Teatime too early?

[dumbbird7]

Jack is 18 weeks old.  He has main meal at breakfast, smaller one at noon and very light snack at 4pm.

He sleeps well until the early hours, 2 or 3am, then wakes me up.  I take him to the garden where he performs.  Daytime wees and poo time not a problem.

Last night, he woke me again an hour later, out we went again, but no performance this time.

I am wondering:-

Is his teatime too early?  I set it early to give him time to 'unload' before bed.

However perhaps tea time is too early?

And if so, should I give a couple of biscuits at bedtime to tide him over?

Successful nighttime toileting itend to be a little sporadic.  I always stand out in the wet and dark with him before bedtime 10.30ish, until the Deed is done, and I must say he is quite conscientious about this emptying business as a rule. I don't comment  if I have to clear up in the morning, like it's no big deal. 

[Mandy1961]

Our pup Harry is 21 weeks old, I feed him 6.30 am, 12 noon and last meal 4.30 pm. All meals are the same size. He has a chew or a few biscuits at 6 when we have our meal. He poops after each main meal. He is very energetic and gets sleepy around 8.30 pm and goes in his crate 9.30 where he sleeps till 6 am the following morning. When he was younger he never had anything to eat after 5 because he was pooping in his crate at night. He is always hungry and never leaves any food in his bowl.

[GentleLake]

I've always fed puppies that age 3 meals of equal amounts equally spaced with the last one being around 5:00pm.

I suspect that with the combination of a sparse meal at 4:00 and nothing between that and breakfast that he probably gets pretty hungry during the night.

[ShellyF]

If he’s not doing anything when he woke you again then he may not need to do anything when he wakes you the first time. 

If I were to take mine out he would wee (because I have mistaken his crate rattling for wanting to go out) but it’s normally boredom or if he can hear me (visiting the toilet for example) that makes him rattle his crate  

Try and ignore him for a bit so that you can stagger the time bit by bit until he goes right through. 

We feed ours at 5pm but I save a handful of kibble for his ‘go in your kennel’ treat at about 10pm. 

[dumbbird7]

Thanks for all these replies.  Last night I fed at 5pm having given equal sized meals for brekka and lunch.  Just before bedtime, he had a Bonio.  I was called out during the night, #1 & 2 performed then slept until 5.30am.  We don't heat the bedroom so perhaps he woke up feeling a little chilly.  Anyhow will take advice and see how it goes.

18 weeks old today, 11.6k.  Most of this must be legs!  Old dog keeps asking when it's going home.  Haven't the heart to say...

[Mandy1961]

13 hours ago, dumbbird7 said:

Thanks for all these replies.  Last night I fed at 5pm having given equal sized meals for brekka and lunch.  Just before bedtime, he had a Bonio.  I was called out during the night, #1 & 2 performed then slept until 5.30am.  We don't heat the bedroom so perhaps he woke up feeling a little chilly.  Anyhow will take advice and see how it goes.

18 weeks old today, 11.6k.  Most of this must be legs!  Old dog keeps asking when it's going home.  Haven't the heart to say...

Yes, Harry is the same, a couple I spoke to yesterday were laughing at his legs.

i think they get into their habits. I am lucky that my husband has a lot of patience with Harry and will stay in the garden with him at night until he has had 1 and 2. 

He has also had a growth spurt, his chest and rib cage seem to be bigger. He does not like the car so I have to pick him up, dont think I can do that for much longer as he getting heavy.

[Smalahundur]

My dogs prefer coffee.

[jami74]

I could have sworn our boy barked twice at 4am this morning, his way of asking to go out, but when I went down he was snuggled up in his crate (by choice, we took the door off) and barely lifted his head to look at me. I don't know if he barked in his sleep or if I dreamt it.

[dumbbird7]

Mandy, you say your boy has had a growth spurt - Jack seems to be throwing out his chest too, quite the macho feller-me-lad.  The seams in his coat stand out now, just as if the pattern pieces were sewn together in the designer stage.

The meal situation has been altered now and seems to be working better - big breakfast, small lunch, large dinner Binio about 10 before bed.  Sleeps till 5.30 or 6 if we're lucky. So not 3 full meals, but slightly more than 2.  

Is there any particular reason he doesn't like the car?  I dreaded the thought that my new dog would hate the car.  One dog I had may years ago wouldn't get in the car at all.  Perhaps because in the boot they can't see anything and get car sick.  Anyhow I put tiny chunks of cheese on the back seat, this led him in and he tolerated the ride.  At the end of the walk, he found yet another morsel of delight to get him home again!  After about a week of this, he just loved the car!!  Bribery and corruption - I'm all for it.

These days, Cathedral City cheese sells mini bags of tiny chunks I find handy for bribing, or just as a reward. Makes a change from the vets treats.