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Sleep pattern changing - how best to manage please

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Debs Devon

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Tigger is now 18 weeks old, whippet / collie cross and doing well. He is crated at night and only if we go out without him.

He is living up to his name of being a very bouncy and super happy and sometimes super naughty boy. Training is coming along okay - goes to puppy classes. He is exercised in a variety of environments - open moorland, woodland, cycle tracks.

He is full on during the day and loves exercise. Being mindful of the fact he is so young we have tried structuring the amount of exercise as suggested in various dog training articles. We aim at mental stimulation to engage the collie Brian side of him. At the end of the day he is flaked out on the sofa and a happy bunny. We toilet him and go to bed at around 11pm. He is about 11 kilos in weight and I have recently increased his feed in line with the manufacturers feeding guide. He is fed three times a day.

Tigger is now waking us at between 1am - 4am and is squeaking away. I have left him and hoped he is just dreaming but then he ramps it up! I wait until he has quietened and then Get up and let him out for a wee. I don't make a fuss of him, just put him back in his crate with a dog biscuit and hope he goes back to sleep.........
5am he is then very vocal. Again I wait for a lull and let him out for a wee or more....
I usually end up feeding him and putting him back to bed just to try and catch up on sleep for me! By 6.30 it all kicks off again....... We give up then and my partner takes him up on the moor.

His thoughts have been to Get up at 5 am, walk him and then feed him in the hope that now mid summer's day has passed, and the mornings get darker that it will gradually reset Tigger's body clock. He has been doing this but we are both shattered.


Advice please.........
 
Letting him whine for a bit before letting him out might build up his anxiety. I would try letting him out for a wee at first squeak, but on a lead so it's really boring. Don't say anything, beyond maybe a low-key 'Good boy' when he wees, and put him back in his crate without a biscuit. You need these bedtime trips to be as unrewarding as possible.

I also suggest you and OH taking it in turns to be on 'night duty', with the 'off duty' one sleeping in a different room. Then each of you will get a decent night's kip one night in two which can make the disturbed sleep a lot more bearable.

Thicker curtains, and even having windows shut to cut down on sounds of any local wildlife might help too. Or covering the crate as long as he won't get too hot.
 
I would take a two-pronged approach.

First, I would have his crate in your room or just outside it for now. Not forever if you want him to sleep somewhere else. But I don't like puppies crying in the night. I know what you are saying about waiting for a lull so you aren't 'rewarding' his crying but in the night, a cry is a call for attention for a reason - anxiety, waking up alone, hearing something - it doesn't really matter why. In the same way as thoughts have changed on crying babies, it's ok to respond and if he is near you in the night you can reassure him. This won't make him clingy; rather the reverse - your reassurance will teach him there is nothing to worry about and his confidence will grow. And you will all get a better night's sleep. On top of that, you may find he is less disturbed by nocturnal visitors in your garden which is another possible cause.

The second thing I would do is in daytime teach him a 'settle' cue. When he has that nailed, you can use it at night if he gets restless. When he is responding reliably you can start to move his crate by a foot or two at a time back to his proper sleeping place, but don't rush this. Move it a couple of feet and keep it there a few nights, then another couple of feet for another few nights and so on. If he gets restless you may have gone too fast and need to go back a step.

 
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My other thought would be that he's being to over stimulated; puppies need somewhere between 16 - 18 hours of sleep typically. I agree with Joanne F that teaching him to settle would be good - obviously making sure that any toileting needs have been met.
 
Yes to all this- but it's midsummer. Activity hormones are at their height. So are the sounds and smells from outside where game is at its most active and abundant. You have a working dog here. My spaniel (three years old) woke us twice last night whining at the back door. Foxes and rabbits pass through, probably game birds - maybe the owl disturbed a couple of pigeons and the micro-fragments from their wing-flutter woke him up through his nose! We sigh, bring him back in and stagger back to bed. ;)
 
When I cordoned off an area up the side of the house that I could let my dog out into at night-time, so he couldn't run down the garden barking his head off at whatever, he went from waking us (and possibly the neighbours) up a couple of times a night to consistently sleeping through - it worked like magic.
 
Kara 1 said:
What are you feeding him ...
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He is being fed a mixture of Skinners gluten free chicken puppy food and their hypoallergenic puppy food. When we first had him he had been raised on Bakers. We found him to be very loose on that.
 
Thank you all for your suggestions and thoughts - most helpful!
I think the 'one on duty' and the other sleeping could be the way forward.

His crate is already twelve feet from our room as it is, in the hallway, with a proper cover on it. We are in a bungalow. However we do have glass doors into the lounge so making sure the curtains in there are closed would be a good start! But He can certainly hear us, in fact the OH has suggested my snoring might be disturbing the dog and we should shut the bedroom door. Cheeky boy! However, tried that and makes no difference....

I should also say that this boy knows how to be settled. In the past nine of my assortment of dogs have ever had the chance to be on the sofa. They have had their floor cushion pad in my lounge or their basket. This squirmy wormy little boy shuns his super thick cushion in favour of a cuddle of the sofa. The OH has completely fallen under the spell of those liquid pool eyes. As a mum I am a bit firmer in setting the goal posts on good behaviours early on.
We do love him to bits though. We know he will grow up and hopefully become a happy, well rounded young man.
 
All lurchers love a good sofa to twist and contort their bodies into the perfect position of comfort. Even if that means laying on their backs half hung off of the sofa with their heads planted on the room floor while they knock the Zzzzz's out. ... Top Dogs
 
Rinkydinkydo said:
All lurchers love a good sofa to twist and contort their bodies into the perfect position of comfort. Even if that means laying on their backs half hung off of the sofa with their heads planted on the room floor while they knock the Zzzzz's out. ... Top Dogs
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Rinkydinkydo said:
All lurchers love a good sofa to twist and contort their bodies into the perfect position of comfort. Even if that means laying on their backs half hung off of the sofa with their heads planted on the room floor while they knock the Zzzzz's out. ... Top Dogs
Click to expand...


I know, just how do they do that?! We are amazed at how the tiny pup we brought home and curled up on our pals is now stretching out and claiming the sofa as his own and becoming a right contortionist, defying gravity sometimes and other times gravity wins as he slides off in a heap!
 
This is the All About Dog Food website's analysis of Skinner's puppy food: Skinner's Field & Trial Puppy rated 64 out of 100! All About Dog Food

Personally I'd go for a grain-free, high-meat-content food - Skinner's has 30% meat (plus some fat) and quite a lot of maize, rice, etc. The website I linked to can give recommendations for good food. I respectfully disagree with Kara over the importance of protein content (and I mean respectfully as she has much more hands-on experience than I do) - as I understand it, not all proteins are equal and it is the quality of protein that is more important than the percentage. A puppy would also need higher levels of protein than an older dog.

Having said that, there is little hard evidence about the best diet for dogs and many, many opinions. If Tigger is simply a lively puppy - and given his breeding he's going to be far livelier than most pups - but able to relax and settle, and if his digestion seems fine, I'd be surprised if a change of food helped with him sleeping through.
 
T
JudyN said:
This is the All About Dog Food website's analysis of Skinner's puppy food: Skinner's Field & Trial Puppy rated 64 out of 100! All About Dog Food

Personally I'd go for a grain-free, high-meat-content food - Skinner's has 30% meat (plus some fat) and quite a lot of maize, rice, etc. The website I linked to can give recommendations for good food. I respectfully disagree with Kara over the importance of protein content (and I mean respectfully as she has much more hands-on experience than I do) - as I understand it, not all proteins are equal and it is the quality of protein that is more important than the percentage. A puppy would also need higher levels of protein than an older dog.

Having said that, there is little hard evidence about the best diet for dogs and many, many opinions. If Tigger is simply a lively puppy - and given his breeding he's going to be far livelier than most pups - but able to relax and settle, and if his digestion seems fine, I'd be surprised if a change of food helped with him sleeping through.
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Judy, thank you for that - I will do some more research on the food angle. We have met the owners of Tigger's little sister and they have been having problems with their pup's tum.

I have been a long term fan of Skinner's. My last two dogs thrived on it, were very active and had beautiful coats. That is why I chose to go with Spinners puppy range as my go to choice. I did read the feedback on the Burns food Kara has suggested and it is all really positive responses with owners whose dogs have had real issues from tummy to itching skin and had ears?

Nowadays there is a frightening amount of choice on the market which becomes mind blowing working out which would be a good choice. And also I find the price differences truly scary! Every owner wants what is best for their family canine but within their budgets. You are right there are many opinions on the subject of food - it is a minefield of a subject. But it does hearten me when you have heard of read how a change of diet has improved wellbeing. I

We were woken at 5.40 this morning. I closed the curtains before we went to bed last night. I was in the garden with him playing with him at about 9.30 for 20 minutes to let him burn off his sudden energy surge after sleeping for most of the evening. Then he came in and chilled out until bedtime.

I think you could be right - he could just be a very active puppy. I guess the main problem could be his 60 years plus owners dealing with a toddler and all that entails. Sleep deprivation does tend to sap your energy and Get things out of perspective! But thank you so much to you and others for your input - will let you know how we get on.
 
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