We have had our ten week old flatcoat puppy for just over two weeks now and he is much better at settling in his crate at night. However, he has never gone beyond 5:30 am. Even if I've taken him out at around 3:00am he is still wanting to be up for the day at around 5:00. This morning he went from 11:45pm until 4:20am but, after he'd been out and had a pee, he wouldn't settle back in his crate. I thought that I'd been too hasty bringing him in and tried taking him out again in case he needed to poo. (This has happened before!) It was clear that he only wanted to play so I brought him back in and put him back in his crate. He started whimpering and went onto yapping and howling. I left him for about half an hour but no one in the house was able to sleep so I gave in a and went downstairs at 5:15 (having waited for a brief period of quiet before letting him out of the crate). He is now curled up beside me as I write having only wanted company. I realise that pat of the problem is the light mornings but I'm getting exhausted having so little sleep.

Any advice would be welcome - thanks!

I have to say if he's only 10 weeks and is virtually going throughout the night thats really pretty good,you sound very lucky.The last 2 pups I have had have woken me in the middle of the night to go out for a couple of months.As you say,it does get light about 5am so he really doesn't see why he should go back to bed.All I can suggest is having the crate in your bedroom to see if it is just company he wants and whether he would settle if he was next to you,at least just for a few more weeks before trying him in the kitchen again when he's a bit older.

i'm afraid your expecting a bit too much for such a young pup. my last dog woke up at this time for two or three months then things slowly got better as the dog could wait longer for the toilet etc.
have you tried putting him back to bed with a stuffed kong or other toys which are only given him at this time, so he hasn't had time to get bored of them in the day. this helped with mine, even if only for an hour. i at least had time to wake up and have a shower or a cup of coffee back in bed.
it's like having a new baby for a while and when he's had enough sleep thats it he wants company, even if he falls asleep again not long after you get up. don't forget he's used to having other pups company till he came to you, so in real terms he's actually doing really well.
it takes quite along time for them to get used to a routine and in time you will be able to go to bed earlier and get up later but this will happen over the next few weeks/months depending on the pup.
just keep going and a few months down the line you will of forgotten all those early mornings.

Thank you for these responses. it has certainly helped to put it into perspective. When I can take him out for a good runaround I'm sure that things will improve as he will be more physically tired. On the few occasions I have been able to take him to see friends who have enormous gardens he has let off steam and slept better as a result. My very small garden is frustrating for both of us during this period of waiting for vaccination cover to kick in. He has his second vac tomorrow so I hope that it won't be too long before we can explore nearby open spaces. The vet who gave him his first jab said that I should wait for a fortnight after the second one before going out. This was longer than I was expecting and wondered if it was erring too much on the side of caution: I'd thought it was about a week!

> This was longer than I was expecting and wondered if it was erring too much on the side of caution: I'd thought it was about a week!

I recently said the same to my vet when he vaccinated a pup that I had kept.  He told me that it was not worth the risk of parvo.  

However, I think that you are really lucky with your pup, and expecting too much of the babe.  All his playmates are gone, and you now take on that task.  I would definitely have him by the side of the bed to reassure him.

When you mention "a good runaround", don't forget that the actual walk should not be more than 10 minute at this age.

When you mention "a good runaround", don't forget that the actual walk should not be more than 10 minute at this age.


Thanks - I meant that I could take him down to the big open space at the bottom of our road for about ten minutes two or three times a day. Is that within what is acceptable for a growing large breed pup? I want him to have the opportunity to explore and stretch his legs without overtiring him and risking damage to his joints.

Are you waiting for him to wake up and bark before coming down to him?  This can mean that by the time he's woken you, and been outside, he's thoroughly awake and wanting to play - quite normal.

We found the trick is to get to them before they wake up.  Set your alarm for 15 mins or so before you'd expect him to wake, then you can shuffle him out and get him back to sleep more easily.  This works particularly well for the middle of the night calls.

That said, our boy was just like yours and once he was up at 5.30 ish he was just too restless to go back to bed.  I solved it by taking him to sleep on the sofa with me until the kids got up at 7.15am.  He was 6 months before he could sleep later 6.30am so the sofa ritual continued til he was too big to fit properly!!

For the first few months I felt like a sleep deprived new parent.  We had to go to bed early to compensate and would take it in turns to get up to him.  It's a comparitively short period of time but the first few months genuinely felt like years.  I used to have an afternoon sleep as well...