Barking/whining At 5:30Am - Anyone Cracked This?

[Guest straygoat]

My grey barks and whines at 5:30am (if not earlier) every single day. It is becoming a bit of a problem, as the only way I can get her to stop peeing in the house at night is to take her out at 11pm or later, so I'm not getting enough sleep. She doesn't need to go out at 5:30 - I let her out and 9 times out of 10 she goes out and comes straight back in again. She just wants us all up out of bed so we can take her out for a walk. With winter approaching, it is going to be worse as we need to wait until it is light in the mornings. If she isn't barking at us, she is barking at our other dog to wake up.

Anyone got any tips on how to teach her to be patient? Has anyone cracked this? (And yes, I realise we have a diva on our hands).

[cleptogrey]

mmm.....sounds like life with a young baby from what i remember. i would let her out, make sure she pees and put her back in her crate with a sheet over it. go back to bed, even if it's for a short period of time. don't say a thing to your dog. this is what 2 am feeding with a newborn were like. low ligh(nite light)t in the room, not a sound, just utility feeding but no sheet over the crib- lights out.

 

eventually your dog will start sleeping a little more, for some it takes a while for the track habit to be broken. if you don't use a crate at night then try using one and no salutations what so ever when she needs to go out. keep up the 11pm or even later turn out. you can also try letting your dog sleep with you especially during the cooler months. it works keeping them warm. try both....something is bound to work!

[GeorgeofNE]

My first tip is buy a flashlight, because "we need to wait until it's light out" is easily rectified! My dog is 100% leash walked, and I get up at 5 AM. It's already dark out in the morning. They make fantasticly bright, very small LED flashlights these days, easy to hold in your hand and 100% solves the "it's dark out" issue!

 

There are loads and loads of threads on this topic because it's a common problem when greyhounds are new to home life.

 

Is she new?

 

Now that you know she doesn't have to go, the only way to really deal with this is to stop responding. At all. Maybe tell her one time, "Not yet, go to bed" or something, and then you just have to ignore her. I know that is really, really hard. But it's just like a bratty kid. If you keep giving in when they demand something that it isn't time for, they'll just keep demanding it, and maybe even start demanding other things you don't want to give!

 

My first hound had a 4:30 internal clock. I let him get away with it for the first month, and then I told him "that's it pal" and simply refused to take him out until wake up time (which sadly wasn't that much later!). It was a tough couple of days, but it worked.

[Houndtime]

Miss Shine used to get up very early for a while. She is crated, but, she would whine and whine. I would get up, take her out and put her back to sleep. Sometimes I would shush her and she would stop.

 

The dog sitter told us that Shine gets up at 3:30 to go out and pee. She never does that with us.

 

She now gets up between 6:30 and 7:30. It is better, but not exactly the 8:30 I would prefer. This didn't answer your question, but, I am letting you know, you are not alone.

Edited September 16, 2017 by Houndtime

[EllenEveBaz]

Have not had this problem personally but I feel your pain. A different suggestion I've heard that has been successful for some people is using the alarm clock. Set it at 5:30 now since that's when she's waking up and do your regular morning routine. Then set the alarm 10 mins later each day until you reach your desired time. Dog's attempts to begin the day before the alarm are to be met with either silence or a stern "Go back to sleep." Word is that it takes most dogs about a week to associate alarm with "it's ok to get up now." And get yourself some really good coffee.

[Guest cyndisue]

I have had two that woke me up daily in the 5-5:30 range. I made sure I had my phone handy- ignored, waited for a pause in the whining/barking, made my alarm go off and then started the day with praise and the regular routine. Increased the amount of quiet time needed as well as the ignored time (example, day 1, ignored whining until 5:15, 5 second pause in whining, alarm, start day. day 2- repeat. Day 3 ignore until 5:25, waited for pause of 10 seconds, alarm, start day...). Process took around two weeks both times. I don't know how long I kept the alarm thing going but for at least a month I always made sure an alarm went off before the day started. In general, I wake up without an alarm...but whenever I have to set one, all three of my dogs (2 greys and the best mutt in the universe) get really excited- they definitely know alarm means time to go to the bathroom, get breakfast and get loved on! Both of my early risers caught on pretty fast. May need to increase in smaller increments or repeat for longer than 2 days before changing things- all depends on how quickly they change behavior.

 

Good luck

 

May you get additional zzzz zzzzz zzzzzz!

[BatterseaBrindl]

The only way that I have found to cure this habit is to totally ignore them.

Totally.

Do not respond at all. Don't move. Don't even open your eyes.

It is really hard as most times the dog will not stop ... and in fact, the whining barking may increase.

Be patient.

Do not give in.

Your dog has trained you very well and it will take some time for him to understand that he gets absolutely no response to his noise.