3.30am - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

Toby'shuman · 12-18-2012, 03:16 AM

Every day, at precisely 3.30am Toby wakes me up with his woo buff bark that means he needs to go to the toilet.

It doesnt matter how many times I take him out to the toilet before we go to bed, he always wakes up at this time, asks and won't shut up until I oblige him.

Once out he always does a pee and a poop then trots back in 'happy as Larry' and settles down to go back to sleep with little to no problem. Apart from he circles the room once before he gets either into his crate to sleep or settles down on one of my sofas.

Whilst I appreciate he is telling me he needs to go, (don't want any messes in the house) I am a little perturbed he is doing it even though just before we go to bed I make both Terrier and Dobe go out to the toilet, giving them both their commands which they usually follow to make them go. (I have noticed however, Toby only has a pee during this last take out session).

Then at precisely 3.30am (you can set your watch by it) he starts up and I have to let him out so he can go do another pee and a poop. Honestly he doesnt just go outside to bark or have a sniff around so I know he isn't pulling my chain so to speak.

I guess what I am asking is....

Do anyone elses dogs go to the toilet in the middle of the night?
Have any of you guys found a way of retraining their bowel movements to coincide with waking hours etc?
Do you have any tips how I can get back to sleep after our early morning toilet break, because for ages afterwards I lay there and trust me, it is rankling me no end that I am laid there listening to Toby and co snoring whilst I am wide awake.

(Russell sleeps with my son away from Toby so they are not annoying each other or winding each other up, prior to bedtime or during)

**melbrod** · 12-18-2012, 07:04 AM

Sometimes pooping-time is related to eating time. You might try changing his feeding schedule.

And yes, ours sometimes get up in the middle of the night--I tell myself it's a remnant of the protection dog instinct in them--they gotta check the yard for intruders

.

They also used to get up early in the morning 'cause they were HUNGRY!! So we went to a three-a-day schedule and a later feeding time for the last meal and everyone gets to sleep late.

DogsR4Life · 12-18-2012, 08:48 AM

I feed at 5pm, then walk at 8pm, and last toilet time is roughly 11pm. He gets bully sticks and some cookies before bedtime. Then he is crated.

I find the more they move around, things get moving again. I've tried to let chase have free roam of the house once, but he woke me up at 3am, 4am, and 6am. All whimpers to go out and potty, or come play with me.

When crated he is fast asleep until morning when I wake up.

bean · 12-18-2012, 09:11 AM

I don't let dogs out unless it's an emergency - they don't get to wake me up. I am a growly bitch.

When they bother me now I know they need to go! I don't find 3 am acceptable, but now he's conditioned (trained) you to get up and go so it's his routine. It will take a bit for you to work on this with him. You'll have to be more persistent than he is, if you're sure he doesn't really need to go.

Good thought about dinner time - when do you feed him and let him out last? I also feed dinner earlier around 5:30 pm. They go out again around 10:30 or 11pm. Then they sleep in with me up to 7:30 unless there's a GI problem. An adult dog should be able to hold it.

Rams · 12-18-2012, 09:16 AM

What about keeping Toby on a leash during your last potty break before bed to help insure he does his business? Then crate him if thats an option?

I have recently started letting Rams loose in the house at night. We have had him for nine months and he will be around three years old in March. Rams tends to wake at least twice nightly and nuzzle my arm after entering the bedroom. He is not asking to go out, but I believe he is just checking on me or feeling a little lonely. I know he would rather lounge around in comfort on his bed or couch but I dont really want to be awakened nightly either. I started crating him when he wakes me. This has greatly decreased his habit of roaming and waking me up. We tend to go through a few nights of re-crating at 0100-0300 hours but he will leave me alone for the next week or so for sure.

lestat1978 · 12-18-2012, 09:23 AM

Ivan sleeps in bed with me. If he wakes me up to go to the bathroom one night, no big deal. I may even let him do it a second night. But if he does it a third night, when he comes back in he gets crated instead of back up in bed with me. Solves the problem pretty quickly.

doberdeer · 12-18-2012, 09:52 AM

I agree with Melbrod. If you know when it goes in, you can pretty much calculate when it's going to come out! Maybe on his last outing for the night, you might have him run around chasing a ball or something. Get his system moving. Might help.

Burns · 12-18-2012, 10:13 AM

I'm with Bean on this one. No one, including the cats, is allowed to wake me up in the middle of the night unless its an emergency. An adult dog should be able to hold it til morning if they went out before bed.

I also feed dinner at around 5:30pm, and he goes out again usually between 11pm-midnight, before I go to bed. And then first thing whenever I get up in the morning, and he usually poops after breakfast in the morning.

Try either adjusting your feeding schedule and see if you can feed him earlier so he'll need to go before you go to bed, or feed later so he can wait til the morning.

But either way, I wouldn't tolerate getting up in the middle of the night with him. You'll need to be completely consistent and never give into him again or the behavior will continue.

Toby'shuman · 12-18-2012, 11:41 AM

Toby's dinner time is around 6pm.

Do you guys think this is too late?

Because of where we live I cannot walk him once the light starts to fail, so walking is done around 4.30 till dark which is at this time of year is around 5.30.

In the summer Toby chooses to sleep outside, (too hot and stuffy inside) so I have come to think he has kind of gotten used to just waking up whenever he wishes and just going to the toilet as and when. Of course now he is inside he can't do this, hence why he wakes me.

During the evening if he asks to go out, we let him, then before we go to bed, my hubby and I go at 10pm and my son 12 midnight he is taken out and told to go do his business. Of course the compound is shrouded in darkness, so he may or may not go and do his stuff. He absolutely won't go if he is on the leash. So I am thinking I will have to follow him around, torch in hand looking for all I am worth like some weird woman with a fetish for watching a dog do a poop.

though for all your ideas.

Burns · 12-18-2012, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toby'shuman

Of course the compound is shrouded in darkness, so he may or may not go and do his stuff. He absolutely won't go if he is on the leash. So I am thinking I will have to follow him around, torch in hand looking for all I am worth like some weird woman with a fetish for watching a dog do a poop.

I don't think you really need to do that (I know I wouldn't lol), since my dog won't poop on a leash either.

I would try varying his dinner time either to earlier or later first and see what happens with his pooping schedule. Since he's on a pretty regular schedule now, it would probably be better to play with the timing first and go from there.

Adara · 12-18-2012, 06:30 PM

Envy myu puppy went through a week or two of waking me up to go poop 1-2 hours before the alarm. I played around with her feeding time and it seemed to help.

I do have a Vizsla that gets me up to pee every night but she has water diabetes. She drinks and pees a LOT ALL the time though. But she only pees, not poops a lot.

DobeAndBorderCollie · 12-18-2012, 07:10 PM

I had the same issue when I brought hades home from the rescue. It was so annoying. I had to physically take him to the poop area in my backyard and say "go on Hades, go on" until he peed AND pooped. Even then he'd wake me up at 3am (literally same time every night) I started ignoring him knowing he went to the bathroom already. and even though he climbed on the bed and whined and grunted he eventually gave up and went back to bed and didn't wake me up again until 6-7am bc he was hungry and had to go out. Now he's getting up later and later.

Id take him out and make sure he does his business at night then ignore him when he wakes you up. It'll be just as annoying but hopefully after a few nights he'll adjust his schedule. Now if I get up at 3am so I can potty, I get an angry side-eye and grunt for waking him up.

Good luck!

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smudgeid · 12-18-2012, 08:53 PM

When I first got Chanel, she was waking me up really early & of course - new dog - I took her out. I lasted about a week, then I started saying "Go back to bed."

She did - I was surprised, but appreciative & now if she is up before I want to be, I know what to do for a little more quiet time. She'll give a big sigh, and head back to her bed. (Eventually she starts to be annoying & I know she's really got to go & sleeping in is over.)
Kate