Actionable Steps to Give You a Sleep in
Take them out to pee and poop just before going to bed
Feed them a quality meal not too far from bedtime
Reduce the noise in the room
Use light blocking blinds, so your puppy doesn’t see light and wake like a rooster!
Ensure a comfortable sleeping temperature throughout the night and morning
Don’t feed your puppy first thing in the morning. They’ll get very excited to get up!
Don’t take your puppy for a walk first thing in the morning. Again, this will rouse them early because they think morning means walkies.
Use a crate – if you haven’t already crate trained your puppy this is highly recommended
If your puppy is showing any signs of discomfort or illness, take them to their vet
Finally, if all else fails, get the help of a dog trainer
Especially during times of change, such as clocks changing back or moving forward, you will need to help your dog adjust and break the habit of waking too early. You can use an alarm to wake your dog in the morning. Each day, set this alarm 15 minutes later than he normally wakes. Over time, he might get used to the new time, especially if he is in your room and can hear the alarm.
When he wakes early, ignore him. Do not make eye contact at this time. If he sees you awake, he will think it’s time to wake. If you interact with him in the early morning hours, he will learn to wake you this way.
Give your dog three meals a day, splitting the amount he usually gets for breakfast and dinner into a breakfast meal, a dinner meal, and a late snack. Schedules these for the same time every day.
Put him in the crate after he’s eaten his dinner and gone potty outside. Give him a treat and bid him good night.
It’ll take time, but as long as you create a bedtime routine, fill your dog’s belly, give him exercise, and ignore his attempts to wake you, your dog can learn to sleep in with you and wake with you.
Possible Reasons Your Puppy is Waking Up Early
If you’re up early in the mornings through the week, but then want a sleep in on the weekends, this is going to be a struggle with a puppy. They love routine and will subconsciously follow daily habits that you have given them.
Be sure to establish a routine for bed time, and a regular time for getting up. This can help your puppy understand what is expected of them. If your puppy is new to your home, it can take some time to establish a routine. Stick with it and before too long you should find your puppy adapting to your lifestyle.
Puppies generally have a hard time holding their bladder all the way through the night and will wake you up early to go outside to potty.
As your puppy gets older, this will get better as the amount of time they can hold their wee increases.
One thing that you can do to help your dog be able to stay asleep longer is to let them go out to potty and make sure that they do pee right before bed.
This ensures that your puppy’s bladder is completely empty when they go to sleep and will give you the best possible chance of getting them through the night. Of course, most puppies will still require you to wake up and let them out for a potty break.
This table will give you an idea of how long your puppy can hold their pee for, and you can use the guide to know when is a good time to let your puppy out to empty their bladder.
| Puppy Age (months) | Bladder Control (hours) |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 2 |
| 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 4 |
| 6 | 5 |
| 7 | 6 |
| 8+ | 6 Max. |
Your pup may be hungry and used to eating at a certain time each morning. Many puppies will wake up early on the weekend if they’re used to getting breakfast first thing.
Many puppies have an internal time clock, and they know when they’re supposed to eat.
It could also be that they’re just going through a growth spurt and feel hungrier more than usual. If you feed your puppy in their crate, which is a good idea, then when they wake up early, give them a small meal in their crate, then go back to bed. You might get lucky and your pup will fall back asleep.
Your puppy could be waking up early in the morning because they know that they will get a treat in the morning or extra attention.
If you tend to give your puppy food, treats, or a lot of attention when they wake up, they are more likely to get excited and wake up in order to get more rewards and attention.
Always be aware of when you’re treating or praising your puppy as it’s the path to your pup’s future behavior. If you want your pup to be calm in the mornings, be sure to show the way on every morning of the week.
Puppy wakes up too early? How to sleep late with dogs!
Is your puppy waking you up early in the morning? There are many reasons that your puppy may be waking you up. In this article we will explore ways to increase their sleep-in time, so you’re not woken up when the roosters are crowing!
Most puppies will take many naps during the day, causing them to wake through the night and interrupt your sleep each morning. This can be difficult to deal with, but there are many things that you can do to try to help your puppy want to stay in bed longer.
There are many reasons why a puppy wakes up early in the morning. It’s likely that your puppy needs to pee, they are hungry, you are inadvertently encouraging their behavior, there is a problem with the sleeping environment, they have excessive energy.
Another reason is your puppy may be sick or have pain somewhere. While many of these issues can be easily corrected, if your puppy continues to wake up early, it may be best to have your vet examine your puppy.
If you suspect an illness or injury, your veterinarian can help determine if there is an underlying medical issue.