OMG The Racket... !!!

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Indiana is now 5 1/2 months old, and a jolly puppy who loves the sound of her own voice. She barks at the air, at her tail, at us, at her reflection, and at the grass. You get the idea, LOL. She is extremely (!) loud, and her voice is loud and piercing.  Normally, having a dog that likes to bark is, well, normal...She's a dog, it comes with the territory.

However - she has begun waking up earlier and earlier...Even when we put her to bed later (ie, she should sleep longer) exhausted, she continues to increase her wake up time by about half an hour a week. She sleeps two rooms away through a thick glass door, but she is so loud that it honestly doesn't matter, it would still abruptly pull us out of deep sleep.

When she wakes up - she barks her HEAD off, and will not cease unless you come and take her out to let her to do her business, and feed her. We've tried just letting her out and sending her back to bed for a couple hours, but it doesn't work, she'll just begin the cycle all over again until she gets breakfast.

Does anybody have any tips on syncing puppy schedules to their own? I am so tired of waking up at the crack of dawn and having exhausted mornings because our wake ups revolve around Indiana - we are working young professionals and need all the extra sleep we can get and she is just OWNING us right now with pre-dawn BS!!!

To give you an example, last week she was waking up at about 6am every day with a racket of non-stop barking and crying - this morning, Monday, she woke up at 4:45 and would not stop. I let her out to use bathroom (she did both) and then fed her (attempting to prevent another yap fest in an hour). She woke up again at 6 incessantly barking, and then again at 8 (Which is our normal wake up time). We've tried to pre-empt the situation by making sure we get up about half an hour before whatever her current 'wake up time' is but it doesn't work.

I would love an alternative to a muzzle, but I've almost become okay with that idea as it's getting kind of desperate. I am also really worried about our relationship with out neighbors as we live in a coach house and have several houses closely surrounding us - I don't want our neighbors to have to suffer the same nasty wake ups we are and I don't want them unhappy with us.

Help!!! ?

[Meridith and Lola]

When I first got my puppy, I had her sleeping in the living room in a crate and for three weeks she would cry and bark at very early hours and wouldn't stop unless I took her out.  After 3 weeks, I moved her into my bedroom and her schedule got much more in tune with mine.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yes, if you put the crate in your bedroom you can correct her at the first bark.  Tell her sternly to lie down. I know some people even shake the crate to get their attention...I never had to do that.   I really think what you want to do is train her that this is not acceptable behavior...she never comes out of her crate or gets breakfast when she's "demanding" it....only when she's quiet and calm.  I think the muzzle is just a "band aid"...it won't teach her what she's supposed to be doing.  Even if my guys are awake they just lie there and wait until we're up...we always had them in our room as puppies so we could correct when needed.  Good luck...you must be exhausted.

[Sarah Bennett]

My pup is almost 14 weeks old, and with the exception of his initial wake up/I gotta pee bark (usually around 6:30 am-which he gets crated again after this until around 7:30-ish) and when he's out of his crate and stands at the door and barks, I ignore all other barks, regardless of how irritating they are (trust me there are times I just want to yell back at him!).  He is learning that I don't respond to his barking.  If I put him in his crate for any reason (such as biting or if he's being too aggressive), he does not get to get out of his crate if he's barking. 

I really try to respond ASAP to his initial barks for going outside to not encourage him to keep barking...sometimes at 6:30 am that's a little hard to do... but, I'm still learning, and Salvador does still bark at the most annoying times!  Hope things work out!

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I haven't had a puppy in several years but I am guessing it is more that she is lonely. Can you put her crate in your room? Maybe if she sees you she will be comforted enough to go back to sleep until you get up and are ready to start your day.

I had 2 crates when the girls were little so they slept in our room. Once they were past the point of needing to go potty in the middle of the night they slept in our room, crate door open but bedroom door closed. No accidents and they slept until one of us got up. I did make sure that my bedroom was puppy proof (no socks, underwear, chap stick, cell phone, cords, etc were all put in a drawer) so they did not chew anything inappropriate or dangerous. I did have a few toys that they only had in our bedroom which made them very special toys.

Good luck and I wish you restful nights and mornings!!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I get up around 5am on the weekdays and my 2 like to keep the same routine on the weekends but at least then I can go back to sleep.  I agree with the others that you should try putting her in your room to see if that helps. Oh and by the way, a muzzle isn't going to keep her quiet.  Muzzles are to prevent biting not barking because that would also prevent the dog from opening its mouth. 

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

Here is what we did with both boys (one is 3 and the other one is 11 months right now):

They slept in our bedroom in their small travel crate for a few nights (up to 5 I think) after we brought them home.

After that they slept in a wire crate (covered) in the kitchen downstairs. As they grew older, they slept through the night just fine, but would wake up at 6am or shortly before that. I think it was the light outside. What was interesting, though, both of them decided at about the same age of 5 months, that they do NOT want to sleep alone in the kitchen. Both of them would bark their heads of after being put in the crate to go night night, or whenever they woke up.

So I had to buy a dog bed in a hurry and put it in our bedroom (for the first one when this happened...I had a second bed ready for the second one since I knew it was going to happen sooner or later). I don't know if you can trust Indiana around the house or not, but it worked out for me. We put a baby gate between our bedroom door just because I did not trust the younger guy just yet....and because one night he had tummy problems, went downstairs and pooped all over the carpet. Nobody heard him go down, so I don't know if he tried to ring the potty bells or not. But the baby gate now prevents him from doing the same, and I'm more likely to wake up if I hear him pacing around the baby gate. But that's a different story.

Ever since both of the pups were sleeping upstairs with us, they were totally content. I'm not a morning person. My husband leaves for work around 6am, and before he leaves, he takes Auggie (the younger one) out to pee. Then both of the boys hop on the bed and sleep till about 8:30, which is GLORIOUS!

Also, I was wondering about your feeding times. If Indiana seems hungry this early in the morning, perhaps she needs a snack before going to bed?

In any case, I hope you get the issue resolved. I totally understand your sleep deprivation. :-(

[Pat and Traveler]

Take this with a grain of salt as I've only had one puppy, but Trav was fine sleeping uncrated on a towel by the bed even when he was 8 wks old.  I did take him out a couple of times during the night at first, but after that he would sleep through the night and I'd take him out when I first woke up in the morning.

No matter what, I hope things work out soon for you!

[Star and Goldie]

I don't have any advice but I'm sure all of that racket has to be frustrating.  I actually have never heard Goldie bark- not even once. She is almost 6 months old and I'm hoping that's in her nature but then again she might just be growing into it and waiting for the right time... (I really hope not though!)  Has Indi always barked or when did it start?

[Adrienne]

I agree with what others have recommended.  Although it is going to be hard, never let her out of the crate when she is barking like crazy.  This just teaches her that if she barks, you will COME.  I went through this with my MAX who suffered from separation anxiety.  It is a long, draining process but if you stick with it, it will be well worth it--NO MORE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS.  Good luck.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I am just wondering if you let her come back to bed with you after she goes out, if she would go happily back to sleep. Just a thought.

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

When Bailey was a puppy she would wake up and want to go out to potty. I would let her out and hardly say a word to her and then put her back in her crate to go back to sleep.  She started to bark so I went to her and hit the top of her crate and with a stern voice told her "quiet" and then walked away (she slept in the living room in her crate).  I only had to do this twice and have not had any problems since. 

Good luck and keep us posted!

[DJ & Chance]

I don't know the cause of the problem, but it may be time to consult a trainer. 

I too needed my sleep when my puppy was young--I have a very demanding work schedule.  When I finally let my pup sleep close to me, peace reigned for both of us.  And it has continued.