Waking Up In The Middle Of The Night Wanting Atttention

[Guest RealClearBlue]

Hello everyone,

 

Alright so I come to you guys with my first question. So since the first night we got Howie as I stated in my other topic he has been great and almost the perfect first dog. However we do have one issue. Every night around 3 AM he stands up in his cage and whines. The first night I took him out because I figured he needs to use the restroom but I took him out only a couple of hours earlier. He urinated and then I brought him back inside and tried to go to sleep. It was the weekend so it wasn't too much of a problem. However he did again Sunday night and last night also. Last night I left his kennel cage open so he can wander out freely if he wanted but then I woke up with a wet nose poking me in the face and a wagging tail.

 

While I love giving him attention we need to correct this to not have it turn into a habit. I want to be able to get him to adjust to our schedule which we have setup which we think is reasonable. If he could wait until 7 am for attention instead of 3 am that would be awesome.

 

So has anyone else had this issue and what are some solutions when he starts to whine in his kennel to be let out and wanting to be petted or walked? I'm starting to feel the fatigue of this routine.

Edited October 11, 2011 by RealClearBlue

[Guest iLoveLucie]

Was Howie in a foster home before you adopted him or is a fresh off the track? His foster family might be able to shed some light on how he slept thru the night, if he had a hard time "holding it" for an extended amount of time over night. He might legitimatley have to go out - in which case he is letting you know which is a good thing. As he becomes "house trained" he should learn how to hold it longer.

 

Or he maybe he's a little nervous in his new home and as you said wants some attention. Our first night with our girl Lucie was rough - she cried all night. We had taken her out and knew she could hold it all night, so we just had to ignore her. It was very very tough, but she did not repeat the show on night 2 and we all slept better and never had an issue since.

 

I'll be curious to see what others suggest, but I'd say ignore his pleas for attention. He'll figure out that nighttime is for sleeping. He still might get up early though but as he adjusts to his new life and home, he'll hopefully adapt to a schedule more similar to yours.

[TheFullHouse]

If he's straight off the track, there is a good possibility that he was up that early at the track and his body clock is set at that time. They start their days very early in the morning at the track. Something people don't think about is where the dog came from, they may have been in a different time zone. If you're sure he doesn't have to go to the bathroom, try ignoring him, it will be tough but they usually get the picture within a few days.

[Guest RealClearBlue]

Sorry I guess I should of gave some background.

 

He was in 2 home previously and for the past 8 months he was fostered. I assumed that it might just be him adjusting to a new home. During the day he seems to be able to hold it for 8 hours so I assumed he would be able to do the same overnight. Last night I did not take him outside and he seem more interested in playing than going out. So I'm leaning toward him simply wanting some attention from us. I will try to ignore him tonight and see how it fares.

[schultzlc]

For the first month that I had Luna, she was up every night between 3 and 4 whining at me, and I feel your pain! Like you, I assumed tha she had to go out, which wasn't the most fun task as we used to live on the top floor of an apartment complex (yes, over the summer I actually moved to a house to better accomodate the dog!). I also realized that it didn't make sense, because she could hold it during the day for several hours while I was at work. I tried a few different things, like taking an extra long walk before bedtime to wear her out, but nothing seemed to work.

 

For Luna, it turned out to be impatience for her next meal time. She was always so hungry when I fed her at 6 am, so to remedy the situation, I switched from two meals to three to help spread it out over the day. After a while, she got used to her new schedule, and I was able to get her on a more regular daily plan.

 

Try to be patient, which I know isn't easy when your sleep gets interrupted night after night. I truly believe that your Howie will get used to the way you run your house, and things will begin to even out. Good luck to you!!

[Guest GryffinSong]

Kiesha does this too. It took me forever to figure it out, but like Luna, it seems to be related to meals. If I feed her very late at night she sleeps right through.

[kudzu]

Have had a few fosters do this. The solution was to ignore them.

[GeorgeofNE]

"Go lie down!"

 

He's testing your boundaries. The only way to get past this is to ignore him. I went through this with George. Every day at precisely 4 AM he woke up. At first, like you, I assumed he had to pee. Well, he sort of did--but that's not why he was waking up. That's just what he was used to!

 

After a month of this, I just used my "harsh tones" and told him to "knock it off" or "be quiet" or "go lie down." Took about 5 days of not getting what he wanted for him to give up.

 

Now we "sleep in" until 5:20... Which is when I have to get up so he gets his 2 mile walk before work...

[cleptogrey]

sounds like your boy isn't tired enough to sleep the night. if he isn't going out to pee(just went thru that w/ my boy- it was something he was eating, his evening snack-costco dental chews or nature's domain caused him to pee like a race horse and he couldn't hold it) and he is ready to get up and play then a good night time play routine might be the fix. either a long long walk after you eat your dinner or possibly a good stiff game of catch or zoomies BEFORE he has his last meal.you can try to hold the meal off so he will be tired from his playing, that should help tucker him out. remember not to let him run AFTER he eats.

 

even though these pups are really couch lizards they do need to get their willies out and be stimulated to really log in the hrs, especially when they are not that old. btw, how old is howie?

Edited October 12, 2011 by cleptogrey

[Guest GryffinSong]

sounds like your boy isn't tired enough to sleep the night...even though these pups are really couch lizards they do need to get their willies out and be stimulated to really log in the hrs, especially when they are not that old. btw, how old is howie?

 

I was thinking this too. A tired dog is a good (and happy) dog.

Edited October 12, 2011 by GryffinSong

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

as others have said, ignore him.

 

Tell him to "hush" and roll over and put a pillow on your head.

[kudzu]

Actually I wouldn't even tell him to do anything like hush or go lie down unless these are commands he already knows & you are going to carefully & consistently reinforce in the middle of the night. And those last are things I would not be able to do if awakened from a sound sleep at 3AM. If what he wants is attention then anything you do like speaking to him, touching him or just looking at him is giving him attention. That means any of those will be unintentionally rewarding him & may thus perpetuate the behavior.

 

Don't look at him or speak to him. Conspicuously turn away from him. As Greyt_dog_lover wrote, "roll over and put a pillow on your head." That actually has a very good chance of getting him to go away.

[greyhoundlov]

Do you feed him once or twice a day? He may be a little hungry. Try giving him a little snack just before bedtime. We used to divide one day's food into two portions and feed the second portion just before bedtime because sometimes the tummy gurgles would wake us up.

[Guest jbbuzby]

How did ignoring him work?

 

If you can surely rule out anything physically, I'd be quick to nip the habit in the bud. If ignoring doesn't work or he becomes much more persistent or physical to get your attention, you might want to try a squirt to the face with a tiny water pistol to use ONLY at night at that time. It sounds harsh, but he should learn to not wake you while you're sleeping (after all, no dog would ever DREAM of waking the pack leader!). In any case, the correction shouldn't be so extreme that he is terrified to wake you if he really needs something in the future, but a little squirt is not you talking or touching and is just some negative feedback to what might become a very prolonged bad habit.

 

I'd also increase the exercise he gets in the evening to tire him out more. Does he have a natural bone or other safe chew toy to have if he does wake up early? Just some things to think about, but only you will know what works best through trial and error. Good luck!

[XTRAWLD]

We had this with both boys when we got them initially and I think it's totally normal. They will test your mental abilities to ignore them, this is certain. You are right in saying if you keep getting up at 3 when he cries, he'll always keep crying until you go up to see him. Plain and simple. Him speaking got your attention and why not keep trying it every night so he gets what he wants?

 

Withhold water for 2 hours before crating and make sure he goes potty just before being crated. You will then know he doesn't need a bathroom break in the middle of the night. I second the advice of giving a nice bedtime snack.

 

Once crated, ignore him. I know it's hard but it's the only way he'll learn. If he carries on with whining for 15-20-30 minutes (mine have), I stomp over to the crate and give them a firm "no" and "quiet" and I go back to bed. Surprisingly, disturbing the pack leader means trouble and I've had success more often than not telling them to shush and going back to bed.

 

Hopefully you'll have well rested nights shortly.

Edited October 13, 2011 by XTRAWLD

[Guest 7ct5]

Best suggestion is to ignore - forget the hush/stop it commands ... they don't speak english.

 

However, I will add that all of the dogs that I've had with this problem have outgrown it. For my dogs, it seems to be anxiety related to coming into a new home. It takes a little while to adjust and learn to comfortably sleep through the night.

 

 

There was one morning I was VERY thankful I let a foster dog outside. He was pestering me non-stop, until I woke up and let him out. And then there was an little explosion on the lawn ... I would much rather wake up early then spend all morning cleaning up a mess.

[Guest RealClearBlue]

Hey guys I guess I should give an update.

 

So the night after I made this post Howie did do a bit of whining but a quick "NO!" made him quiet down at least for an hour or two but it was a improvement. The next night he didn't whine until 6 am which was more tolerable lol and I just ignnored and he stopped until 7 AM when the alarm went off which I should say he has now learned to associate with me getting up to walk him.

 

Now last night we had a breakthrough. No whining at all. The only noise he made was when he licked himself a few times but I won't hold that against him. He was quiet the entire night and waited until the alarm went off to start doing zoomies and happy tail. I hit the snooze though so I said going to your crate and he did without hesistation lol. He is such a fast learner so we're hoping this trend continues. Also last night was the first time I let him sleep alone in the living room with free roam of the house. No incidents and hes so well behaved that I think its something we can continue to do.

[kudzu]

There was one morning I was VERY thankful I let a foster dog outside. He was pestering me non-stop, until I woke up and let him out. And then there was an little explosion on the lawn ... I would much rather wake up early then spend all morning cleaning up a mess.

And this is also a very good reason not to use aversive corrections in an attempt to teach the dog not to whine. If they seriously need to go out, I WANT them to tell me. If they learned to leave you alone because their whining efforts went unrewarded they are likely to still whine pitifully if they really need to go out posthaste. I don't want to risk my dog, just because she worries about getting in trouble, trying desperately to silently hold it in until she finally cannot.

[kronckew]

millie occasionally whines about 3 am. i tell her "NO, it's Bed Time!" & she goes back to her bed. she understands 'NO' and 'bed-time' as well as a variant, 'Doggie on the Bed', she also knows 'Off' when it's my turn on the bed & 'Doggie UP' when it's OK to get back on (with or without me - with me she never stays more than about an hour before she gets tired of me moving & goes back to her bed).

 

if i am not up by 07:15 she will come into the bedroom and whine until i get up (she wants her turn on my bed). if i am up earlier she lays in her bed till then & then moves to mine.

 

i think sometimes she hears something out in the garden (we have foxes and cats there occasionally at night).

 

sometimes it's when she wants a mid-night snack, starts eating the leftover kibble from dinner & runs out before she's full & wants more.

 

sometimes she just wants to get me out of the bed so she can get on it.

 

she had diarrhoea last week, she was fine bed-time but by 3 am she was up and whining, 'NO' didn't work, so i wound up taking her out to poo (where she let me know it was fluid), walks were then extended for a few days to every few hours as soon as she whined. she's thankfully back to normal.

 

last night was a bit warm, so i was sleeping fitfully, 03:30 i heard her empty her bowl, lick the empty for a few minutes, then went back & moved her bed to the middle of the living room, huffed once and went to sleep. 07:15 she whined till i got up, jumped on the bed and she lay there till 8:30 when she decided it was time to go out. after breakfast she went back on my bed. she's asleep there now.