minimax Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 My pup is 14 weeks old (female pug) and ever since day 1 in my house she's woken up at 5am on the dot (her little internal alarm clock is amazingly accurate!). 5am is annoyingly early, but I've adapted my schedule to her wake-up time and it's all good. However, the last week or so she's decided 4am is an even better time to wake up! 4am is not such a good time to wake up and I refuse to let her get up at that time. She's crated for sleep and doesn't have an issue with it. She goes in without a fuss as long as she's tired and ready for sleep, cries to be let out to pee and goes straight back in when she's done. Sometimes she wakes up twice a night to pee, sometimes once and sometimes not at all. But when she decides she's awake and doesn't want to sleep anymore, she goes nuts. She cries and barks and makes noises like she's being strangled. She also bashes herself against the wire and door of the crate and scratches/paws/chews on the wire. At 4am this isn't so good. She will go on like that for hours if I don't take her out and I don't think it's healthy for her (or me, or the neighbours)for her to be that worked up for so long. When I take her out I make her "sit/stay" for about a minute still in the crate before releasing her, sort of on the thought that she might not associate feral crying with being let out. She rarely goes in the crate apart from night time sleep (she doesn't voluntarily go in there to nap during the day), and occasionally I'll put her in when I need to get something done and not have her underfoot (I needed to mop the floor yesterday, so she went in the crate) but she does the same thing - desperate crying/bashing at the wires. Even if I put her in there with treats (yesterday it was a pigs ear) she ignores it in favour of crying. So, the TL;DR version: I need help getting her to settle down in her crate - especially when she wakes up at 4 in the morning and wants to get out. I've done the "rewarding her every time she's quiet" thing, but she's often actually NEVER quiet (unless she's asleep) so that gets frustrating and tedious. It's not really just the crate she does this in, it happens if she's baby-gated in the kitchen too (or really anywhere she doesn't want to be!), and it doesn't matter if she can see me or not, she still does it. So, uh, help? I've searched and looked through heaps of posts here already but didn't really find anything that helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tralee Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) Hi minimax Geez 14 weeks is puppy time. 4am on the bed, go back to sleep. Young puppy is insecure, and needs to be under your feet most of the time. Have you ever noticed how they sit between your ankles? Security. Enjoy your puppy and let your puppy enjoy you. New puppy - no sleep 'till its older. Px Edited January 23, 2012 by Tralee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi minimax Geez 14 weeks is puppy time. 4am on the bed, go back to sleep. Puppy does not sleep on the bed for logistical reasons (my bed is 6 feet from the floor, if she jumped/fell off it wouldn't be pretty), but I don't believe that giving her what she wants now and trying to re-train her to something different later would be very helpful? Plus, she doesn't want to sleep when she wakes up, she wants to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 If puppy wants to play, why not toilet her and puppy proof a room she can go in and play with her toys? What time is she going in the crate in the evening, have you tried extending this out a bit, it might alter her wake up time. (long shot) I've been lucky mine are all big sleeper inners and when they were younger, they got on the bed if they were awake super early, actually 2 of mine slept on the bed from 8 weeks without any problems. Your bed is very high, don't think I'd be able to get on a bed that's 6 feet off the floor, or am I reading your post the wrong way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tralee Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi minimax Geez 14 weeks is puppy time. 4am on the bed, go back to sleep. Puppy does not sleep on the bed for logistical reasons (my bed is 6 feet from the floor, if she jumped/fell off it wouldn't be pretty), but I don't believe that giving her what she wants now and trying to re-train her to something different later would be very helpful? Plus, she doesn't want to sleep when she wakes up, she wants to play. Puppy needs to develop first before she can be trained. The first few months is the time to establish a bond, 24/7. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 If puppy wants to play, why not toilet her and puppy proof a room she can go in and play with her toys? I do, sometimes I put her into the kitchen which is puppy proofed/baby-gated and is her room whenever she's left alone during the day. She will cry the same as if she's in her crate, but sometimes if I give her treats (ie: pigs ear) she will munch for about 10 minutes before starting the screaming again. What time is she going in the crate in the evening, have you tried extending this out a bit, it might alter her wake up time. (long shot) Yep, I have, and no it doesn't unfortunatly. Your bed is very high, don't think I'd be able to get on a bed that's 6 feet off the floor, or am I reading your post the wrong way? It is high, it's a loft bed! Which is why Puppy doesn't go on it, there is no way for her to get up/down on her own and if she fell it would do massive damage to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Not much help but my girl has always been an early riser. She probably didn't stop waking at 5am until she was at least a year old. Even these days she's awake at 5am, but is quiet until we get up (which is 6am most days anyway)! Thankfully she's never screamed or scratched in her crate, she would just whinge a bit. Until she was probably around 18-20 weeks I would just get up. Sometimes I would get up, toilet her, but then go lie on the couch and watch TV - she was expected to entertain herself for a while. Or she'd go outside with our older dog, but no barking allowed. She learnt. It just took a while :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Until she was probably around 18-20 weeks I would just get up. Sometimes I would get up, toilet her, but then go lie on the couch and watch TV - she was expected to entertain herself for a while. Or she'd go outside with our older dog, but no barking allowed. She learnt. It just took a while :) This is what I do, I watch TV and watch the sun-rise (probably won't be so much fun in winter lol). It's not the 5am I'm worried about, it's the fact that it seems to slowly be getting earlier and earlier (today was 4.20, yesterday was 4.30, the day before was 4.00, the day before 4.45, one other day was 5, another one 4, etc) whereas until then she had been consistently 5am, even when we were away and in a different house for a week over christmas with her routine all messed up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) I would say just give her some time, keep doing what you are doing, it's hard when they are babies. Edit: Maybe you could even try having her on a dog bed beside your bed instead? If you're a light sleeper this works better as you can still hear if they need to go to the toilet. Some dogs settle better like this... Edited January 23, 2012 by wuffles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florise Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 She's a Pug. Suggest you head into Pug thread for specific advice. Definitely do not put her in your bed to sleep. That's asking for more trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 She's a Pug. Suggest you head into Pug thread for specific advice. Definitely do not put her in your bed to sleep. That's asking for more trouble. Thanks Kasey, I saw you linked to this post over in the Pug forum. I find a lot of people say "oh, she's a pug so you just have to live with it because they are stubborn and hard to train", but she's been really good at learning certain things so I don't buy into the sterotypical "untrainanable" thing people keep sprouting at me. I won't put her into my bed to sleep, she's velcro'ish enough as it is, I don't need her even MORE attached lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Is her crate covered? Keeping her in complete darkness will work wonders for encouraging her to sleep in. There is no external stimulation that she can see and most of them figure that its really kinda boring, might as well keep sleeping. They also can't see you to get an idea of whether or not you are reacting to their screams. Does she eat dinner in her crate? Feeding them in their crates and leaving them to amuse themselves for a while afterwards can teach them to settle themselves and put themselves to sleep. Rather than putting her in there only when she is tired enough that she will go to sleep regardless of where she is. We start crate training our pups at 5-6 weeks (2 to a crate initially) and they just learn to switch themselves off. It teaches them that you will not be there to keep them amused 24 hours a day. Yes they are only young when they are 14 weeks but I don't see the point in mollycoddling them and giving into their complaints because it won't do you any good in the long run. I am a bit of a "suck it up princess" person though, our dogs just learn to deal with it. As a result we have 9 dogs here who will quite happily go into a crate and sleep for as long as we ask them to be in there. In addition, the dogs in our pack who were crated as puppies are the ones that will quite happily play in the loungeroom with toys and amuse themselves. The ones who were crate trained later in life or only for sleeping as pups are the ones who look to us to give them something to do because they never learnt to occupy themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Is her crate covered? Keeping her in complete darkness will work wonders for encouraging her to sleep in. Yep, I cover her crate with towels so she can't see out, I discovered early on that she went to sleep much quicker if she couldn't tell if I was in the room or not. Does she eat dinner in her crate? Feeding them in their crates and leaving them to amuse themselves for a while afterwards can teach them to settle themselves and put themselves to sleep. She gets all her meals in her crate and willingly runs in when she sees her bowl, but I don't shut the door. Should I try shutting her in while she eats? When do I let her out, because she often needs to go bathroom soon after eating. but I don't see the point in mollycoddling them and giving into their complaints because it won't do you any good in the long run. I am a bit of a "suck it up princess" person though, our dogs just learn to deal with it. That's my opinion too. I only worry she will physically hurt herself by bashing at the wire, or that my neigbours will report me for animal cruelty because she sounds like she's being seriously hurt! Sometimes she also works herself up so much that she will puke and that worries me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Have you properly crate trained her ie; trained her to the extent where she just loves to go into her crate. Susan Garrets Crate Games DVD is a good one if you can get hold of it. But you have to train her so the crate becomes her den, her place of security. And, yes, make sure the crate is covered at least on three sides & over the top. The crate has to become her den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 My border collie did the same thing re thrashing, scratching, screaming in the crate at night after the 1st week we'd had her. I tried all the usual things but the family of workers wouldn't ignore her after a while which was what I was prepared to do. I finally gave up the idea of her sleeping in the crate & gave her free access in her room & she slept well from then on, on my previous border's bed. She still uses the crate in the car & if I have the door open she will get in at other times. My new pup I used to let sleep in a box in the same room but due to toileting problems he now sleeps in the crate & is fine with this arrangement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavstar Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 How long have you had her for? For the 1st 3 weeks I had my puppy she was awake at 4.30 - 5.00 EVERY DAY! Christmas day we were up before the kids! :laugh: Then one day I woke up at 7am & freaked out that the dog wasn't up! I rushed downstairs (thinking the worst) & there she was snoring away in her crate Maybe she will just grown out of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Maybe she will just grown out of it That's what I'm hoping! I've had her for around 6 weeks (got her when she was 8 weeks) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 My pup did the same thing. Slept through the night with no noise - then up at the crack of dawn crying. I would have liked to have just left her to cry, but I did not want to as she may have been busting to go to the toilet. IMO getting up early is just one of the tasks of having a puppy. I would think she will grow out of it - but who know when. Have you tried try to keep her up latter at night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Have you tried try to keep her up latter at night? Yep, I experimented for a while because she natually falls asleep at my feet around 9pm, so I thought trying to keep her awake and playing for at least another hour or so would extend her sleep time. But nope, she still got up at the same time! Once we were out at puppy pre-school and went for dinner with some friends after, so she didn't get to bed until around 11pm, but still woke at the same time. I have no problem with her being consistent at 5am, but with it slipping to 4am it worries me that soon it will start slipping earlier than 4am! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
**Super_Dogs** Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) Have you tried try to keep her up latter at night? Yep, I experimented for a while because she natually falls asleep at my feet around 9pm, so I thought trying to keep her awake and playing for at least another hour or so would extend her sleep time. But nope, she still got up at the same time! Once we were out at puppy pre-school and went for dinner with some friends after, so she didn't get to bed until around 11pm, but still woke at the same time. I have no problem with her being consistent at 5am, but with it slipping to 4am it worries me that soon it will start slipping earlier than 4am! Bugger! If you know she does not need to go to the tiolet, and she just wants to get up, maybe you just need to ignoe her? Edited January 24, 2012 by buddy1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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