Dogs & Sleeping

Question
hi shelley,
i have a 5 year old pug named Mr. Pickles. he is a perfect dog except for one thing.  he wakes up WAY too early.  We can walk him at 7pm or even 10pm at night but he still wakes up at 530am for a walk.  even if we close the blinds so it is pitch-black, it doesn't help.  is there anything we can give mr. pickles to sleep later? i don't think he wakes up so early because he has to pee or because he's hungry, because he's alone all day while we are work and holds it for 14 hours. HELP. is there anything we can give him to get a better night's sleep?
HELP!
thank you,
gillian

Answer
Hi Gillian,

Thanks for writing to me about Mr. Pickles, your perfect pug.  

Mr. Pickles loves you so very much that he is willing to hold his pee for 14 hrs.  He doesn't know how to tell his mommy and daddy that after 5-6 hrs. the urine in the bladder and kidneys starts to become toxic and needs to be flushed in order to keep the body healthy.   That is the natural function of these two major organs.  He would love to have a walk in the middle of the day so that he can get some exercise, relief from boredom and release of those toxins from his bladder and kidneys. He would also like to let off some steam so that he could have a lengthy snooze at night.

Mr. Pickles is at risk of early kidney disease and bladder infections as well as immune related diseases unless he can flush the toxins from his body in a timely fashion.

Mr. Pickles would also sleep a lot better at night if he had a minimum of 45 minutes of exercise (a brisk walk and maybe some frisbee) each day (except in hot or cold weather because of his pushed in face).  A well exercised dog is a tired and happy dog.  

Maybe Mr. Pickles needs a Misses Mustard to play with during the day so that he can have fun and exercise.  

If you can't walk him than perhaps he could relieve himself on wee wee pads.  Maybe there is a nice dog walker in the neighborhood that could take Mr. Pickles on a fun walk mid day?

I urge you to consider the medical consequences of his current situation.  He would also sleep better if he had stimulation, fun and exercise during the day, either with a dog walker or doggie daycare.

Hope this helps.

Best,
Shelley Davis
www.bednbiscuit.com