Advice needed

We've had Max for about 5 weeks now. He sleeps in a crate in our bedroom at night. When we first got him we would go to bed at 10 and sleep for 4-6 hours. I figured that was reasonable for a 9 week old puppy. I'd take him out and he would always pee and then go back in his crate. He would wake up sometime between 5 and 6 a.m and I'd stay up with him. Over Christmas the schedule got changed a bit with later bedtimes and when he got up early I would bring him into my bed after taking him out. He'd happily sleep there for hours until I was ready to get up.

Fast forward to the last few days. Last night we went to bed at 10. Max was up at 2:30 (I don't wait until he yelps because I don't want him to think that yelping gets him out but I do let him stir for 5-10 minutes). I put him back in his crate and he was awake again at 4 a.m. I was prepared to let him yap because I was pretty sure he didn't have to go potty. Hubby got up and took him out though and put him in his crate downstairs. He wasn't too happy but not full out upset.

Hubby says I've spoiled him by bringing him to bed (and I'm sure he's right). I do need him to sleep for more than two to four hours at a stretch though. I'm exhausted. Any advice would be appreciated. I do pick up his water around 8 p.m.

Well Max slept for six hours last night. It's amazing how my outlook can change after a good night's sleep. As far as I know we didn't do anything different.

Glad you got six hours sleep..he's probably just out of routine with the holidays.

Pippin, who is almost five,goes through patches of waking at mad hours and there never seems to be a reason for it,then he just slips back to the norm!

As long as you are sure he isn't barking for a reason (eg he is sick --mine will ask to go out when they have the runs and if one wakes up and is fussing I know darn sure that this is the reason and I'd better get them out fast!) then you need to just ignore the barking and fussing and it will eventually stop.

To be honest a puppy of going on 4 months should really have no problems sleeping 8 hours or whatever length you sleep. 6 hours is very short; he hardly needs to get up at this point to toilet, at his age. Basically he is training you -- to come get him when he feels like company in the morning. :lol: If you don't mind getting up. then fine , but once he is in a pattern like this it will take time to break when you don't want him doing it (as you saw with letting him sleep with you).

Sometimes it will take steely will and good earplugs to train a dog to make it through the night on its own though!

I've just switched all of mine to sleep crated at night downstairs after it got to where I was having a very restless and broken night's sleep every single night. I am a light sleeper and three of my dogs get up and shift around on and off all night and two snore and have to be shifted around to stop. When I realised I was only getting a good night's rest when travelling for work, I decided it was time they all move out of my room. It took about 7 days to get them to make the switch, with a lot of fussing the first 2-3 nights. Now this is the new pattern and they have all adjusted. They all run for their crates, where they sleep two and two, for their bedtime treat and it is lights out. In the morning they continue to snooze in their crates while I get up, feed the cats, and get dressed. Then they all come out for their morning walk. I needed earplugs the first two nights though! I tried them all in an xpen first and that failed miserably -- they really were fussing. They are far more settled and happy in their crates (they were already crate trained and choose open crates to sleep in when home-boarded when I am away).

We did the same thing. Had the girls in their own crates on each side of the bed in our bedroom. Between the sighing, turning, snoring and cage clinking, we weren't sleeping well either....ALOT of broken sleep. (Also, I can't tell you how many times I REALLY needed to get up to use the bathroom but didn't because I was afraid that I was going to rouse them in the middle of the night.)

It just wasn't working. So, we bought a larger crate so they could sleep together, moved them downstairs and now we all get a good nights sleep.

Thanks for the advice. I was wondering how long a pup could go without being let out. I'd prefer NOT to get up with him after only 4-6 hours but I wasn't sure it was realistic to expect him to hold his bladder for longer at his age. Also the deal I made with hubby when we were considering a pup was that I'd be the one taking him out at night so I try and get him quickly so hubby isn't woken up. If he should be able to last eight hours I have no problem listening to him yelp for a couple of nights.

Mindy sleeps in our bedroom uncrated (and she snores - but so do we!). I don't mind Max's crate being there. I'll just buy hubby some earplugs and see what happens for a few nights.

Thanks again for the advice - I'll keep you posted.

Thank you all for the most wonderful advice. Max hasn't been up in the middle of the night since I decided to let him fuss. In fact his fussing mostly consists of restlessness and one or two very small (and very pathetic whimpers). He still wakes up at about 5:30 but I don't mind that I let him out and then bring him to bed to snuggle for a half hour or so before I have to get up.

I don't know if you have "magicbags" in the U.K. but they are long narrow bags full of rice or barley that you can heat up in the microwave and then use as a hot pack. Max has been nicknamed the Magicbag because he is about the same size and serves the same purpose!