Help needed to stop 5am wake up calls!

[NaomiH]

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Hi

I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for how I can stop my saluki/ greyhound lurcher from waking me up at 5am every morning?!

Sparky is a rescue. I have had him for just over 3 years and he is almost 4. He gets taken out twice a day, usually returning from his second walk around 5.30, after which he has his dinner and then chills out on my bed. I usually go up to bed just before 11. I let him out to go to the toilet, then usually put his fleece on him to stop him getting cold and he sleeps on the sofa.

Unfortunately, in recent weeks, he has been waking me up at 5 every morning by barking for his breakfast and I am really struggling with my tiredness and emotions as a result. I have tried ignoring his barking, but it makes no difference. He just carries on and I worry about him waking the neighbours as we live in a terraced house (I know they hear him in the morning). What seems to work best for me is getting up, feeding him and then going back to bed. He follows me upstairs after eating and settles down with me. If he's shut away from me during this time, he barks.

I know I have probably made a rod for my own back but there are other considerations....one of my two teenaged children was, until recently, hospitalised with an eating disorder and my life revolves around making sure her care plan is adhered to, meaning that lie-ins aren't really a possibility. Therefore, if I do eventually get back to sleep (which is rare), it means the timings of her care plan are all put back. Basically I am just trying to muddle through each day and I could really do with a good night's sleep!

Last night I decided to block out any light coming into the lounge to see if it made any difference.....it didn't!

In all other respects, Sparky is brilliant (give or take some anxiety/ separation issues but those can wait for another day!) but this situation is really taking its toll on me during what are difficult times for everyone. Any advice would be really appreciated.

Many thanks - take care and stay safe. X

 

[Josie]

Hi @NaomiH - I feel your pain!! Our black lab is being a nightmare at keeping us up through the night recently (I’m putting that down to his age) but I understand how frustrating the broken sleeping is!

I expect you’ll get some much better advice but have you thought about feeding him a small meal before you go to bed? Maybe he’s just starving at 5am and cannot wait any longer!

 

[JoanneF]

If it is his breakfast that he is barking for, that would suggest he is waking up hungry. So, a really simple thing to do would be giving him something to eat just before bed, either some food from his allowance or a few dog biscuits.

It may or may not work but it would be a nice easy thing to try.

Could you also try having the doors open so he can come and snuggle with you without you having to get up to him?

Another possibility is that it is the light mornings - either waking him, or waking other animals or birds that are moving and in turn waking Sparky. Heavier curtains or blackout blinds might help.

 

[NaomiH]

Hi Josie

Thank you for responding. Blockinhg out all the light last night didn't seem to make any difference but I will try giving him extra food before I go up to bed.

My only issue with leaving doors open (which he would love!) would be that he wouldn't leave enough space on the bed for me.....It's amazing how he can take up an entire bed when lying on his side! I will have a think about it though. I think the late night snack is definitely worth a try.

Thank you

 

[JudyN]

Hi NaomiH, good to 'see' you again

Jasper sleeps in our room, but not on the bed. However, training Sparky to stay on his own bed next to yours could be... tricky and even more exhausting Have you ever used a crate with him? Some dogs are happy to sleep in their crate next to the bed and can be settled if they whine.

Alternatively, using an 'anything for an easy life' approach, could you go to bed earlier? It's not ideal but sometimes you just have to go with what helps keep you sane...

I hope your daughter is OK xx

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

This may sound daft to some,but my mates 3 dogs were the same on a morning . We put it down to the clocks going forward,because they were the same when the clocks went back,they'd bark on a afternoon. Unlike me,he had a fixed routine for them,so the clocks changing effected their routine. It happened every time until they got into the swing of the new time changes.

 

[NaomiH]

Thank you for your replies.

I think that I am going to try giving him most of his dinner at the usual time, then some of it when I go to bed, as well as blacking out the windows etc tonight and see what happens.....

 

[Ragsysmum]

I'd think he's genuinely hungry. Try giving him something to eat just before bedtime as you are thinking of doing, and see if that helps. All our greys and lurchers have always slept in their own bed at the side of ours and I think that helps them feel secure and none of them has woken up too early unless they were ill and really needed to go out.