Hi everyone! We have an almost four month old American Bulldog-Black Lab mix named Storm, and boy is she ever!

We have had next to no major issues with her since her arrival approximately a month ago. The only thing we’re struggling with are the overnight potty breaks. She goes to bed in her crate around 10:30ish and we wake her around 4/4:15 for a bathroom break and then back to bed. The problem is that most of the time she does not go back to sleep, but rather barks at a consistent pace and volume until 6am, which is our designated wake up and release from the crate.

I am concerned that she’s not tired enough to go back to sleep at 4:15/4:30 because she’s a lazy bones and has been sleeping on the sofa with one of us from around 8/8:30 until she is crates two hours later. We have tried to keep her awake with play time but she is incredibly uninterested and prefers to sleep.

What are some things we can do to encourage sleep from 4:15/4:30 until at LEAST 6am (7:30 would be preferred 😆). I should note we do live on a fairly busy road, and we believe a reason she’s waking at 6 is due to the increase in cars outside the house.