Has anyone had to become a morning person for your pup?

[mizmelzywi]

I mean, I get up early because I have to (potty time!) but it’s not my happy place energy wise to wake up and go 0 to 100. Unfortunately, it is for my puppy.

I’m struggling with not having peaceful mornings anymore and how that’s affecting my mental health. Unless I absolutely tire her out right away (which takes considerable effort I am not ready for until after 10am) it’s tough. And honestly, I’m not sure I can commit to super early exercise daily. Anyone go through this and have advice to offer for the non-morning person?

I have a 7.5 month old Aussie. She gets love, exercise and mental stimulation— and occasional day care, it’s just hard for me to start with her energy level so early in the morning. One of us is going to have to adapt and I’m not sure how to approach that. Curious if anyone has gone through this, too.

 

[ynotstone]

@mizmelzywi I guess it depends on your circumstances, but as my puppy has aged we've found a compromise. I get up early enough that I have time to drink a coffee and read or watch a bit of a show for 40-60 minutes, and then after that we take a 30-40 minute walk.

That said, I have a French bulldog mix, so I'm probably not a good person to give advice. My boyfriend vetoed Aussies because he didn't think we'd be able to handle the energy, and if our dog is anything to go off, he was right. Those first few months of an entirely disrupted routine destroyed my mental health.

 

[douglasjm]

@ynotstone This is the routine I have with my mini aussie. It’s been pretty consistent in the mornings since she was about 7-8 months old. We get up when the alarm goes off then I have a cup of coffee and watch a show for about 45 mins while she has breakfast and we play with a toy on the floor for a few minutes. Then we got on the morning walk which is usually about 35-45 mins.

Granted we have a large balcony with a personal potty spot for early potty breaks. I feel for anyone who has to immediately go outside while still half asleep.

 

[recovering]

@mizmelzywi We’ve had three dogs and each of them has learned the command “back to bed”, which means out for an early morning pee and then back to bed.

Our most recent puppy is lower energy so it was easier for him to learn. We take him out at 6:30 and he happily settles back down until about 7:30.

Our other two were higher energy and it took a bit of hiding under the covers and ignoring for them to eventually learn and accept the routine.

 

[kethi]

@mizmelzywi Yep! Went from being a night owl up til 4am and now I’m zonked by 9 or 10pm and we get up at 5 for pee break. I have to pee, they have to pee. But they’ve learned with routine that after that, we either go back to bed for an hour or two (if I don’t have to get ready for work) or just chill with coffee for an hour or so til they get breakfast. More often than not they will play for about 15 mins and then go back to sleep until 9 or 10am though.

 

[shedrach]

@mizmelzywi Oh god yeah, same for me. I am so not a morning person and am grappling with that immediate 0-100 energy shift my dog has too. Since I need him to behave while I wfh, I have started to walk him first thing in the morning, whereas it used to be mid-morning. It's tough! I go out there solely looking forward to getting home and having coffee. I will say, getting out the door is the hardest part. But today, since it's Sunday, and I really just needed a relaxing morning, I have been delaying his walk. I gave him some mental exercises / puzzles to direct his energy to - I have heard that tires them out and may be an option if you're not ready for the big walk first thing in the morning.

 

[rronald_25]

@shedrach was going to suggest this, a frozen meal first thing in the morning can be great when you just don’t have it in you to walk first thing

something i used to do that i’d like to start doing again is taking my coffee on our walk and listening to a nice podcast. for me, it’s just as important that i enjoy the walk as much as she does otherwise i am miserable honestly lol

 

[moree]

@mizmelzywi This didn’t help me at the time, as I was convinced it’d never happen, but just give it some more time.
Ours was dreadful up to about 8 months (up at 4am, maybe 5) consistently and often a toilet break in the night. We seemed to breakthrough around 9 months and I awoke with a start at 7am convinced the pup had died as I’d “slept in”. He’s now 20 months and will happily sleep until we come downstairs on a morning (6am through the week, 9/10 on a weekend)

 

[revrude]

@mizmelzywi compromise! Dogs are capable of compromising. Some people teach their dogs language- like bunny on youtube. you could try teaching what "soon" and "now" means.

some people just set new boundaries. at 3 months i used to have to be up and ready to rumble for my high energy malamute, but now, at 6 months, she knows we wake up at 7 for food and potty, but we wait till 9 to go for our walk

Weve still gone for our walk, but i just need some morning coffee time first.

 

[mistigale]

@revrude Yes! Our boy is really high energy and he’s always on. Occasionally we’re just not feeling it and he’s learned to adapt. If he doesn’t get his walk at the same time, he just rolls with it. Hell, this weekend it was just me and the dog. I wasn’t in a great spot and, apart from bathroom breaks, we cuddled on the couch all day. He was fine with it.

 

[omegathefirst]

@mizmelzywi Nope. One of my dogs is very much a morning dog, she will do happy dances, following people around as they get ready with a dumb smile and invite the other dogs into playtime while the rest of us stay in bed/become zombies.

She is the only morning person out of all of us and has made mornings a bit better honestly. She's a bit of a... dumber.. dog so my theory is she forgot everyone in the house for a bit and was surprised to see us all alive.

 

[jesusismysavoir]

@mizmelzywi It’s much easier to train them to sleep late if you’re using a crate! What we do is take her out for a pee and then put her back to bed. I think it was easier for her to accept because our other dog has always slept super late and she wasn’t as interested in being up unless he was up anyway! So if she gets up at 7:30 to pee, she’s going back to bed right after! Luckily we are actually getting her to sleep until 8:30-9 all on her own anyway so no one has to get up with her anymore!

 

[questore]

@mizmelzywi Yep, I used to get up around 11 am sometimes 12, now I’m up anywhere between 7:30 am - 9:30 am. For the most part tho my puppy will rest in his crate until 9 am with no issues. Sometimes he will wake up at 7:30 wanting to go out for potty, and then he’ll go right back asleep until 9-9:30.

We don’t go for a walk until about 11-12 because I’m not fully awake nor have the energy for a 20-30 minute walk until that time.

A commenter once told me that you brought the puppy into YOUR life & YOUR world, not the other way around. Yes you need to meet your puppy’s needs but they are on your schedule. It’s been a lot easier after hearing that because now I’ve found a routine that works for the both of us, and he has adapted well.

It is best to go about your mornings like you want to, if you want your mornings to be calm then have calm mornings. Your puppy will start to understand your routine. If you have high energy mornings all the time she will expect that & it might be hard on you in the long run.