Hi again,
I posted a few weeks ago because my new shelter rescue dog, Barkley, (a small-ish one year old lab mix) was having diarrhea in the middle of the night. Luckily that is all resolved now, thank goodness! He sleeps through the night, in his crate, which we keep in our bedroom.

Now he's started a new and annoying habit: my husband's alarm goes off just before 7 am and he watches a few minutes of TV before getting up. Barkley has started barking and making low guttural noises in his throat within a minute or two of the alarm going off. He will quiet down for a minute or so and then repeat until my husband gets up to take his shower. He stays quiet then (I'm usually still half-dozing) but then as soon as Dave (my husband) leaves the room to get the coffee started, he begins barking again to get out of the crate.

We've tried ignoring him and saying "NO" a few times, but he's done it for the past 3 or 4 days. Like I said, it's a new and annoying habit! I want him to learn that he shouldn't bark and shouldn't be allowed out in the morning until we say so! Should we keep lying still and ignoring him? Any advice? Thanks and much appreciated!

I am no expert, but could it be he needs to go potty first thing in the morning? Why not let him out to do his business and then back in the crate he goes. Just a thought from a new pet owner.

That could be it, but often times, he won't even go outside until we give him his breakfast!

If you give in and let him out and relieve himself and then eat, it will quickly become a hard to break habit. I am not sure how long it may take of ignoring hem. Dogs ten to be early risers. You may just have to live with it.

My two dachshund pups share a large kennel and what we do, as my husband leaves for work around 5:30 - 6:00 am, is put a large, heavy blanket over the whole thing at night after they get in so that they don't know when the sun comes up. They are quiet until I get up a couple hours later and let them out.

My dog recently began doing the same thing- we sleep in the bedroom with the door closed, and he basically has the run of the house at night- before I used to wake up and find him curled up sleeping right outside the bedroom door. Now, as soon as the alarm goes off, he's up and barking and whining- there goes any hope of hitting the snooze button!
I think I've made made it worse by responding to him when he behaves that way. I worry that he may have to go out, and I'd prefer to sacrifice 20 minutes more sleep to prevent having to clean up a mess when I finally drag myself out of bed. But now he's learned that barking and whining at our door in the morning gets us to come pay attention to him. Trying to break that habit by just ignoring him, so even though we may just be sitting quietly, wide awake and listening to him causing a ruckus, I try not to leave the room until he has quiet down. That way he learns that being quiet gets him what he wants, not barking and freaking out.
Haven't been doing that long enough to see any definite results, but I'll keep you posted!
Good luck!

Ear plugs?

No... kidding. But really, it may take time. He could be feeling uncomfortable. It could also be the alarm clock. He could feel threatened by this noise, and it may be making him aggressive. It could be many numerous things.

Try doing something different each night/morning to find out what the problem is. First, try the alarm clock. If it's a regular alarm clock, maybe buy one with a radio/buzzer alarm to see if that's what the problem is. If you already have one of those, try switching the setting to see if it's the alarm.

If it's not the alarm, DO try letting him out right before you go to bed. My dog sleeps in my bed with me, so I'm not quite sure how the whole crate thing works out.

Basically, change the environment around to see what's bothering him, and if you've done all you can think of, do more! No, kidding... but if really nothing works, then you might just have to ignore it...

Hope that helps.

To everyone who is responding now: please look at the DATE of the post. This thread is over two years old. I hope for the poster's sake, this issue is resolved by now. It is always wise to check the dates of posts you are reviewing prior to responding. When a post is this old, it is rare that the person who needs help sees your input.

True... I thought of that as well- but at the same time, I figured I'd give my input as people may visit the site and read this thread looking for help- even though the person who originally posted this question may no longer need assistance, others may be looking for input on this issue.

I completely understand the desire to help others, but when people who are new to this site have a problem, most don't bother looking to older threads for help. Most people are only interested in getting a personalized response to their problem. They may read the older threads, but they always post their own "unique" situation asking for, and expecting, help. You did it with your own question. ;) As you get used to this website, you will see what I am talking about. We are not encouraged by administration to continue adding responses to old threads. These older posts knock the newer ones out of the priority position.

If you have any questions as to how this site works, please click on the faqs section at the bottom on the main page, or the link in my signature. You can always PM me as well. I am always happy to help.

I'm no expert but he might be barking because the alarm goes off so he might think that he lets his alarm off. And he might also have to go to the bathroom, and if he won't go outside until he eats, get your husband to take him down while he gets his coffee so your pup can eat then let him out and that might resolve your problems.


DogLover62