I'm having trouble with my 2 year old chocolate lab. Within the past two months he has taken to waking up at 3am and whining/barking for food. I tell him no, sometimes swat his butt but no luck. Occasionally he'll go back to sleep for like 10minutes but then he's back at it again. I don't want to give into him but finally after him crying for an hour I gave him a ilttle foo djust so I could go back to sleep. Does anyone know what I can do to stop this? He used to be on a set schedule of eating at 6am and 6pm. I'm trying to get him back to eating at 6am but he's crying for it earlier.

Do you feed your dog according to weight ? Maybe he is hungry. Maybe the food you are using, is not giving him what he needs.

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Originally Posted by tickle

Do you feed your dog according to weight ? Maybe he is hungry. Maybe the food you are using, is not giving him what he needs.

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He's 85 lbs. I give him 2 cups of food in the morning and 2 cups in the evening. I have him on IAMS Proactive chunk. Would you recommend something else?

Maybe you could try feeding him later in the evening. One problem is that you have been giving in. Just like any child who learns to cry to get its way, the dog is doing the same thing. He knows that if he keeps it up long enough you will give in. Putting your foot down may cost you a lot of sleep, but as long as you let him get his way you probably aren't going to break the habit.

Another thing to consider is if he could have worms or not.