# Sleeping in?



## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

Odin has a new favorite pastime. It's waking up at 6am and whining until our alarm clock goes off at 7 and we get up. 
It's been two weeks, and he is up like clockwork! We have never let him out before the alarm goes off. And as soon as he can hear the alarm or our movement he's quiet as can be. It seems no matter how early or late he goes to bed, it's the same. Any ideas how to get a V to sleep in?! He's in his crate in the living room. It is partially covered, but he can see when it starts to get lighter out. Once he's been out for his morning pee and breakfast, he's fast asleep again, so he's still tired!


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

You could try this: Buy a large, dark-colored blanket and cover his crate completely at night so that he can't see the light of dawn. The blanket might also come in handy if he's a little afraid of thunderstorms. Anyhow, a blanket might work, and it isn't a huge investment. ;D I have several blankets dedicated entirely to Willie Boy.


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

Thanks Mswhipple!
We had a fleece blanket covering his crate in the winter, but as it started to get warmer, we found that he was restless in the night, and when we let him out in the morning he was boiling hot. So we moved the blanket off the front and one side of the crate so he would get some air. I can try with a lighter weight blanket, or I wonder if moving him to our pitch black powder room might work.


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

Not sure how old Odin is? So I am assuming he is whining more for attention than for going out to pee? I think you are doing the right thing by not getting up and reacting to his crying, although I know it can be difficult. At least you are not moving his crate into your bedroom because it would be hard for him to adjust back to sleeping in the living room. We also have our dog (Axel ) sleeping in his kennel in the living room, and he sleeps through the night until we get up. (no issues) He is 17 months old though. We did go through the growing pains of whining when he was younger and just ignored him until he eventually did not do it anymore. Just try to stick with it and wear some earplugs and i am sure he will eventually stop. Moving him to a small powder room where it is dark and small may frighten him some when sleeping and waking up to unfamiliar surroundings? However, who knows, maybe it will work? The darker blanket may also work as well.

Ok, good luck


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

He's 8 months old. Slept thru the night since he was 10 weeks old. He definitely doesn't have to pee. He's just awake, and thinks we should be too! 
We thought it might be cause he could see a toy or something fun from his crate, so we moved everything out of the way, but he's still whining. The problem is we cant wait it out till he goes back to sleep as we have to get up at 7am (of course he's quiet then, cause he knows he wont be let out if he isn't!)


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## KonasPop (Aug 9, 2011)

8 months is still a little young, but the powder room sounds good. 

We are also experiencing restlessness at 15mo. due to hotter weather - upstairs in our bedroom is warmer at night than we'd all prefer and I can hear her trying to get comfortable in the crate. Our bedroom is really dark at all times of night/morning. 

At about 8-12 months she really started to be able to sleep in however. We take her out when she gets up (7:30) I hear her whine for food/outside, get up, spend about 10 minutes getting her food and outside done. Then fill a kong with just a small amount of pB and back in the kennel she goes until we want to wake up or we sleep in way too late and she re-wakes around 10:30 (thats the latest she can go). 

Careful what you wish for - its a double edge sword here. Yes, we slept in. But at 10:30am (meaning she slept from say 8-9pm night before to 10:30am, she is a bear!!! Its like energy on energy. 

Establish a routine for back in crate right after morning routine i guess is my reply.


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## ironman_stittsville (Oct 12, 2011)

kristen said:


> ... I can try with a lighter weight blanket...


I use old dark towels on Phoebe's crate. She'll sleep quietly in there till 9:30 if I don't get up.

Rh.


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

I covered Odin's crate last night entirely. He did awake a bit before 7, but stayed pretty quiet!


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## moonbowsmommy (Dec 14, 2011)

Puppy's need tons of sleep. Moonbow falls asleep around 7-8pm and goes out to pee/poo at 8-9am and then goes right back to bed and doesn't get up until 12pm! What a dog life!


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Kristen, if the towels etc are make her crate too hot, try a very dark cotton sheet that would allow the air through but not the light.

Hope she settles down soon. I am getting up at 6:00a.m (which is when the puppy wakes up) at the moment to catch my pup before he gets up and pees. We've had three dry nights now, so next week I am going to shut the crate door, which he hates and see if he will go through till 7:00.


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## mollys mum (Feb 3, 2012)

5am every morning like clock work!

She does need a pee and a poo but she howls the place down if we put her back to bed.
This week we are going to make a real effort to make her settle back down and are going to try and stick it out.
We've tried this before and only managed to listen to the howling for an hour before caving in but this time we're determined to stick with it, she just gets herself in such a state, it's awful to listen to 

Surely she has to stop at some point.


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

Well... I originally posted on April 11th. Its now May 30th and Odin is WORSE.
Now he is up at 5 am, every single weekday. Crate has been covered (then he decided he didn't like it and pulled his blanket into his crate.) AC was turned lower at night thinking he may be hot, we increased his exercise, we started walking him for an extra walk late at night. Nothing is helping!

The strange thing is that he's only doing it Monday - Friday, the weekends he sleeps in. (and its not because he's getting extra exercise on the weekends, cause that would make it so he would sleep in on Sunday and Monday mornings)
I am at my whits end. losing 2 hours of sleep each day is killing me, and my productivity at work and life in general
I don't want the dog in bed with us. (Sorry Ozkar!) Really I love cuddling with him, but he thrashes and kicks so darn hard, even from couch cuddles I am riddled with bruises. I would get no sleep with him in the bed. He is allowed into bed for weekend cuddles, and has always been good with that.
I would be perfectly happy with him sleeping on a dog bed in our room, but how do we transition to that? (i.e. how do we keep him off our bed and on his?)

HELP!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

(He is allowed into bed for weekend cuddles, and has always been good with that.)

That is a change in his schedule. It doesn't take much. Dogs are great at reading body language and I think mine sometimes know what I'm going to do before I do.
You might want to start working with him on some mental exercises that teach him to be a more patient dog. Anything that makes him wait to be released. It can be sit, down or stand. Work with him staying until you give him a release command. Keep building until you can walk circles around him or in the next room and then back. Lots of praise when he does well. Mental exercises that seem simple to us put a lot of pressure on dogs. 
Once he has it down you can add his favorite treat to the training. Put him on sit and the place the treat 3 feet from him. He can't get the treat until released with a command. As he gets better place the treat closer to him.
Any job he has to do that takes mental thought is going to make him tired. 
Right now he is bored,impatient and calling the shots.


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

Sorry to hear about your frustration, sounds awful.. What time do you put Odin in his kennel at night? Do you alway's respond to his whining in the morning? He may know that when he whines you get out of bed and comfort him? I know it sounds easier said than done by not responding and listening to his consistent whining for attention (obviously you will not be getting sleep as well) but after a few days or so, possibly he will realize his negative attention is not getting him a reward? (You) However, if you are not responding to his whining, then I really do not have an answer for you. Our dog Axel goes to bed at 10pm and sleeps until we take him out of his kennel in the morning (8am, 9am, 10am? etc)

We have the big plastic closed kennel, so light really isn't an issue for us, we sleep on the 4th floor and Axel sleeps on the 2nd floor. At this time I don't even think Axel would like to sleep with us in our bedroom, he loves his own personal kennel, I think he feels safe and secure. As you mentioned bringing him to your bedroom is just another challenge for you.

I always put a toy in his kennel when Axel goes to bed, however I am sure you already do that?

Sorry I don't have a concrete answer for you, perhaps you can get the dog whisperer to visit your house?

Good luck


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

Odin gets kenneled at 11pm when we go to bed. (which has been routine since day one at our house.) We have never, not once gotten up and comforted him, talked to him, or let him out of his crate early. He is not let out until the alarm has gone off at 7am (we have even been setting the alarm on weekends so that his routine is not broken.) He has toys in his kennel, and have removed any other toys from his line of sight from his crate. We also went and bought him a new bigger crate so he'd have more room to stretch out.

At 9 months he is a bit impatient, and it's something we're working on. He does however have to work for everything. Want to go out? Sit, stay until released. Same for his dinner, his toys, and when he wants attention from us. He can leave a treat on his paw until released etc. We are finally seeing some vast improvement with his heeling on walks. We are working on stays with distractions. He's getting quite good at waiting at the off leash park until he's released. I am teaching him directions (left, right, back, forward, etc.) 

He's vastly improving and growing as a dog, he's just being a little jerk who wakes me up every morning!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Then I would say put the crate in a room away from the bedroom. Get you some ear plugs and get some sleep.


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

sorry to disappoint in the Vizsla world but my Darcy sleeps on the bed .....saying all that and being really soft with her, when it comes to training, she is really switched on and will always do as she is supposed to .....WITHIN REASON...


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

Ruby went through a phase if this. We have her crate furthest from our bedroom and a different floor. We shut the door and turned 2 fans on high to drown out the sound. Just have to ignore it. We still use the fan, like the noise now...lol. 

Now she goes to bed at 10pm during the week and she gets up when we do, goes potty and lays back down. On weekend I can't sleep past 7 am and I get her to go potty and then she gets to be in the bed and will sleep as late as my husband does... sometimes til 10am. 

Good luck and get some sleep.


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

Just wanted to give an update. Odin is FINALLY back to his normal schedule, in fact, we've been having to wake him up most mornings, and on the weekends he's been letting us sleep in until 8 or 9!
I am not sure what fixed him of it, whether it was just a matter of time for him to get used to sleeping when it was light out, or if he was just going through a early riser phase. Whatever it was, we stuck with our routine, and he's back in the swing of things.


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## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

Good for you!  No more sleepless nights then! It's great to have a proper good night sleep. :
I started to appreciate an extra half an hour now in bed!!! ???


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## katicabogar86 (Jul 4, 2012)

Csilla does the same thing. Last night she woke me up every forty minutes from 11pm-530a when I finally gave up. I guess she took too many naps during the day- She literally drove me insane last night! Usually though she wakes up 5-6 for a pee and poo but also screams about having to go back into the crate. I'm starting to try not to cave too. The dark sheet seems like it may be a good idea.



mollys said:


> 5am every morning like clock work!
> 
> She does need a pee and a poo but she howls the place down if we put her back to bed.
> This week we are going to make a real effort to make her settle back down and are going to try and stick it out.
> ...


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