Sleeping

[tara.power]

My 5 month old chow hasn't been sleeping through the night, usually wakes up around 12pm and 3pm. Is this normal? I try to ignore him at first but then he barks, should I keep ignoring him? When he gets up he will usually pee and then go back to sleep, my vet said you don't want to get him in the habit of this. Any advice would be great!

Tara

[Rory's Dad]

I guess i dont really understand the situation. A 5 five month old pup is waking up after what i would assume is probably 5 hours or so. If he is not barking because he is alerting you to something, then he is sending another message. Most likely, based on this, that he needs to go out.

At his age, this is actually a pretty good sign. But, really nothing can be done about it. As he ages, he will develop greather ability to 'hold it' and will not need those midnight strolls, but until then its just a fact of puppy life. Make sure he is taken for a walk as the last thing before bed. If at this stage you are allowing a spot in the house rather than waking up and taking him out, then he is behaving according to your house rules. You could try crate training at night as that would encourage him to try even harder. Other than that its all about him maturing.

Vets comment makes no sense if this is truly the issue.

[DrewBear]

When he gets up he will usually pee and then go back to sleep...

Just sounds like he needs to pee. I agree it's a good thing he asks to go out. I imagine pups are just like human kids; some take longer than others to sleep through the night without needing to pee. You may want to remove his water bowl after a certain time in the evening during this training period.

[lrfishwick]

Hi Tara - I too had a puppy that woke and barked through the night, so I sympathise. The good news is he grew out of it - or at least we changed the sleeping arrangements and he was then happy to sleep all night!! If you want to read my original post - search Puppy that barks through the night - sorry I don't know how to copy (I'm useless with technology). Basically we discovered he wanted to be near us - if confined to his crate in the utility room - he barked. If allowed to roam the house he would choose to sleep outside our bedroom door without a single bark (but obviously we do hear his snoring)!! Best of luck

[DrewBear]

If you want to read my original post - search Puppy that barks through the night - sorry I don't know how to copy (I'm useless with technology).

Alternatively, click on lrfishwick's profile name, then "search user's posts". Since lrfishwick only has 14 posts, it's easy to quickly browse through them to find the appropriate post.

[tara.power]

Thanks everyone for your posts! He is currently and has been sleeping in our bathroom ensuit, with a small gate across. When he wakes up he won't pee on the floor I take him outside to pee once he starts barking. I guess I was more wondering if its ok to be letting him out or do I have to "teach" him how to hold his pee by ignoring him. By the sounds of it I guess its something he will grow out of!