Puppy wakes us up at 6am every day by jumping on our bed and licking/clawing at our faces until we get up

[sos2]

Is it possible at this point to train her to sleep later and not jump on our bed to wake us up, or is it too late? We’re so tired of waking up so early, even an extra hour would be amazing. How can we train our girl to stay in her bed until a reasonable hour?

UPDATE: Thank you for all the suggestions! Lots of suggestions for crating—we tried the crate thing when she was 6 months and she hated it so much she’d start shaking when it was time to get inside . She’s 10 months now and can definitely hold it until 7:30, and we also trust her to free roam around the house.

This morning when she jumped up on the bed at 6am we just said “off” and gently nudged her off the bed and said “go to your bed” which is a command she knows. After 3-4 times she got the hint and walked downstairs and hung out on the couch until we got up at 7. I also learned from all your advice that the key is not feeding her until after 7. Before, I was half asleep taking her out to pee at 6am when she’d wake us up, and while I was downstairs I figured I’d just feed her, which was probably a mistake because she associates 6am as breakfast time and she loves and looks forward to her food! I think after a few weeks we’ll get into a new routine. Thank you all for the advice!!!

 

[stainlessea]

@sos2 Crate your puppy in your bedroom. Our pup loves his nighttime crate and heads to it at 8 pm every night. When he was younger we’d have to take him out at 5 or 6 am to relieve himself but then right back into the crate (with some kibble or treats) until our regular wake time 7-8 am. Now at 9 months he’s sleeping 8 am - 7 am consistently.

I’m amazed that people can free range a puppy while they sleep. Seems like chaos.

 

[faithfulmommy]

@stainlessea I’m with you. A crate saved my sanity, my sleep, and my floors.

 

[jacquiluvsjesus]

@stainlessea Dunno, never crated my pup because she couldn't get used to it. Had been sleeping in our bedroom free range since the first night. Was never chaotic. Every pup is different.

 

[stainlessea]

@jacquiluvsjesus Right but OP’s issue is that their dog isn’t chill in their bedroom thus my reply about crating since that’s what worked for us. I have 2 labs and they are wildly different in personality. Baby lab is a tornado. Older lab has always been super chill and free ranged early.

 

[jacpal]

@jacquiluvsjesus yeah, my pup's been free range since day one. he's very polite and understands that the bedroom is a place to chill. he's only ever hyperactive or annoying when we go downstairs. in a way, the whole room is his "crate".

 

[klearskyz27]

@jacquiluvsjesus Free range.

 

[jacquiluvsjesus]

@klearskyz27 Like eggs.

 

[xsmbchunhat]

@jacquiluvsjesus Agree. Same with mine. He's spoiled but respectful. Could never crate him even for an hour. I feel too horrible

 

[stainlessea]

@laure Just consistency. Treats every time he goes in, I often feed him in there. I also crate him when I’m there not just when I leave the house. So he sees and hears me doing chores and gets used to not being the center of attention. And I regularly have to wash him after walks so he needs to dry off somewhere.

I’ll just add crating doesn’t have to be for every dog but there is nothing cruel about it. At 9 months we just say “bed” and he goes running to it tail wagging because he knows it’s just quiet time and not a punishment.

 

[kdudkey]

@stainlessea Wow, 8 am to 7am? So you're dog sleeps 23 hours a day! Amazing

 

[stainlessea]

@kdudkey Ha! You got me there. I meant 8 pm-7 am of course. Thanks!

 

[kdudkey]

@stainlessea Haha, indeed. A bad joke on my part

 

[astrid_liw]

@kdudkey Apparently people didn’t get the joke?

 

[hashleyg]

@astrid_liw Probably because the joke didn’t really have much wit to it. Maybe if the typo involved a grammatical error or something, it’d make the joke more profound, but the difference between 8pm and 8am? Everyone understood the typo, it was a low effort joke that wasn’t exactly “funny”

 

[astrid_liw]

@hashleyg Fair enough, guess I was just surprised by the downvotes, as opposed to just not rating

 

[carmen2569]

@astrid_liw it sounded less like a joke and more like someone being a smartass to me lol

 

[kdudkey]

@astrid_liw Haha, my bad joke was worthy of downvotes

 

[ringo123]

@kdudkey Puppies should sleep 18-20 hours a day

 

[schafer]

@sos2 It has been a long road for us but our 15 month old puppy is now at the point where she will sleep in until like 7:00 to 7:30. We started working on it later than we should have so I assume it’s not too late for you.

Our pup is gated in a nook area at night, use to be a crate but now it’s just gates and she will bark and just not stop to get up in the morning. So we started setting alarms for 5:45 or 6 when she would usually wake up. We didn’t get up until the alarm went off. Then eventually slowly increase the time. So go to 6:05, 6:10, son on. The whole basis is the dog understands that the alarm is what gets you up not then barking or scratching. So realistically in the beginning you want to be ahead of your dog so the alarm goes off before they start their antics. And don’t get up until the alarm goes off. No matter how annoying the dog is. Don’t try to push it too fast either and move up the time too quickly.

The other thing we did while we were working on the alarm training is when she got up, she went out and went pee, then came back in and was gated in a safe room and I went back to bed. Teaching her fun things aren’t going to happen the second you wake up seemed to help. Hope this helps