Senior cocker wake up time getting earlier and earlier

Question
QUESTION: I adopted an adult english cocker spaniel appx 3 years ago.  He is between 8-10 years old according to the vet.  He has hearing loss.  The issue is his wake up time.  During year one, he woke with me when the alarm went off at 7am.  For the past year or so, he wakes before me, not because it has to go out, but because he is hungry.  The wake up time is now 4am!  He whines, cries, barks, butts the bed to wake us.  I can shush him for only 3 minutes at a time and then he starts again.  I realized that I may be the one who is trained here.  Once he is fed, he goes back to sleep until 8am.  Ive tried long walks before bed, feeding before bed, etc.  I will also add that when he does eat, it is as if its his first meal in weeks....he almost chokes while gobbling it down in 30 seconds.  Any insight is helpful!

ANSWER: You're right!  He's trained you.

I'd like to know his feeding schedule.  Seniors do well on 3 meals a day.

What you're going to have to do is when he starts up at 4am - get up and put him somewhere else.  Preferably where you can't hear him.
It won't take all that long for him to grasp that all that happens after this behavior is banishment.

You've let this go on for a year so this is your own fault :)
(as is most naughty behavior with dogs).  So either you take the time & effort to retrain or keep some dog biscuits in a sealed container on your nightstand and toss them down at 4am.

A quicker retrain might be to use the old "can of pennies" trick.
Get an empty pop can - put about 15 pennies in it - seal top with tape.  When he starts up - pick up the can and bring it down hard ONCE and say NO!  Or..keep a spray bottle of plain water on hand and give him a spritz in the face and a NO! (make sure it's a spray and not a hard stream of water).

Dogs hate both these things and it's very possible that 2 or 3 of these unpleasant experiences will stop the behavior.
Best of luck,
Delores

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your help...and honesty! I had a feeling that I played a primary role in this.  He is fed at 4:30am (this week, it was 5:30 for the past 2 months, and 6:30 prior to that for as long as I can remember).  He is fed dinner between 5-6pm.  I do get home early and can feed him a third time if you think that is best.  I will try the penny trick, but he is partially deaf :-) so the water bottle is likely better.  He is resiliant though.  Unfortunately I do not have the space to banish him....plus, I have a tenant under us and whenever he is in a situation like that he barks uncontrollably.  However, I am gathering from your advice that I have to bite the bullet in order to correct the behavior.

Answer
I'd feed his 3rd meal just before bedtime.  And yes..you're going to have to bite the bullet :) for a couple of nights.
Delores
p.s.  If the water spray is less than effective, buy a can of citronella spray at PetSmart.  Can must be kept "shaken" but this can work wonders at stopping a behavior.