How to Stop Your Dog from Waking Up Early
When a dog decides to rise before the morning alarm goes off or before the Sun is even up, everyone in the household can suffer. There are ways to stop your pet from rising before the crack of dawn. With some planning and advance preparation, your dog can sleep like a baby through sunrise and into the morning hours.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Wear your dog out before bedtime. Make sure your dog is exhausted before he goes to sleep. Play with dog toys in the backyard, go for a walk or simply play in the house.
-
2
Feed your dog as close as possible to bedtime. The later your dog eats his last meal and gets his last drink, the less likely he is to wake up because of hunger.
-
-
3
Take your dog out for his last bathroom break right before bed. Allow at least 15 minutes between your dog's last feeding and his last bathroom opportunity.
-
4
Cover your dog's crate with a blanket so he cannot see outside light. You should also close the drapes in the bedroom or cover any windows so the Sun does not shine in early in the morning.
-
5
Play classical music softly or turn on a white noise machine once your dog goes to sleep. The music or white noise will block out any background noise that might wake him up too early.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If these tips do not work, have your dog checked by a veterinarian to make sure there is not a medical condition, such as a urinary tract infection. You can attempt to train your dog to wake up at a specific time by setting your alarm for five minutes before his normal waking time. Get up when the alarm goes off. Repeat this for a week. The next week, set the alarm for five minutes later and repeat the process. Continue this until your alarm is set for the time you want to get up. Your dog should learn that he wakes up when the alarm goes off and not before that.
References
- Photo Credit Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Getty Images
