At the end of our tether

Well as you and dogs are asleep, you don't burn off the energy you have got from your meal. The enzymes in the stomach work slower and doesn't 'sort' the food/nutrients as it should, meaning it sits in the stomach for too long a time (which can be very uncomfortable) and/or gets converted to fat.

Doesn't all energy that has not been used up turn to fat?

Yesterday was a fabulous 5.38am today 4.55am but its early days yet. Thanks for all your help xx

So here we are 2nd day in a row where we have been up since 3am! On the upside I am getting 5 hours housework in before a day in the office!

Myka was like that for the first few months of having her. Turned out one of our neighbors came home at 5am every weekday, which started her off barking like a banshee!
She is 10 months old now and seems to have grown out of it and sleeps through the night most nights.
You have my sympathy, there's nothing worse than sleep deprivation, but coming to this forum is excellent. If it wasn't for the forum I think I may have gone crazy by now! Ive had some excellent advice from the members here, as I haven't owned a puppy before, my last dog 30 years ago was older when we adopted her.
Hope you get a good night sleep soon - persist it is worth it. I cant imagine our life without Myka now.

It is a hard one. I instructed my parent to ignore their lurcher Fern when they 1st got her. She barked all through the night. They then told me they had started to get up (of course she shut up as soon as she knew they were coming down). Once they started to do that Fern knew to keep barking. As a result the whole training took ages longer than it should have. They even phoned a behaviorist...who told them EXACTLY what I'd said...parent never believe their kids can know more than them do they?!
This is really hard but you must continue to ignore. Do not get up, keep to what routine you wish the dogs to have, food wise etc (I will add to the food part in a mo) but whatever you do, ignore ignore ignore!!! The moment pooch hears you get up he knows he will get attention so you must never go down to see him. As he is an older dog, not a pup things may take longer but you must persist. Eventually he will cease but only if you ignore him completely through the night, night after night after night.
Maybe it may help if one of you stays with family or a friend for a night or two then swap over just so you do get rest. My mother did this. It will help you feel better.

Food wise how often you feed is up to you. I know people who feed once, twice and three times daily. It makes absolutely no difference to weight. Feeding more than is needed and not exercising enough puts on weight. There is no real need to feed late though, 7pm is best as latest as otherwise the dog will need poops overnight! My parents feed last meal at 5pm. She gets her first meal after a walk in the morning so about 9am ish.
 I'm not against once day feeding but it can cause bloat in prone breeds, such as deep chested dogs...this includes Bassetts. Blood sugar can be harder to maintain at once day feedings. The levels will drop through the day and keep dropping until the next meal. If you end up with a diabetic pet it is impossible to deal with on once day feeding and I know a couple of cases where once day feeds contributed to making the pet more ill when they had other issues. I also think how I would feel only eating once daily! In this instance with this breed I would advise not to do once day feeds. Some breeds are ok at once daily but your dog is not one that is built for it. Note- Dogs who don't get much exercise could be fed once daily as they won't need as much energy...they also need less food.