Another Sleep Thread

[Guest manders4]

So we've had Daisy for maybe six weeks now. When we first brought her home, she was content to sleep until about 6:15. I'm a teacher and my husband is an early riser anyway, so that was just fine for us. However, after about the first week, she started getting us up at five for a walk. We moved back her dinner from 5 to 6 and started giving her a longer walk around 8:30. But she still wakes us up at five. She has even been waking up at 4:30 most days, but we tell her to go back to sleep. She does and then get us up at five with more urgency.

 

She has never had an accident in the house and does not bug us about her other walks. Right now, dinner is at 6:30 and she gets cut off from water at 8. Is there anything else we can do? We don't have a backyard, so when she needs to go out, we need to go out as well. It wouldn't be so bad, but we live in a neighborhood with a lot of college students. On weekends, they wake us up in the middle of the night a lot. It is really hard to get up at five after being awake in the middle of the night!

 

Thanks so much. We're just so tired!

[Guest IrskasMom]

Congrats on Daisy Personally to cut her of from Water is not a good thing. Mine has Water all the time. Then the last Walk at 8:30 PM is to early to think she can hold it till 6 AM. Her last Walk should be at 10 PM and she would be able to hold it for that long .

[Guest manders4]

Yeah, I wasn't sure about the water. I usually forgot to take it away anyway...

 

The problem with walking at 10 is that if we wake up at five, we're too tired by then! But we will give it a try! Thanks so much.

[Guest Jubilee251]

You could also try setting an alarm at the time she wakes up at now. Then gradually, move it back a minute, two minutes, five minutes...

 

The water might not be a problem, she might just wake up and be bored. Mine get their water pulled at 8:30, last walk at 9. They wake me up at 5am playing bitey-face, and when I get up, they all roach for belly rubs, so they don't actually NEED to go out. They just want attention!

[OwnedBySummer]

I am a later person, Summer's last potty break is usually around 11pm, sometimes later. Then we both get up at 8:30. And she's in no real panic for me to let her out. And I don't take away her water in the evening, although once we go to bed, the bedroom door is closed so she doesn't have access. Nothing deliberate there, just what I've always done. So... when she's sleeping, she comfortably holds "her water" for 9 hours or thereabouts.

Edited October 2, 2010 by OwnedBySummer

[kamsmom]

I get up at 6am most mornings. The last out for the dogs is usually 10-10:30pm Steak (my male) is a very early riser so if he hasn't gone out at 10 he will be up at 4 or 5am. He is always up by 7am no matter what day it is. He has no concept of "sleeping in"

[Magdalyn58]

About six weeks after we brought Teddy home, he began waking up in the wee hours of the mornings, crying and whining. I thought that he might be hungry (he eats supper at 6 PM). So we began giving him half a peanut butter sandwich before his bedtime (around 11:30 PM). From the first night he received the snack, he has slept through the night until we the alarm goes off at 6 AM. Many mornings, he wants to stay in bed a little longer. He sleeps in until 7:30 AM on the weekends. But the crying has stopped.

[Guest Tokolos]

Magdalyn58 - I may try that peanut butter sandwich trick with Sprinkles during the weekends. I'm up at 4:00 during the week, and Sprinkles joins me for breakfast of egg whites and kibble. Come Saturday, though, the whimpering sounds of a hungry greyhound at 4:00 a.m. is less than fantastic.

[Guest cwholsin]

Gosh!

 

I never realized just how lucky we got with Hermes! We feed him around 9am in the morning and again at 8-8:30pm with his last potty break around 10 or 11. He sleeps in his crate, and doesn't -insist- on getting up until breakfast or later (11am this morning).

 

Perhaps you can take turns taking her out for a potty break a little later (it wouldn't need to be a long walk, just taker her outside of the house and ask her to go).

 

I hope you folks can get some better sleep! It's a really good thing we got a lazy dog, I don't think I could do 4:30am wakeups...or even 6am wakeups!!

 

It sounds like you don't crate Daisy at night... maybe you could give that a try that and see if she's still waking up so early.

[Guest Duke]

"So we began giving him half a peanut butter sandwich before his bedtime (around 11:30 PM)."

 

 

 

Is the peanut butter sandwich to keep him from going to the bathroom with a full stomach? Or is it because he is hungry? I have trouble with Duke needing to gout at about 4 a.m as well..

[Guest greytmiles]

"So we began giving him half a peanut butter sandwich before his bedtime (around 11:30 PM)."

 

Is the peanut butter sandwich to keep him from going to the bathroom with a full stomach? Or is it because he is hungry? I have trouble with Duke needing to gout at about 4 a.m as well..

 

I believe the PB sandwich is to counteract the possibility that he's waking up b/c he's hungry.

Miles is the same, and will wake up waaaay early if he hasn't had a 'bedtime snack'.

He'll also wake up if he's too cold. I swear, buying fleece pajamas for my greyhound was one of the best investments I've ever made.

 

Erin

[Magdalyn58]

Yes, the PB sandwich is to keep him from getting hungry in the middle of the night. We were really lucky that from the first night, it did the trick and now he sleeps through the night. I honestly think that his hungry tummy would wake him up which prompted him to do what he does best--whine. He is the biggest crybaby.

[Guest Profgumby]

Our Beauty used to wake us up around 4:30 in the morning. She would get up quietly, walk to the side of the bed and bark one time! We obviously weren't really ready for that! After we pet her, she would go back and lie down, and go to sleep till they both get up around 5:30 - 6am.

 

She has since (thankfully) stopped this behavior! Her foster told us she would probably do that too. He thought it was her way of making sure we were still there....

 

Now I try and make the girls last outside at about 10:00 pm or so....it tends to work. But you (and I too at freakin O'dark thirty) have to remember they don't have any concept of human time schedules. it is, "Human! I must go out now! Or your Rug gets it!"

 

Eventually if you can keep a regular schedule and consider 7 or 8 hours can be a long time to hold it, things will even out.

 

Also, after their last outside, they both get a treat. And their beds have a blanket and when it gets cold enough we will most likely cover them like we did our Whippets. Adding a blanket or two also give them a chance to make their beds if you will.

 

This is the fun part of owning dogs, isn't it?

Edited October 9, 2010 by Profgumby

[mom2four]

I also get up at 5 am for work, hubby sleeps until 8 or so. I let the dogs out, feed them, and then they "go back to bed" during the week. Hubby then lets them out for the start of their regular day. They get supper at 4:30. A couple of the Greys were waking up with either very growly tummies or were waking up whining at 4 AM-ish. So we started to give a before bedtime snack- about 1/4 cup of their kibbles. It does the trick. They are all good houndies, as on the weekend they let me sleep until I get up, anywhere from 7-9 AM, depending on the season and the weather.