losing the plot - early morning wake up calls

[harrie]

hi all,

in the last couple of weeks, the lovely Wendy has decided she doesn't want to sleep through the night any more, and it's much more fun to wake up at 5am wailing and crying to be taken out.

I've had her and Ronnie for almost 10 months (they are 6 and 6 1/2), and the first few nights were similar but she settled down a treat. Ronnie happily snoozes through no problem, and always has done, but Wendy is a bit more troublesome (in many ways ;D).

I've just moved house, and will soon have next door neighbours - currently the house is empty but it won't be forever, and the walls are paper thin.

This morning she was awake at 3.25am and it's getting a bit too much to cope with. I'm up at 6am most days and I've just been ill, so really need my sleep at the mo. I'm going back to bed after I've walked them but it's not really enough.

We now live just north of Glasgow, and I'm still in weather shock after 10 years in sunny Essex. It was honking it down last night and this morning, and because I don't yet have a secure garden gate, it's on-lead walks for toilet trips.

*** not for if you're eating ***

They are both fed once a day, in the evening. They're on Country Value which they have always tolerated fine. I've stuck to this as my last boyhound was OK with it too. Both have their main poo in the morning and everything is a good consistency.

A couple of things I can think of:

The last bag of CV we've had has had bigger pellets than normal - could this be upsetting her?

Should I feed her twice a day? Really reluctant to do this although I know it works well for some.

Am i just letting her get into a pattern? I'd rather she squeaked than just messed (especially as I now have floorboards...eurrghh if any accidents happen!) but she's not always going straight away when we go out, so I'm not sure how desperate she really is.

Both seemed to have settled well since the move, we've met lots of other dogs and her barkiness seems to have settled right down which I am thrilled about (plus we've seen some far more ASBO-worthy pooches than her so I feel less like an outcast!).

I'm thinking of trying her with some different food to see if this helps, but just wanted to pick people's brains in case anyone can suggest anything I haven't thought of...

Many thanks all
X

PS Here they are on their first hillwalking trip.. Wendy is in the purple collar.

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[Nettie]

You will find that many of us on the forum feed twice a day, I think its easier on their digestion, one of mine doesn't always want breakfast so on days he doesn't he just doesn't get any. Why are you reluctant to feed twice a day?What time does she currently get her meal?

[Magpie]

ie always been told that feeding twice a day is better for greyhounds as Nettie says better on there digestion

[ragsysmum]

Maybe she is just cold.....try her in PJ's or a coat for a couple of nights.

[redpoppy]

I was thinkin she might be cold too- Poppy wakes me up before dawn, which is the coldest time of night anyway if I forget to put her Pjs on
Sally

[wings]

Lela wakes us up early too when she is cold. You could try pyjamas or a housecoat, or keep the heating turned on a little.

By the way, your dogs are beautiful! I have a pair of black greyhounds that look just the same as yours, with their sweet greying faces.

[Emma]

Dex get us up at midnight and 4am on the dot

We put him back to bed, and cover him up, he goes straight back to sleep, so I presume he's cold. If he needs to go out, he is more determined to wake us (bless him)

Plus, I'm sure its now his routine

Emma x

[harrie]

Thanks everyone for the help.

Feeling the cold would make perfect sense - she had been fine a couple of weeks back, and when I first got them it was the depths of winter so she might have been cold then. There've been a few chilly nights here this last week, and the new house doesn't have carpets whereas the old house did.

I will get some jammies ordered and see how we go. Poor little mite, I wish they could speak sometimes (rather than just whine!).

Re. feeding once a day - both RGT kennels I've dealt with recommended this, and it had worked well with my old boy Bubble ( got him when he was 5, lost him last year aged 12) until he got much older, when we (me and ex hubs) did put him on twice a day as he couldn't cope with once a day once everything slowed down.

My mornings are crazy as it is, I live on my own and adding an extra thing to worry about would be less than ideal. Obviously if this was essential, I'd do it but I think there are other issues going on at the moment so will try the pyjamas as suggesterd. I accept it's better for them to have 2 meals a day, but it's just not practical for me/us at the mo. I've also tried to keep their routine the same since we've moved to help them settle.

Thanks again - and yes, I'm biased obviously, but I think they are gorgeous too! Poor Ronnie when he arrived, looked like a tatty moth eaten old jumper, his coat was awful.

He's buffed up a treat, all his itchy patches have gone and he is a proper loved boy with a home and a mummy who adores him. He's thoroughly enjoying a second (first?!) puppyhood, and is daft as a brush and twice as soppy. He's also a proven kleptomaniac, shoplifting toys from the vets ;D. Wendy has been piano glossy black since day 1 but is definitely a lot more troubled, but it means that when she wants a fuss I feel very special indeed! She is really settling down. I use a ZoomGroom on both of them for their coats (as suggested by folks from this site) and it's marvellous.

x

[harrie]

just a quick update - it's still going on, although she has gone through a couple of nights, it's been random and not attributable to anything specific..

I've tried putting her fleecy coat on, leaving a light on, leaving the heating on, and changed to feeding twice a day. I even tried Serene-UM (bit cheaper to try than Adaptil/DAP) but again this worked some nights and not others.

we had to go to the vet today as she hurt her eye poor little poppet. had a great chat with him, he suggested she may be hearing something people can't (e.g. someone going to work a few streets away), waking up and getting disorientated.

I also read on another thread on here that they had a neighbouring hedgehog that took himself to bed across a gravel drive around that time each night which woke their dog up, so this made sense.

he's said to try a quiet radio, but has also suggested an Adaptil collar or Zylkene short term, as he said it was most likely a habit she's got into and now knows that I come if she cries.

So I'll give it a go. Its' definitely not toilet related, as when we do go out, she is waiting ages to pee/poo rather than going as soon as she's out the door.

Fingers crossed.

[julies]

Well you are in foreign parts now LOL have you changed where they sleep? Are they with you or can they see you ? If not that often helps to settle them ... either have their beds in your bedroom or have a childgate on the door and their beds on the landing or in another room so they can come and make sure you're still there but can't get to you Whilst all the fireworks have been going on I've put a worn jumper in my dogs' beds so they can still smell me when I'm not here and that's helped too

Feeding twice a day is defintely better for hounds' digestions than once a day .. I work too and once I've walked my dogs (quiet boring and round the block on leads) I feed them then they settle down in their beds so when/if you can it's worth doing

Good luck and let us know if she's still not settling tho once she 's used to the new house and sounds she should settle .....


Julie x