and can figure out stuff you haven't even thought of.  You just have to show him who is the boss, he really does want to please you!

[Shelby Gonner]

Hey all,

I am currently experiencing a similar problem now. My mini goldnedoodle, Wally, just turned 20 weeks old today. At a very early age he started to sleep through the night with no problems (10 or 10:30 PM to 6 AM). He was recently diagnosed with puppy pyoderma on 07/20/2017 and has been taking Amoxicillin for it.  He's been on antibiotic for a little over a week now and has to take for 14 days total (so we are right in the middle of treatment).

About 4-5 days ago he started waking up at 1 AM every single night. He starts whining and then barks to go out an pee. My husband is the one who takes him out. We put him on a leash and only use minimal lights and do not talk to him or give him treats. Side note: since having this skin infection he does not want to eat or drink much. So when he wakes up at 1 AM he tries to run over to his water bowl and unbeknownst to me, my husband has been letting him then get a sip of water and then crates him back up. He will then not wake up until about 6 AM. This has been very disruptive for us even though it is only 1 time per night. After I found out my husband was letting him drink I said NO! So last night at 1 AM he took him out and immediately crated him back up. He whined for awhile and got up about every hour after that and whined but I just ignored him best I could until 6 AM. I am so exhausted!! I should probably also mention the crate is in our bedroom and has been ever since he's been home (8 weeks of age). I am hesitant to move it to the basement or different room but at this point I NEED SLEEP! 

I have reached out to the vet wondering if the antibiotic causes him to urinate more frequently and she said no not usually and so we have sent in a urine sample today but will not have results until tomorrow.  I would think if he had a UTI or something  that the Amox that he's already on would help him. 

Any other advice you folks can give? I know I need to wait until the vet contacts me back but just the thought of another sleepless night gets my anxiety going crazy. 

[Debbie and Toby]

I know how frustrating this can be.....We limit Toby's water after 8:00pm. He gets as much as he wants during the day, and we don't completely withhold it, just give very minimal amount if needed after 8:00pm.  We also go out for a short walk in the evening, even if it is just walking around yard. Our biggest issue was not letting Toby nap early in the evenings. If he sleeps too much late afternoon and evening, he will wake up during the night. We have found if we keep him awake late in the day he sleeps much better at night. I agree with minimal lighting and no eye contact. You don't want these late night adventures to be fun........less evening water, no late day naps and a little evening exercise or play. Hopefully the situation gets better soon.