Please can anyone help with advice?

[ryefield]

Jojo has been here 6 months. In the first few weeks she was getting up very early and wanting to go out, but she settled down and would stay in bed to 7.30am or sometimes later. Suddenly over the past month or so she is getting up at 5 / 5.30am. At first I tried to ignore her but I began to realise that she really was desperate to get out. I've tried everything I can to keep her asleep for longer, I've put a blanket over the curtains to keep the room darker inte morning, I've tried feeding her later in case she's hungry. I put her pj's back on her in case she was waking up feeling cold.

I just don't know what to do. When she goes out it's not even like she has a quick wee then comes in. She does her wee, then she has to sniff around for ages.

There is a futon in the room where her bed is and I keep finding wet patches on it like she's weeing on that.

I will probably take her to the vet to rule out any health problem, but I do feel this is just a habit now and I don't know how to break it. If she needs to go out then I can't ignore her. I let her out then send her back to bed.

Any ideas? Ruling out health issues would it be cruel to keep her in a very large crate at night?

[jodav]

Oh 'eck that does sound early to be wanting to go out, ours start to stir about 6.00 and go out at just before 7. Does Jojo go out late at night, say after 10 for a wee and is she drinking more lately? I've got no experience of crates but at lot of people on here do say they work for this problem Also the wet patches you mention, I used to find wet patches on Tracy's bedding and thought it was incontinence but it turned out to be sweat - she was just lying in the same place for a long time and generating heat ;D Probably get her checked at the vet is a good first step. Hope it sorts out soon and you get more of a lie-in

Jo x

[Deleted]

I would definitely get her to a vet. The wet patches could be that she's incontinent when relaxed (asleep) and asking to go out early could be that she's needing a wee and in a less-deep sleep, she's waking and knows she needs to go. (Once she's up and awake I don't suppose she gives a second thought to you wanting to go back to bed - early morning smells are interesting ;D )

Mild incontinence is usually easily sorted with tablets but it can be a symptom of other things so must be checked out properly. It could also be something as simple as a urine infection and a few ABs will solve the problem altogether.

Crates are fine to help a dog to learn house-training, but if she's going in her sleep it won't help at all and anyway if she's desperate then she needs to be let out.

Hope it's soon sorted and you get your full night's sleep again.

[Sian]

Have you pressed tissue on the wet patches or sniffed them? Do they smell or look like wee?

I just ask as I thought Tallulah was seeing on the sofa when I first had her. It turns out she was actually licking it and saturating it when I wasn't there or looking. To start she wouldn't do it in company but as the years have gone on she is quite blasé about it these days.

It's worth checking rather than putting her on unnecessary medication.

Also, with the waking up she may no notice if is light but may be reacting to other triggers such as birds singing etc who are up earlier at the moment.

[ryefield]

It's really hard to tell what it is on the futon. She doesn't actually sleep on it at night, she goes in her own bed, but she does go on it during the day. I did wonder if she was licking it, but why?? Sometimes the wet bits are up the back of it (it's set up as a sofa) so it seems a funny place to find wee, but Jojo does wee like a boy and lifts her leg so she could squirt upwards a bit. The mattress is really thick so by the time I see the wet patch it's hard to get enough damp onto a tissue to see if it looks a wee like colour. It doesn't really smell of anything.

[samburns]

Jun 24, 2012 13:19:05 GMT -5 ryefield said:

I did wonder if she was licking it, but why??

My Sibs is a 'licker' - she sometimes (not particularly obsessively, but when she does it, she does go at it for 10 mins + ) licks at her beds or the sofa.....not sure there is a why she just does

[Letty's Mum]

Moose still sleeps in a crate (It's a home made very large crate, but he would happily sleep in the standard size crate we had)

When I tried him without it he would wake early and get restless sometimes. With the crate, I come down in the morning and he's stretched out waiting for a tummy rub before he gets up

I think he actually prefers it to be honest because it makes him feel secure.

Helen x

[Barneysmum]

Foxy is an obsessive licker and it does make patches that look like 'wee patches', would go for the vet check and also the tissue test just to make sure, as to stopping the early morning wake up calls can't help as Foxy is one of those too.

[jenjanjo]

I think this can also have a hormonal cause? ...but I'm sure its best to visit the vet to get all medical reasons checked out and eliminated and then take it from there.

[hollysmum]

Firstly I'de get the vet to check her out to rule out any health problem.

It could be she's licking. Is she drinking more water? Does she drink late at night? Could you take her water up after say 9pm until the next morning?

With it being light is she being disturbed by something outside?

[ryefield]

I haven't been to the vets yet, but on Sunday night she stayed in bed until 6.10am so a slight improvement on the recent 5.30's. Tuesday morning I had to get her up at 7.30am! Then this morning she crept in to my bed at 5.30am and went straight back to sleep and there was no dashing up and down the house which is what she does when she really needs to go out. I don't know what's going on!