Early Morning Wake Up

[Laura_]

Just looking for any ideas how I can get my Grey to sleep a little later!

She’s 5 years old, ex racer. Hasn’t raced in couple years. I adopted her a couple months ago. She wakes up anywhere between 3am-5am. When she wakes at 3am I take her out to toilet but she doesn’t go. When she wakes up she bounces all over the plays and wines a lot. She just wants to go out for a walk. I live in a suite so I try to keep her quiet so early in the morning. 
I have already tried the alarm thing to wake up before her and just push the time back - but the time she wakes is always unpredictable.

I’ve tried feeding her as soon as I get home so our evening walk is later. 
I’ve tried walking as soon as I get home then feeding her later. 
I’ve tried walking her twice in the evening (one when I get home then once around 9:30pm)

We will walk anywhere from 25-45 minutes morning and evening - if we go for a late night walk that is usually only 20 minutes

I’ve tried giving her a bit of food before bed. 
Usually the last time she is let outside for the toilet around 9:30pm then in bed. 
She will not go in a crate-we have tried a lot and it’s just not working, so she has free run of my suite, but at night she’s in the bedroom with me and I close the door. When she wakes up wining I open the bedroom door and she just walks around wining. If she keeps carrying on I feed her breakfast then give her a stuffed kong to try and by some time. 

Ideally I would like to wake up at about 5:30 to fed her and then go for a walk. 

Any other tips or tricks I can try would be really appreciated! I’m getting desperate…and tired haha. 

[ramonaghan]

I struggle with this too so I totally sympathize, but in my opinion here's the issue: 

Quote

If she keeps carrying on I feed her breakfast then give her a stuffed kong to try and by some time. 

She's being rewarded for whining, whether it's simply with your attention, or with food, or with a trip outside. You know she doesn't have to potty, she's not hungry, and she's (presumably) not hurting. Assuming you've also ruled out that she's too hot or too cold, she's just playing you. She sounds like a smart girl who might be a bit bored, so one thing you could try is a puzzle feeder or licki mat before bed to stretch out the bedtime snack and tire out that brain. A white noise machine or fan could benefit you both by drowning out the whining some and also signaling to her that "when this comes on, we are settling in for the night."

I understand the challenge of having close neighbors (baked goods can go a long way!), but if you can tough it out for a couple of weeks without caving, you will probably break her of the habit.