barking at 5am

[dana]

Hi, it has been awhile since i have been on the board. i have been so busy and have missed it!! our new doggie dee dee (about 6 months old) was doing so good in her crate at night, she wouldn't start her morning barking until about 6am when we were to get up anyway. now, she is doing it at 5 and 4am and it is driving us nuts. we take her to potty and sometimes she goes and sometimes she doesn't. so i don't know if she is barking b/c she has to potty or if she is just bored. our other dachsund, dexter sleeps with us. i wish dee dee could, but she is just to hyper right now to settle down, especially with dexter in our bed too. any help would be most appreciated!
thanks, dana

[Meemoo]

is starting to come up so she wants to be out. You could try using the squirt bottle or bang on the crate and say no bark and then praise her when she stops.

Good luck!

[DoxieLuv4U]

Well, I'd say that she probably has to go to the bathroom since she's only 6 months old and at that age they can ususally only hold it for about 6 hours...however since she was previously holding it an hour or two longer, I would guess that she just wants outta there!

Just remember that everytime she barks and you get up and let her out, you're reinforcing that behavior and it will enchorage her to bark more in the future.

I recommend using a penny can (a Coke or coffee can with 10 or so pennies in it) to curb her barking. Everytime she starts barking shake the can loudly and relentlessly until she stops. The instant she stops barking, you stop the shaking. If she even makes a peep, shake the can again. Continue this until the message gets across. For this to work you have to be prepared to be totally consistant with it. That might mean waking up at ungodly hours of the night to correct her, but two nights of no sleep is well worth being able to sleep peacefully from then on :) Also, you may want to alternate where you shake the can...sometimes doing it right next to her and sometimes doing it where she can't see you. I wouldn't worry about the noise startling her because once she gets used to it she'll realize it won't hurt her.

[dana]

thanks so much, this is a great idea. we are letting her stay in our room now more, so of course she doesn't bark when she is with us. she sometimes doesn't sleep through the night though.