Why Does My Dog Wake Me Up Early?
As much as dogs like to think that they’re independent, they still rely on you to provide them with most of their care and entertainment. There are three main reasons why your dog might wake you up earlier than you want to get up. They’re likely either hungry, need to use the bathroom, or they just want to play or be near you.
Your dog can’t feed itself, so if he’s waking you up early, he could be wanting you to fill his bowl up with food. Or, he could be telling you that he needs to go outside to relieve himself, especially if it’s been several hours since he last went. If you don’t have a doggy door, he can’t let himself out. And even house-trained dogs will go potty inside if they have to go badly enough.
Finally, your dog could just be bored or lonely, so he’s waking you up so that you can entertain him and keep him company. If he seems to be full of energy when he wakes you up, he feels well-rested and is looking for someone or something to interact with.
With some dogs, it may be easy to pin down the reason that’s causing your dog to wake you up. Other times, it can be harder to figure out or it could be a combination of the problems listed above. If you can figure out the cause, you can fix the problem. But you don’t have to go in and try to break this habit without a clue of what to do. We’ve come up with some suggestions that you can try.
5 Ways to Stop Your Dog from Waking You Up Early:
If your dog hasn’t always woken you up early but has recently started to, he could be sick. But it can be hard to pinpoint one specific illness as the reason why your dog is waking up earlier or more often. Old age, infection, or just a general discomfort could all be affecting your dog’s sleep schedule.
Your dog being sick isn’t necessarily the reason your dog is waking you up. But if this is a new thing, it could be seen as a change in behavior. You should closely watch your dog in order to check for any other behavioral changes and signs that indicate your dog may be sick. This includes a change or loss of appetite and decreased activity levels.
Dogs can also suffer from dementia, just like humans can. Dementia mainly affects older dogs, but it can cause changes in their sleeping cycle which could cause them to wake you up earlier. Or, dogs with separation anxiety may wake you up early because they are feeling anxious and haven’t seen you in a while.
If you do suspect your dog is sick, there isn’t much that you alone can do to stop them from waking you up early. It’s a good idea to take him to the vet so that any illness can be diagnosed and treated. With the appropriate treatment, your dog should return to his normal schedule.
Reason 8: They’re Bored
Every dog has different energy levels, but these energy levels will also fluctuate during the day.
You can imagine that after a good night of sleep your dog will wake up with his batteries charged and they’ll expect you to provide them with all the fun activities.
Some dogs will wait patiently for you to wake up, while others might start the process on their own. For young puppies, it can be especially challenging to be patient and they can easily get bored.
How To Stop Your Pet Waking You Up | This Morning
Those last few minutes of sleep before the alarm goes off are a treasured sanctuary where we hide in dreams before the reality of the world intrudes. Few dog owners appreciate it when their dog wakes up too early, robbing them of those golden moments. But some dogs seem to have an uncanny knack for anticipating the alarm by 15 or 20 minutes, and manage to routinely do just that.
Of course, puppy owners expect to be awakened by their baby dogs – or they should. It’s unreasonable to think a young puppy can make it through the night without a potty break. Crated or otherwise appropriately confined, even an eight-week-old puppy will normally cry when his bowels and bladder need emptying, rather than soil his own bed. When this happens you must get up and take your pup out to empty his bladder and bowels, and then immediately return him to his crate so he doesn’t learn to wake you up for a wee-hours play or cuddle session.
Adult dogs, however, barring a health problem, should wait for you to get up rather than pushing back your wake-up time in eager anticipation of breakfast, or other morning activities. If your grown-up dog has made it his mission to make sure you’re never late for work (or breakfast) by waking you up every morning before your alarm does, try this:
Make sure your dog doesn’t have a legitimate reason for getting up early. If he has a urinary tract infection or digestive upset, or some other medical issue that affects his elimination habits or otherwise makes him uncomfortable, he may have to go out 30 minutes (or more!) before you normally get up to let him out.