Right I need suggestions etc.

I have an 8 month old Lab that thinks it is very funny to get up at 4.50a.m. every morning.  Don't laugh! this has gone beyond a joke. Any ideas how I can convince her that morning is a couple of hours away yet????
Having been up several weeks foaling I am getting rather fed up of feeling like a hamster (nocturnal)
Have tried altering feed times, walk times etc but oh no as soon as it is day light we all have to get up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any ideas would be greatly apprecaited or a bed for a couple of night away from here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where does she sleep? I suspect you're right in saying that she wakes when it gets light -  try rigging up some blackout curtains where she sleeps so that it stays dark ...

Done that already even thought of trying her in some of those eye shades you have on the plane!!!!!!

the one of mine that is the wake up doggie is now getting me up just after 6am.  the nly thing I ahve found I can do is let them up, out for a pee and then go back to bed leaving them with just the kitchen and access to the garden.  They then stay quiet until 7.30 when we normally get up on a week day.

A bit difficult as my back garden is 100 acres on farm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't think I would see her for a week!    Now that's a good idea  Ha  Ha !!!

Hi Bella My Lab was like this, the only thing that we found worked was to have him sleep in the bedroom with us. I guess it is a pack thing and now if he wakes up he sees we are still there and asleep and turns over for another 40 winks himself.

Our lab used to be an early bird. I would get up, let her out in the garden to see if if she needed to go and then go straight back to bed. No fuss, nothing. The crying continued, but we had to just ignore it, even though we got no sleep and it was really tough leaving her to cry, but it only lasted a few weeks. What we stuck to, was getting up when our very noisy alarm went off. She's a clever little girl because before long, she would only start crying, once she'd heard the alarm. Now, when it comes to the weekend, we can set the alarm as late as we like and you won't hear a peep from her until that goes off!

Hi  I've just been in the same situation as you with my 4 month old westie.  She thought 5am was get up time every morning when we first got her but slowly each day I left her 10 mins longer.  I got her to 6.30 which was great during the week but on a weekend I found that if I get up at 6.30 let her out, feed her and sit with her for about 1 hour she would let me put her back in her crate for a couple of hours without a problem.  Maggie is very strong willed and last week we had a battle of the wills, everytime I told her off she would just be extra naughty I think she thought it was a game.  She started barking through the night so I rolled up a newspaper and every time she barked un-neccessarily I slapped the newspaper on the windowsill to make a loud noise and shouted quiet. I think I made more noise then her.  I just want to say I do NOT hit her with the newspaper its just to make a loud noise to get her attention. It worked within 2 nights she now waits quietly for me to get up, we even got to sleep to 9.30 on Saturday am. Since the battle of wills she has become more settled I think she has accepted that I'm top dog! It is still early days so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed the test will be this weekend when we take her away to a dog friendly pub for a couple of nights!

Maggie is in our spare bedroom on a night or when we are out,  as our downstairs is openplan. She has a crate to which I have attached a puppy pen so she has more space. I started off with the crate door shut and now I can leave it open so she can gome and go into her pen as and when she needs to.

You will find a way that suits you and your pop but with time it will all fall into place.

She is not in a crate but has the house to roam in as I have always done she always asks to go out and was house trained by the time she was 12 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!

I let her out if she needs to go then try and go back to bed and ignore her but she thinks it is her breakfast time and I feed my dogs 2 small meals a day instead of once as I found the digest it better and can control the weight better.
I have tried altering the feed times also but there must be a little clock in her head.

She thinks its a game but have started to get hard on her now.  The trouble is that she has boundless energy and you cannot tire her out. I suppose it is like some people, some need their sleep and others do not!!!!!!!!!!!
I normally get up at 6a.m. anyway so I just need her to go that extra hour.  If I feed her she will go back to bed but then it is time to get up anyway so I guess I will have to try and eek it out for 5 mins each day.

Our Lab likes to get up early too, but only when husband is home.  He was away for two weeks, I just ignored her the first morning and she never asked again.  I do insist that she make a foray out side before we retire, something he is not good at doing as she is already sleeping on our bed.  Do you think that would help your situation?

P.S. I meant the trip outside, not getting rid of husband.

Nancy I think some people on here may want to go for the option of getting rid of the husband as a solution :D :D The best solution is ignore and they soon learn ;)

Our lot get grumpy now if they are woken up before 8am :)

Lucy
xx

Yep tried that one had a roustabout and then to bed but she enjoyed it so much she wanted to get up early the next morning and have another go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She does not sleep on the bed but has a bed by the side of ours.
Have resigned myself that this one is a live wire!!!!!!!!!!!!  roll on when the clocks go back it may all change then.

We now take it in turns to get up and let her out but I will not relent and she has to wait for her breakfast.!!

Have you tried just ignoring her?  If making a fuss doesn't work, ever, she'll shut up and go back to sleep.  Might take hours of noise though, the first few days.

She does not make a noise just licks you to death!!! she is very affectionate, shut her out of the room she wines but we are trying to eek it out each day now!"!!!!!!