Bedtime with puppy

Question
Hi Charlotte,

We have a 4 1/2 mth old chocolate lab. We immediately let her sleep in her room in a crate with no door. I have trouble sleeping and usually do not fall a sleep until 1 or 2 am. She has a routine of getting up at about 7:00am. I will get up and get her breakfast at this time, but then I need more sleep. She consistantly whines when I bring her back into the bedroom and stands near the bedroom door. I don't know if she has to go pee or not. So I end up taking her out every half an hour. A couple times she has had an accident at the door. Is this normal or how I can train her (and me) so that she can be more on my schedule?

Thanks,

Julia

Answer
Hi Julia;
She wants to run and play. SHE has had a good night's sleep, and is rested, and ready to romp.
After she eats, and you take her out, and she does her business, she should not have to go out every 30 minutes to catch her on time.
She will of course have to go pee and poop after eting. with some they are ready in 5 to 10 minutes, some are not ready for 30 min or an hour.
Aftewr she eats, take her out and if you throw a ball for her to fetch or some other active play, it will help her organs move better and maybe a little faster, and will give her some activity and she should let you sleep for a few hours more.
I can sympathize with you. since I am retired, and don't HAVE to get up to be at the office, I sleeps when I pleases, and wakes when I pleases.
I was NEVER a morning person in the first place, and since I am not having to be somewhere, I am not pulling my poor resisting body out at the first rooster crow.
Are you in a situation where you can have a doggy door for her to go out when she pleases, and a fenced area she can be safe in?
I have had more than on dog for a lot of years, and since I don't want to be wakened by begging to come play, it helps, because they play with each other.
We are old,LOL And it is a chore for me to go from room to room, and have to double back to get to other rooms, especially when I am gathering up laundry.
Grandkids spend the night quite a bit, so sometimes i have bedding to gather in all four bedrooms, and going to a room and back, and another and back, it wore me out. Our house lent itself well to this remodeling. I can go from one room, to the others and make a circle. The three bedrooms are on a hallway, so I can d them, then go out another door in the third one to the laundry room. the fourth enters from the living room, and it's bath opens to the den, and then around to the laundry room.
It makes a lot fewer steps for me, but it also provides the dogs with a race track.LOl
They come exploding through the doggy door and chase through the house, round and round, but I can sleep right through it.
If you can't have a doggy door for her to have free access to a safe yard, then maybe if you fed her, took her out, romp her a little, and when she does her business, bring her back in to the bedroom, and have some toys for her to play with the keep her occupied.
At that age, she is probably still in the teething stage, so a Kong toy for her size would give her a safe toy to chew on to ease those little gums, and help push the teeth through. those braided rope toys are hard enough I haven't had dogs tear them up. so they afford chewing, and they can shake the dickens out of them. I guess when they grab them and shake them, they are killing prey they have hunted.LOL
You want to avoid toys she can tear up and get pieces in her throat she could choke on.
Those Kong toys are safe for them, and you can also put sheese or peanut butter in them for the dog to fish out. They really make for sometimes hours of gnawing. when she gets tired of it and starts to whine, you could put a little cheese or peanut butter in it, and that should interest her in it for long enough for you to get mre rest if you need it.
I am not suggesting that you stay in bed too long.LOL, but if you are like me, when i want to sleep, I WANT TO SLEEP!
If she has toys to play and wear herself out a little, she may lie down and take a nap herself, then when mom is ready to get up, she can have her play time with mom.
In a few months, she will adjust to your routine, and let you sleep.
After you take her out and she does her jobs, and you bring her back in, she is probably getting you to take her out every 30 minutes just to play. she is bored, so she is going to get some attention.
If she does her business, and does a good job, she shouldn't have to go until she eats or drinks again.
does she do business again when you take her out these other times, or does she just play?
Puppies get bored easily just like little chindren do. If she has toys to play with, she should stay in a little better and pkay with her toys.
It is not easy for everybody to fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow. Some people are more morning people and like t rise with the sun, but some of us just don't be built that way, and we need to pay attention to OUR inner clocks, not someone else's.
When I retired I stopped fighting it.
If I can't sleep, I get up and do something that I would have to do the next day, and that is done, so I can sleep later the next morning.
I have learned to work with the time my body wants to sleep, and I may be up at 2am doing laundry or folding clothes, or if i have no chores that need to be done, playing a game on my computer. that gets me relaxed so I can go to sleep.
The harder I try to sleep, the more awake I get.
Good luck.
Charlotte