# Puppy Schedule



## lonnieluv (Apr 25, 2017)

Lonnie is 12 weeks and the first night he was home with us he was up at 4am, I took him out, and then 6am when I took him out and fed him. 

After that he would make it till 6am for a week. However, the last two nights he whimpered at 4am so I took him out, and then didn't make a peep till about 7am. 

Does anyone know if it's normal to keep waking at 4am? In some ways it's easier because then I can sleep till 7/7:30am, but don't want him to get used to this if he should be able to stretch to 6am.

Any thoughts or advice welcome!


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

When you take him out at 4 am does he have to go potty or does he just want to get up? At his age he should be able to go all night without waking you up. Make sure you are taking him out last thing in the evening before you go to bed, even if he has fallen asleep before then. You can try telling him to be quiet and ignore the whimpering. Hopefully he will get the message that it is not time to get up and will settle back down. Also make sure you are not giving food or water too late in the evening before bed. Good luck!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Personally, I wouldn't ignore middle of the night crying. I WOULD make sure that any trips to the potty were ALL business, with no talking other than to say "go potty", no cuddling or loving on the puppy, pop him right back into bed and say "go to sleep".

IMO, the worst thing that could happen is for you to mis-judge whether they really needed to go and cause them to have an accident in their crates. You certainly DON'T want them to get the idea that that is an acceptable alternative. While most puppies DO sleep through the night at 12 weeks, they are not on exactly the same maturation schedule. As long as it's not particularly FUN to get up in the middle of the night, this will very soon subside on its own. 

As far as the first thing in the morning wake up is concerned, again, if you think he needs to potty, get up and take him out. But don't feed him unless it's when YOU want to get up. If your normal wake-up time is 7-7:30, even if you can't really go back to sleep when woken up at 6 (which I totally understand) it will be worth your while to put him back in his crate, (same no-nonesense approach as if it were the middle of the night) and get back in bed to quietly read or check your email on your tablet. Don't let him dictate the wake-up time!


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## lonnieluv (Apr 25, 2017)

krandall said:


> Personally, I wouldn't ignore middle of the night crying. I WOULD make sure that any trips to the potty were ALL business, with no talking other than to say "go potty", no cuddling or loving on the puppy, pop him right back into bed and say "go to sleep".
> 
> IMO, the worst thing that could happen is for you to mis-judge whether they really needed to go and cause them to have an accident in their crates. You certainly DON'T want them to get the idea that that is an acceptable alternative. While most puppies DO sleep through the night at 12 weeks, they are not on exactly the same maturation schedule. As long as it's not particularly FUN to get up in the middle of the night, this will very soon subside on its own.
> 
> As far as the first thing in the morning wake up is concerned, again, if you think he needs to potty, get up and take him out. But don't feed him unless it's when YOU want to get up. If your normal wake-up time is 7-7:30, even if you can't really go back to sleep when woken up at 6 (which I totally understand) it will be worth your while to put him back in his crate, (same no-nonesense approach as if it were the middle of the night) and get back in bed to quietly read or check your email on your tablet. Don't let him dictate the wake-up time!


Thank you for your response. This was kind of the info I wanted. At 4am it's all business and then he went right back to sleep. 6am wake up--took him out and then give him his food because the breeder said she fed him at 6am. Eek! So I thought I had to also. Love the idea of putting him back in the crate and then having him wait till I'm ready. It's hard because he whimpers really loudly and then goes into a full throttle bark. But I will for sure try this!

Thank you!!!


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

lonnieluv said:


> It's hard because he whimpers really loudly and then goes into a full throttle bark.


Be sure you only give him what he wants (i.e., your attention) when he is quiet and calm. If you reward barking, he will continue to bark to get what he wants.

Good luck!


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## Genie1000 (Apr 13, 2017)

This thread has been so helpful for us too! We've been lucky that Penelope sleeps through the night... 9- about 5:20, but we've been starting our day at 5:20 which neither scott nor I are thrilled with. Since reading this, we've been not conversing with her at 5/20 but just taking her out to go potty and then back in crate. Today she stayed quiet til 7:00!
At that point we started the day feeling quite human!!
Thank you!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

YAY!!!! Puppy progress!!!


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## Rascal's mom (Apr 5, 2017)

Rascals schedule before we took him home from breeder was up & start the day @ 5 am. He still on the 5 AM to 5:30 scheduled ;( as soon as we take him out of his crate he does do his business but if we put him back in the crate, he cries & barks, he does not fall back to sleep. wish he would let us sleep a little later!!


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

*I'm lucky*



Rascal's mom said:


> Rascals schedule before we took him home from breeder was up & start the day @ 5 am. He still on the 5 AM to 5:30 scheduled ;( as soon as we take him out of his crate he does do his business but if we put him back in the crate, he cries & barks, he does not fall back to sleep. wish he would let us sleep a little later!!


I'm extremely lucky in that Perry is very patient when I put him in his crate (or with the morning routine) - he may not like it, but he'll go in and settle down. Because I don't have to worry about accidents (once he's gone out in the morning), I don't put him back in his crate - we go out at 6 (or 7ish on weekends - he'll wait patiently til I get up), he pees, we come back into the bedroom where he'll play with his toys or sometimes snuggle for a few minutes then I'll shower, get dressed, then we go back out (when he'll poop - he never poops first thing), I'll make breakfast,etc.

I'm thinking out loud here, but I wonder when you put him back in his crate and he's noisy, what if you put him back in with a special toy or a lightly filled Kong or something - something that distracts him from it (or that he looks forward to)? I know that's what I did for Perry's issues with being in his crate and left alone. It took a little while, but now in the morning he's zooming back to his crate (and doesn't start barking when I leave) when I'm ready to leave because he knows that's when he gets his Kong with a little peanut butter in it. It wasn't immediate, but it did eventually work.


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## Rascal's mom (Apr 5, 2017)

It's Worth a try 😊 Your morning routine sounds like my routine.


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