My 4 month old pup starts barking in her crate at 6am. For no reason at all other than she wants to play. Originally we thought maybe she had to pee so we would let her out then put her back in and she would once again bark straight until she came out of the crate for the day. When we put her to bed she goes out to pee then to her crate. She barks a few times then she stops and sleeps until 6am. I don't know how to make her stop barking. Whenever she wants out of her crate she barks. This morning she barked from 6-6:30am non stop. Eventually someone lets her out because she just will not stop. We don't know what to do with her. Any help or advice would be great. TIA

What time do you expect her to sleep until? My dogs are all out at 5:30. 6 sounds like sleeping in to me!

Don't EVER let her out of the crate when she is barking. Wait for peace, for even two seconds and THEN let her out. Maybe ask her for a "down" or even a "sit" first and that might stop her, and you're also asking for some manners. She is training you if you succumb to her wishes.

If 6 am is too early for you, try covering her crate with some fabric to keep it dark. Try letting her out 5 minutes later each day.

HTH.

Our dogs go to bed between 10-10:30pm and our other 2 dogs sleep until someone gets up to wake them up. They will sleep until 9am if we don't get up! 99.9% of the time they are up, out and fed by 7am. They don't mind at all. I haven't tried putting the fabric over the crate yet, but we will try that tonight! It seems impossible to ignore her when she barks! We do our best to ignore though! Thank you!

Agree with 'Trainer'. Be careful about what you cover crate with - we had a $1400 surgery once from pup eating stuffing out of quilt which covered the crate. Be sure there is something to occupy them in the crate- Kongs, balls, etc.

Also, I know some might not like this, but it worked great when I had a line that was barky. I'd treat and give a cookie "good quiet" when quiet. I'd give a little squirt of water and say "NO" when barking. Eventually even though it was in their lines, they became much quieter and we were down to treats occasionally with "GOOD quiet!".

I stopped keeping any barkers and hence no longer produce it.

I agree with trainer about not rewarding for barking.
You have inadvertently trained her to bark to go out. This can be nearly impossible to extinquish by simply allowing her to bark. And it is difficult to reward even the pause because of the problem of intermittent positive reinforcement. I sometimes try the method described by Trainer, and sometimes it works. But a confirmed barker, which you may have, sometimes learns to bark, pause when you get to the crate, do a couple of trained behaviors, and then go out. They do not learn to stop barking to get out.

Because she barked for 30 minutes (and you know it was not related to wanting to urinate or defecate), you might need to involve a trainer to look at all the ways you have inadvertently reinforced the barking and use all reinforcement (including eating) to get control of the barking.

Here's a few things I would try first. Move her crate to a different area of the house away from other dogs and the normal way to go outside.

For several days, get up really early before she has a chance to bark to take her out individually to do her duties. Put her back in the crate for a few minutes. Before she starts barking, give her a treat in the crate and then get her out again and take her outside for a few minutes. Repeat this procedure half a dozen times, striving to give her a treat in the crate before she barks and then her out of the crate before she starts barking.

Use all her food for training. Do not feed her outside the crate. Give all treats in the crate. You can ask for trained behaviors like sit and lie down in the crate. Make the crate a really positive place. Teach her to go to the crate to get a reward. Teach her to run to her crate when she wants to get a treat.

Hope this helps. This is a difficult behavior to extinquish, and you may need professional help from someone who can observe the problem first hand.

Very good point about puppy eating the quilt! That could be an even bigger problem than what we have now! I will not cover her crate with a blanket! She sleeps with several of her "favorite" toys but I still don't want to risk the surgery. She loves her crate, she goes in it on her own terms, she just wants to bark. She was pick of our last litter so we have had her since birth and this barking routine only started about 2 weeks ago and very quickly got bad. I'll be up at 5:45 tomorrow to let her out then back in, then back out, then back in. I just hope this teaches her not to bark and to sleep, not that she needs to wake up even earlier than she is. My only concern with this approach is that by getting up before her and making her get up will cause her to think she should be up even earlier...

I understand your concern, and honestly some very clever dogs do learn to get up earlier, but most do not.

Be sure to move her crate to a different location and take a different route outside. You are trying to break the connection that barking yields going outside.

Yes, she may love her crate, but she must come to see the crate as the source of all good things, especially food.

You might find it useful to look at some of the work of Susan Garrett who has a video about using crates for training. Susan Garrett was one of the first trainers to write about the importance of getting complete control of all the reinforcements a dog receives so that you can use those reinforcements to more effectively reward the behaviors that you want, rather than wasting some reinforcements on things you don't want--such as barking.

I wish you good luck and good timing and lots and lots of patience. Reducing barking once it has been reinforced is quite a challenging training task.

We've a couple of master manipulators where barking and crating goes. They are now 4 months old and sleeping in between 5 and 5:00 am now. It has been a real process working with these 2 pups of ours. It's taking longer than normal in crate training. I was putting the 2 pups to bed way too early...8:00 pm and so they'd wake me up barking this high pitched bark over and over. In the beginning of crate training, I would get up 2 times in the night to potty them and back to the crate they go...no snacks..only when I initially put the dogs to bed for the night. These 2 pups quickly associated snacks with going in the crate so they figured that if they barked, I would get them out to go potty then they would get another snack when I put them in the crate. I didn't do this but they figured it out early on and kept on hoping I would give it to them. Finally, I got sick of getting up at 3:00 tp 4:00 am which is the time they have graduated to the past couple weeks. I would put the 2 youngsters outside in their kennel run area by themselves until 6:00 am, my normal time to get up and feed the dogs and put them outside for exercise. They don't bark outside in the wee hours. I think they are restless in the wee hours and want to play with each other. As long as they are not barking outside at 4 or 5 in the morning, I don't care. Eventually, they will sleep in with the other dogs but for now, this is the solution. I used to use my vinagar bottle on these 2 barkers which helped. This was when I initially started crate training and they would throw a hissy fit with barking as soon as they hit the crates at 8:00 pm. The vinagar would shut them up till midnight then it would start all over again. I'm always afraid of making puppies stay all night long in their crates without potty breaks in the middle of the night..bladder infections etc. It's like being a mom with a new born baby, middle of the night feedings all over again when crate training starts. Wish it were easier but it's the nature of the hobby if you want to crate train indoors.

I know that you will find lots of people who recommend punishment to decrease barking. I have actually seen punishment increase barking. Remember that any attention is better than no attention. Especially avoid spraying things into and damaging your puppy's eyes. Vinegar is an acidic liquid produced from the fermentation of ethanol; the primary of vinegar is acetic acid in addition to tartaric acid and citric acid.

Just a head's up, this is not a puppy I would keep in my breeding program.

I certainly respect your decision. At the same time, I have found the barkers to be some of the cleverest of puppies. They have taught me to be much more careful about how I interact with the puppies so that I am not reinforcing behavior that I do not later want. With these lessons in hand, I have been able to teach puppies who might have become barkers to become obedience dogs instead.

Just because the puppy barks in it's crate and needs training? That is really a dumb statement!

She really is the smartest dog I have ever known. She very quickly learns new things, she is a genius dog. I think that she has associated the crate with snacks which could be a HUGE reason why she wants to get up at 6. Whenever she comes back in from going outside she runs to her crate for a cookie. I certainly agree that I have accidentally trained her that barking is good and I do think she barks for a cookie. If I stop giving her a treat to go in her crate do you think this will help break the habit? She seems like an alpha dog though, I don't know if this could have anything at all to do with her barking behavior. The only time she ever barks though is when she is in her crate at 6am. I have known many top dogs that bark incessantly, and they turned out to be a huge value for the breed. I will not be getting rid of her simply because she has outsmarted the human caretakers.

She sounds like our youngest boy & I know I have to be on my toes with him - he's VERY smart! I wonder if there's something going on at 6:00 that's setting her off? Alarm clock or ???? going on/off? Does she REALLY have to do her business then??? Good luck sorting it out and hopefully she'll outgrow it if nothing else!

I agree that she has learned to bark for what she wants. But I doubt that the cookie causes the barking. Going outside is a very powerful reinforcement for most young dogs.

I think you are correct that she is one smart cookie herself. Getting a cookie for just going into her crate is just too easy at this point. That's a kindergarten behavior. Ask for more. She's capable of learning much more and earning all the food she gets. Smart dogs at my household never just get food for easy behaviors. Even at her age, you can use all her food for training. She will be really happy to have the stimulation. Sometimes dogs bark because they want interaction and stimulation. Going outside is one kind of stimulation. But training is another kind, a very good bonding kind of stimulation.

I'd get that girl in training as soon as possible. She's going to teach you a lot about how you are inadvertently rewarding her for behaviors you don't want and how she has learned to do only a little for her rewards.

Punishment is definately the way to go. Jump in the room scare the hell out of that puppy, grab it by the muzzle and tell it "No.". Go hide, wait for the puppy to bark again and repeat the same process. If you do it the right way then the puppy will not want that kind of attention. A smart Labrador will walk all over you if given the chance.

Please know I am not advocating beatings or abuse. I am advocating stern punishment.

Good luck.

Seriously.. you can't be serious!
This is the worst piece of advice I have ever heard of.

and what happens if your young pup or dog is barking for other reasons, such as developing a bladder infection or any assortment of health related issues ? Would you scare the bageebies out of it then ? Your description of yelling and then hiding and waiting for the dog to repeat so you can yell and scare it all over again is a bit over the top sort of punishment.

I agree about vinegar hurting a dog's eyes. I adjust the squirt so it comes out in a stream, not spray and I get close enough so I hit their chest and below. It's the smell of vinegar they really hate. As I spray the barker, I say a firm no bark at the same time. Maybe this solution isn't for everyone but it has worked wonders for all my dogs when they bark inappropriately.

I do not want to jump out and scare her, I do not want to instill a sense of fear in her..I don't want her to become scared of her crate or the dark because I kept screaming and jumping and grabbing at her! It is very possible that the other dogs get up and move around, causing her to wake up and bark, but if that is the case, how do I stop it?

Can you move her crate to where the other dogs aren't??? Might help you eliminate this possibility but if she's used to others around, it might create another issue. Just some thoughts. How has she been doing the last few days with you getting up earlier?

OP...I was referring to the other poster who gave you the advise of yelling and scaring your dog to stop barking. I don't agree with yelling and scaring a dog into shutting up.
Have you tried a bark collar on her at night time ? Just a thought as a last resort.

Unless I missed something along the way....this girl isn't barking all night....just early in the a.m......right?

First off I would consider at 4 months she is still just a baby and learning about life. Finding out why she is barking would be the first step. I bet she is bored, and wants up to play. Maybe finding something like a stuffed kong to give her, or a safe chew bone to keep her entertained, if indeed the barking is not to have to go outside to relieve herself. My puppies sleep in my room where they can see me until they are at least 6 months old, since they start out that way from the beginning- they learn to sleep or play quietly until I get up out of bed. As I tell my puppy families, learning the difference in the bark is important...much like learning your babies cry. If they have to go out I want to know, and not wake up to a mess in the crate. If it is an attention seeking bark, you need to ignore it and not reward the behavior- no matter how irritating it maybe. Harsh methods or scaring her, may end up causing more problems and unwanted behavior for the future. The next step would be to teach her to bark on command, after she fully understands to bark when asked- you can teach her "no bark" or "quiet" I've even taught "quiet bark" which is more a whispered bark. In other words, teach the wanted behavior and it is in two parts. To do it right it is going to take some time and work on your part, there is no easy fix.

She has been very frustrated with me the last few days. I ignore her, and finally convinced everyone else to do the same, and she goes mental. I can't hide in my bedroom all day so when I do getup at 7 and she is still barking I just walk right past her crate and do what I need to do. I don't look at her crate or anything and she barks like crazy and starts jumping. I think she did get the picture a bit this morning, but I'm not getting my hopes up yet. As soon as she did not bark, whimper or anything for a solid 2 minutes I did let her out. Hopefully this is starting to work?

Just what we do here but I would never even let that barking get started b/c we get them tired enough during the day and bedtime isn't until 11:00 and then we are all up and puppies out of their crate before 6am. That goes on for the first few months. I have 2 now that are 10 weeks old.

I would "beat her to the punch" and get her out *before* she starts to bark. It's like dealing with a newborn infant--what you count as "sleeping through the night" might not be from 10pm to 7am..you have to let them grow up a bit first.

Just my take--I would let it become a stressful problem.

opps...I meant I *wouldn't* let it become a stressful situation. :)

Personally I think 2 whole minutes of quiet is a long time if she is barking continually. I might start with shorter intervals and quickly increase the time as she is SUCCESSFUL and has the opportunity to be correct in her behavior.

JMHO>> otherwise you can't get enough "correct" behavior to build on.

Whenever you try extinction (avoiding undesired behavior), you should expect an "extinction burst," meaning an increase in the undesired behavior. She
simply tries harder and longer at the behavior which worked in the past to get your attention. If you
persist in ignoring the undesired behavior through the
extinction burst, you will begin to see a decrease in the behavior. However, be aware that ANY reward of the undesired behavior by good or bad attention will
keep the undesired behavior going longer. Kate

The puppy needs to be let out of the crate 1ST THING in the morning. Forget this not being able to hide in your room and coming out at 7 and doing what you need to do while ignoring a barking pup who had been in a crate all night. Get up and let your puppy out. Why get into a "pissing contest" with your puppy? You are the human, you are the adult. Put the puppy to bed late and have her tired and get up early and let her out. Problem solved.