[cos]

He's whining because he has to pee. His body likely wakes him and tells him he has to pee, and it likely happens around that time. I'd take him out and then go back to bed and ignore him and tell him to lay down.

Cosmo used to whine at the door just to move around and play and things but I ignored his whining after I knew he didn't have to potty and now he will sleep in until 1pm if I want him to!

Feed him when you're up for good to avoid him being hungry mid day. 4am is awfully early and it's a long time to wait until dinner. Cosmo usually gets fed after his morning walk, so around 10 or 11am.

 

[cos]

No problem glad I could help!

I used to get so irritated at Cosmo's annoying ear piercing whine that he makes while I was trying to sleep. I just continued to tell him to lay down and ignored him and now he sleeps like a dream

 

[cos]

It's so hard as I have a special needs child that I have to sleep with in order to get sleep. I don't want him waking her up, so can't just ignore him.
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Look into crate training and crate him outside of the room like in the livingroom. You just have to set an alarm and wake up at 4 to take him out to pee because his cries won't remind you.

 

[cos]

Welcome to dog ownership.

You have to put in the time and effort if you want the results you're looking for. It will be exhausting and trying but unless you want him to where he can sleep on his own without waking you or your child that's what it will be. I would suggest putting his crate somewhere that you will be minimally disturbed by his screaming like a room across the house

I remember sitting in bed at 4am crying because Cosmo wouldn't be quiet and I was so tired I couldn't even think straight but now he will sleep in as long as I'm sleeping.

 

[cos]

So the reason I wasn't crating him where I can't hear him was I thought it would create more or a problem with barking. If not, I can crate him downstairs where we won't hear him. I just thought I needed to get him crate trained first?
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First step is getting the crate to be a positive thing. Feed him in there, give him special treats that he can only eat in there, etc. once he sees it as positive, leaving him in there and ignoring the cries is an important step so he realizes that crying doesn't get his way. Like when you're training a child to sleep in their own bed, you just keep putting them in their bed no matter how much they cry or else they'll never learn.

Here's a really good how to video by a PR YouTube trainer named Gone To The Snow Dogs!

http://youtu.be/3uOmweA_iCE

 

[cos]

It's just important to know that since your dog has a history of waking up at 4 wanting to potty, you have to get up while you're working on sleeping through the night in the crate. I would also suggest making him go right before bed so his bladder isn't full before he goes in.

Adult dogs can hold it through the night if they're healthy. It may be he does this because he knows you will get up and take him outside. Cosmo would do this as well and I would tell him to lay down and he would. Then we would wake up at 9 every morning and go potty. It was better than 4!