Reprogramming Your Dog!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I have two doodles. Fudge is a great sleeper. She is two. Fudge is happy to go to bed every night by 8 pm and will almost always sleep until someone gets her up. It is extremely rare to have to get up with her ever in the middle of the night. Cut to Vern....he is one and during the day has a bladder like a camel. He goes to bed great too, but every night after we turn the lights out and just start to fall asleep, he wakes up and wants to go out. This is usually between 11 pm and midnight. Then it seems he wants to stay awake and chew a bone, play with Fudge (on the off chance she gets up too) or just stay outside in the yard. This happens every night like clockwork. He gets lots of exercise throughout the day and I try and get him out each evening for some activity and he and Fudge wrestle and play before bedtime, so I know he is tired.  I feel like he is just on some schedule that needs to be reprogrammed.

Each morning, it is like he has an internal alarm clock because he wakes up between 5:30-6:30 am and wants to go out again. He will first come to my side of the bed and then head to my DH's side of the bed and just continue to walk back and and forth. I hate to ignore him, but when we go out, he never does his business right away. He wanders around the yard, sniffs, lays down, and finally will go to the bathroom, so it is never an emergency. He just gets up very early. How do I get him on our schedule, not his?

[Anna and Achilles]

Can you slowly each morning put him off for maybe 10min. increments, and then maybe gradually he will adjust. At night make sure you take him out right before you go to be just for business. Maybe use a leash so he knows it's not play time. I did this with Achilles for awhile and then he eventually got on our schedule. Hope this helps, Anna

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree with Anna.  We (actually DH) take ours out right before bed one at a time on leash just for their "business"...no playing at all.  If either of them starts playing when then come back in we tell them to "go lie down" and I pick up the toys.  Is Vern drinking a lot in the evening?  That could be another factor.  I watch the water intake after 8:00.  In the morning if they wake up before 7:00 we ignore them or tell them to "lay down".  They actually do listen to that and go back to sleep.  Good luck, I don't know how you are, but sleep is VERY IMPORTANT to me!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Good advice, Anna. He seems to be in a deep sleep, the lights go out, we nod off and he is up. Drives us nuts. I will try the 10 minute increments tomorrow. Thank you!

[Adina P]

I agree with gradually making him wait longer and longer each morning.  Or as soon as he starts bugging you sending him to his crate if you can fit it in your room.

 

Boca and Rosco are both happy to go to bed at the same time we do.  No bones are allowed in the room and doors are closed and they can't get out.  But in the morning, once I get up for the day, Boca does the pacing.  So she gets sent to her crate (NOT as punishment but because I can't watch her and I don't want DH to be awakened by her).  Rosco will sleep in forever.

[Lesley, Wellington & Bingley]

 

Welly used to do this to me too. But it would be at 3.30am!!!! I always got up to let him out thinking 'well if he's GOT to go!'.

 

But he did the same - mooched around and eventually squeezed out a pee. So I thought - no - Im not getting up. I told him 'Go to bed!' and that was it. He tried a few more nights but got the message.

 

He now sleeps through every night until 7am (ish).

 

But I agree with trying increments of 10 mins and see how you go. At 3.30am I was in no mood for increments - so it was the 'tough love' option which thankfully worked well =)

[Camilla and Darwin]

There was a period a year ago or so, where Darwin started to whine earlier and earlier in the morning. It was 9 first, then 8, 7, 6, etc. We kept taking him out, worried that something was wrong. Finally, when he had us getting up at 5, I had enough. That morning when he started to whine, I just told him "no" once. He went right back to bed and I only had to do this one more morning before he stopped completely. I think he just figured out that we would take him out if he whined. So even though he didn't need to go, he wanted to be let outside, and figured we would take him.

 

For the past year, he will sleep in until we wake him up, happily. Sometimes after we wake him up he'll even keep sleeping! :-)

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Thank you everyone for all the good advice. We are starting tomorrow with Operation Sleep for Vern.

[BG and Gavin]

Daylight savings time starts on March 13.  Hopefully that will help too.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

A lot of times we make Peri wait until we are ready.  We currently cannot just open a door and let the dogs go outside (condo), so we have to get dressed, etc...before walking them.  Sometimes Peri has to wait 20 minutes after she wakes up. 

 

Try this:  make him go somewhere when you are not ready.  You might not want to do this, but the early morning (when we are not ready to take the dogs out) is the ONLY time we invite Peri to come cuddle on our bed.  We say "come on up" - she knows it is time to cuddle and that gives us some extra snooze time.  Just a thought!