Sleeping late

adlfelix · Post by **adlfelix** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:08 pm

How do you teach a dog to sleep late on the weekends? Is it possible to get up early for work during the week yet have a dog understand on weekends it is okay to sleep in?

Mollysmom · Post by **Mollysmom** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 3:50 pm

you don't, Dog's do best with a schedule, it's in your best interest to keep her on as rigid a schedule as possible regarding potty times.

I wish it could be done... but I still wake up at the same time every day of the week to let her out to do her business, most weekends after she's pee'd, poo'd and run around a bit I'll let her crawl into the "big bed" with me and sleep a little longer or just lounge for a bit. She loves it, especially since it's the only time she's allowed in our bed

The most I've ever been able to get away with (and then given a doggy guilt trip over) was about 45 minutes of "sleeping late". She knows that mommy wakes up at 7am, so she's usually up and staring intently as if willing me awake at about 6:58am. that 45 minutes I got included some muttered pillow commands of "molleeee pleeeaase go lay down" Followed by a cold wet nose in my face or on my hand/arm/foot.
I also have a cat who likes to greet us in the morning... he's in league with the darn dog in that respect... likes to put his entire weight on your bladder and meow insistently.

in short, your dog doesn't care that you stayed out late on Friday, or that you don't have to work Sunday.

BellaBambini · Post by **BellaBambini** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:08 pm

hehe if only!

Bella is still being housebroken and we have her caged at night. She gets her last sip of water at 7:30ish and is usually asleep by midnight maybe a bit later depending (but not a whole lot of difference). She's awake by 5AM every morning, we can usually take her out, let her do business and she'll head back to sleep for about two hours (but that might be pushing it) so, 7AM it looks like. We haven't had her for nearly as long as most of the more helpful people on the boards but we are eager and learning.

We visited the vet and she said that as a pupper owner - it'd be a good practice not to 'reward' waking us up in the middle of the night with like ...treats or playtime. She gets out of the cage, heads outside and back into the cage for more naptime.

Mollysmom · Post by **Mollysmom** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:12 pm

just like with an infant, if a dog wakes you up to go potty in the middle of the night, let them out, but don't turn on lights, make more noise than necessary, play games.
Eventually they'll sleep through the night.

Marley · Post by **Marley** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:09 am

I'm not sure if I trained Marley to do this or if she trained me to do this. Normally Marley is not allowed on the furniture. On weekdays we get up at 6 a.m. and on weekends we tend to sleep in until about 7 a.m. On weekends marley is allowed on the bed and this seems to make a huge difference. Sleeping any later is very difficult, after 7 a.m. Marley and the cat begin chasing each other and I seem to make a great speed bump.

Good luck

Ocelot0411 · Post by **Ocelot0411** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:37 am

Oooh ok I am going to 'buck the trend' here. Perhaps I just have a lazy pooch, but Ellie will quite happily sleep in with me at the weekends. In fact its often me that has to get her out of bed

Ellie sleeps on my bed all the time, so maybe this has something to do with it. During the week I will get up at between 6 & 6.30 am and I have to encourage her to go out and go to the loo, or she would happily just carry on snoozing

Then she gets her breakfast and then will promptly trot back up stairs and curl up in the warm bit of the bed that I have just left and watch me get ready for work.

At the weekends, she will snooze until I am ready to get up. This is usually about 9 or even 9.30 am. Again, I tend to have to take her downstairs. I always have the bedroom door shut so if she wants the loo during the night or on the rare occasion she wakes up before me she just leaps off the bed and goes and scrapes the door with her paw. She then gets let out and depending on what time it is we either get up or go back to bed!!

Perhaps I am just lucky that just as I am not really a 'morning person' Ellie is not a 'morning dog'

Mattie · Post by **Mattie** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 4:24 am

Many Greyhounds and Lurchers don't like getting up mornings, my Greyhound only moves when I do but my other dogs are sitting on the bed waiting for the alarm clock to go off.

I have to feed 2 of my dogs 3 times a day so I need to be up a 7am so they can get fed as near as possible to every 8 hours. Before Merlin had his operation on his spine he couldn't go through the night and I had to get up, he can now but then Gracie got a bladder infection and couldn't go through the night. Thankfully it has cleared up now so once again I am getting a full night.

I have to admit I prefer to walk mine as early as possible although I find it very difficult these days because of my health. At one time I would have my hour out on the roads between 5.30am and 6 am. It is a magical time of the day.

Ocelot0411 · Post by **Ocelot0411** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:01 am

Ahh well Mattie, I am merely a mum of one (for now at least) so I can still get a way with being a lazy toad. If I had a tribe like yours it would be a different matter!

Mattie wrote:I have to admit I prefer to walk mine as early as possible although I find it very difficult these days because of my health. At one time I would have my hour out on the roads between 5.30am and 6 am. It is a magical time of the day.

The only occasions I have seen the world at that time in the morning is in my (misspent) youth on the way in

!! I don't think I'ver ever seen it on the way out!!

Ocelot0411 · Post by **Ocelot0411** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:01 am

Ahh well Mattie, I am merely a mum of one (for now at least) so I can still get a way with being a lazy toad. If I had a tribe like yours it would be a different matter!

Mattie wrote:I have to admit I prefer to walk mine as early as possible although I find it very difficult these days because of my health. At one time I would have my hour out on the roads between 5.30am and 6 am. It is a magical time of the day.

The only occasions I have seen the world at that time in the morning is in my (misspent) youth on the way in

!! I don't think I'ver ever seen it on the way out!!

Mattie · Post by **Mattie** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:59 am

Ocelot0411 wrote: The only occasions I have seen the world at that time in the morning is in my (misspent) youth on the way in !! I don't think I'ver ever seen it on the way out!!

Done that more times than I can remember as well.

You don't know what you are missing, especially in the hot weather but we don't seem to get that now.

bella'smom · Post by **bella'smom** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:03 am

I guess I'm just LUCKY, but both of my girls (2-1/2 & 10 mos) sleep whenever I do!! Both of them got up once during the night for the 1st WEEK I had them, after that they slept thru the night (on the bed with me)with RARE exceptions! When they did get up it was straight out (no lights) and straight back to bed!

Lots of mornings I get up, take my shower, get dressed and they're STILL sleeping on the bed. IF I have to go to work early, they look at me as if to say, "You've GOT to be kidding"!

They're ALWAYS willing to nap too!

I guess they're bed-potatoes :lol

I think PART of the reason is because they get lots of exercise - walks, playtime, car rides, puppy playdates, etc. We take them with us everywhere possible!

bella'smom · Post by **bella'smom** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:03 am

I guess I'm just LUCKY, but both of my girls (2-1/2 & 10 mos) sleep whenever I do!! Both of them got up once during the night for the 1st WEEK I had them, after that they slept thru the night (on the bed with me)with RARE exceptions! When they did get up it was straight out (no lights) and straight back to bed!

Lots of mornings I get up, take my shower, get dressed and they're STILL sleeping on the bed. IF I have to go to work early, they look at me as if to say, "You've GOT to be kidding"!

They're ALWAYS willing to nap too!

I guess they're bed-potatoes :lol

I think PART of the reason is because they get lots of exercise - walks, playtime, car rides, puppy playdates, etc. We take them with us everywhere possible!

adlfelix · Post by **adlfelix** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:17 am

On the weekends I don't allow PJ to get up before 7am...anything before 7am I tell him to go back on his bed and he will. PJ gets a ton of excerise and we make sure his water is taken away an hour before bedtime and he gets a late one last potty time. For some reason PJ will let my husband sleep until 9am or even later

I think we have always not taken PJ out right away unless it is an emergency. I will sometimes shower and great ready then take him out and feed him breakfast.

Andrea

Mattie · Post by **Mattie** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:31 am

adlfelix wrote:On the weekends I don't allow PJ to get up before 7am...anything before 7am I tell him to go back on his bed and he will. PJ gets a ton of excerise and we make sure his water is taken away an hour before bedtime and he gets a late one last potty time. For some reason PJ will let my husband sleep until 9am or even later I think we have always not taken PJ out right away unless it is an emergency. I will sometimes shower and great ready then take him out and feed him breakfast.

Andrea

Why do you take his water away Andrea?

When I first got my Greyhound he would only wee 3 times a day at set times, I saw him in a great deal of discomfort and pain on quite a few occasions because he would only wee at these times. It didn't help that he wasn't house trained either. It took quite some turning round but now he will wee anytime. He can be like this still mornings and it is only recently when he couldn't go through the night. Since his operation on his spine he can now go through the night but one awake and up he needs to go out. Although the vets can't find anything, this holding on seems to have done damage to him, I couldn't make him wait to go out while I saw to myself first, I wouldn't know how much more damage I was doing to him.

adlfelix · Post by **adlfelix** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 11:01 am

Why do you take his water away Andrea?

We take his water away at night because he will just drink way to much water in the middle of the night and have to potty. Sometimes PJ will wake me up because he is thirsty and I will fill up his bowl so he can have a drink...but this doesn't happen often. I actually do the same thing with myself...otherwise I will be going to the bathroom all night.