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Pupp waking up early

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hi everyone this is my first time posting and my first time as a dog owner. i have a question in regard to bedtime/early morning routines.

We got our cocker spaniel at 8 weeks old she has been going to bed in her crate at around 11 ish after a good play to tire her out. she has been sleeping trough to the morning with no noise in the night till around 6.30 in the morning when she starts whimpering so i go downstairs to let her out of the crate to wee, then i stay up and play with her before the kids wake up for school etc.. but now she has started waking earlier and earlier at around 5-5.30. if i dont go to her the whimpers change to a yelping, i dont know what to do for the best as we have neighbours and the walls are paper thin so i dont want to disturb them. the kids are waking up early when they here her too so they are tired and grumpy too.

does anyone have any advice on what i should do??

many thanks in advance
 
Hi there,

Simple answer is to ignore her. That's it.

In the morning when she whimpers for the first time you will know that she needs the toilet, so the best thing to do, is get her out of the crate by picking her up (no fussing just hold her) pop her outside to go to the toilet, praise her when she goes then pick her back up (no fussing again) and pop her back in her crate. Reason for picking her up as if you let her run about she will think its play time and 5.30am is not playtime!

She will soon learn that it's time to get up when you say it is. If she whimpers again ignore her. You will know that she doesn't need the toilet as you have just put her outside so she just wants out.

She will catch on.

It will be a little tough at first but ignoring her is the best way to go. She will settle down when she realizes she wont be getting her way.

You must stick to this as if you don't then she will know that whimpering gets what she wants and then all sorts of problems will start to manifest over time.

Hope that helps :)

Sophie x
 
It's quite possible that this is either a behavioural boundary testing phase caused by her growing up, or she's doing what all children and most dogs do (until they learn better) which is that when it gets light that means I should be woken up and so should everybody else!

This will, of course, be completely screwed up by the clocks changing over the weekend, just like the body clocks of every baby and small child.

The answer to this is to teach her that even if she's awake she stays in her bed until you come to fetch her, which may take leaving some toys in her crate to occupy her, but essentially involves doing just as Sophie says. When you respond to whimpering, barking, whining or any other behaviour when you know that she doesn't need the loo, you are allowing her to train you into how you should treat her.

All behavioural modification training is a two way street. They train you almost as much as you train them so you have to decide which battles are the most important and work on them, whilst trying not to allow too many other bad habits to develop that you're going to need to train out of her later. This is one of the long term ones that once you get it sorted she will know for the rest of her life, which is really important.

It may be worth setting your alarm so you get her up for a wee when she's not actually protesting, which means that she won't ever get the gratification of training you to come when she whimpers during the night, but as Sophie says, this is a getting her up to go to the loo break, not an opportunity for play.

Good luck with getting her routine a bit better under control :)
 
am new here and am new to puppy ownership we have just got a 12 week old springer and are going through the same problem at the moment. we tried to crate train him (we have a large do cage) but he howls and barks for hours wakeing up the kids. so we let in and he sleeps in the lounge but early in the morning he starts howling and barking. i go down and let him out but he has either been on the floor or refuses to go out and then does it ihave tried puting him out side so i leave him again and go back up stairs he will carry on howling and barking which i try to ignore but eventualy have to go down to get ready for work and take the kids to school / childcare. so then he thinks he has won! he is aslo quite nippy and bites quite a bit especially my youngest. (she is NEVER left alone with him)

any advice or help would be great
 
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Same rules apply with you and your new puppy. Ignore him.

if you are able to get up in the night to let him out of his crate to go to the toilet and then again early in the morning, and then go back to bed that's all you can do. Hopefully this will ease the amount of accidents you have.

However if you keep him in his crate he shouldn't mess in there anyway, as its his bed and its rare (unless poorly or stressed) that a dog/puppy will mess in their bed, so keep him locked up if you can.

The barking and howling would be horrendous, but there is no way you are going to break this habit unless you ignore him. Even if it takes hours and hours and hours!!!!!

He already knows that he howls or barks he gets attention. You follow through and do nothing then he will soon get the message and shut up!

With response to the nipping, as soon he starts get up and walk off and again ignore him. DO NOT tell him off!!! if you go into another room and his version of play time will be over. He behaves you can go back to playing with him. Never tell a puppy off! they do not understand what they have done wrong for quite some time, so it benefits no one and you could end up with a puppy that fears you and really don't want that.

If he starts again, do the same again. Get up and walk off. Mine is 2 years old and when he gets a bit OTT that's exactly what I do as telling him off or bending over just spurs him on. The only way he stops is when I walk off and ignore him.

take your hands out of the way too. Cross your arms and when walking off make sure your back is to him and you make no eye contact.

Puppies hate being ignored and they will soon get the message that certain behavior gets them no where.

this will be ongoing so you must be consistent with whatever method you chose to try. If it doesn't work straight try, just keep going.

Another thing you could try if the ignoring doesn't get you anywhere is popping him in his crate and locking the door for quiet time. Wait until he has calmed down and relaxed and then just open the door back up again. You can repeat this as many times as needed to make him get the message, but to be honest this method shouldn't need to be used until they get to their teenage years.

Hope this helps you. if your still not sure just let us know and we should be able to shed a little more light on things for you.

Sophie x
 
As someone who has got a 5 month old Springer, am a first time poster here and a first time dog owner I think I'm on the same page as you. Buddy has been through all kinds of waking in the few months that we have had him, he woke up early every morning to start with 5.30 etc. Then he got later and later, I was shocked one morning when it was 7.30am and he hadn't made a sound, THEN he wen't backwards and started getting up earlier. We wen't through a stage of letting him out for the toilet when he first woke up then I'd put him back in the cage and go back to bed he'd howl for a few mintues and then settle, we thought we'd cracked it NO WE HADN'T a week later he wen't through a stage where he wouldn't settle once I put him back to bed, howling the place down until I got up.

A few things that I've learned in the this time are:

• Ignoring them is the way to go but it's very difficult when they are screaming the place down at 5.30am and your neighbours can hear them.

• Talk to your neighbours, explain you have a puppy and get them to let you know if it's too loud, better to show you are contious of the problem. My neighbours said they could barely hear Buddy.

• You own a working dog and you will have to get used to getting up earlier anyway. I get up at 6.30 everyday now.

• Dogs wake to the light and the clocks just changed. Black the room out as best as you can but remember the birds are tweeting loudly in the morning as well.

• She's full of energy and hungry.

A good technique that I used, and it did work, is that of getting up before she starts making noise. Sounds mad I know but hear me out. Get up before her, get downstairs before she has a chance to hear that you are coming, open her cage and and go switch the kettle on, DON'T MAKE A FUSS OF HER, be as BORING as possible, take her out to the toilet. Get your breakfast and watch some TV, remember boring, it's easy when you are tired. Do this for a few mornings and then start doing it later and later, 5 mintues later every day or so. You are teaching her that mornings are not a big deal, it's amazing and one day you will open the cage and she will lie there looking at you like "I'm not getting up yet"

It's not a magic fix but it establishes a routine for her and yourself, plus it's on your terms.

Well that's my first ever post here, hope it helps. Off to ask for my own advice now.

Tom
 
Thank you for the tips

He howls and arks so loadly ALL night if he is put in the cage , have tried shuting him in the utility room but he does the samething is driving me nuts don't get me wrong i knew it was going to be hard

all but one of my friend that have dog said they gave in and let the dog upstairs i really dont want to do that. the other one said they put her in a cage and she howl for a while and has been great ever since (so not fair).

He has just started waking ar 2am i get up put him outside then go back to bed and then he howls and barks till about 4 then he calms down them starts again at 5.30!!

was hoping to hear from a springer owner " dont worry it will get better" though tom!!

Am sure it will be worth it he is a lovely dog during the day.

It looks like i will have topersevere with the advice on here and pray he lets me have a lie in until 7 would be good once in a while!

thanks
 
If you have him in a crate, then that's the best place for him. Shutting him in a room on his own will not work at the moment you have to build this up gradually.

To summarise:

* Crate in your room, door open, landing light on. Do this for 2 weeks.

* Then, crate on the landing, spare bedroom light on, or a little lamps. Again do this for 2 weeks.

* Then, turn the lights off and keep the crate on the landing for another week.

* Then downstairs in a room of your choosing, another light in another room on, or a lamp or a night light. 2 weeks.

*Then, lights off and puppy should be downstairs permanently.

if you need to get up in the night, pick the dog up no fussing put them outside to do their business, pick back up and put straight back in the crate no messing about. You let him walk, he will start running around thinking its play time.

I hope this has been useful for you!

please do give this a whirl if you can, as even though its quite a long drawn out process it will be easier this way to crate train your dog and have him more settled of a night time, and during the day when you have to pop out or are at work.

Good Luck!

Sophie x
 
lexyloo said:
was hoping to hear from a springer owner " dont worry it will get better" though tom!!
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Buddy is pretty good now at 5 months, he's been waking up at around 6.30am, however the last few days it's more like 6am, luckily nowadays he is a lower toned bark every so often rather than high pitched constant howling. I leave him barking to teach him to wait til 6.30am at which point I get up and take him out round the block for training with is breakfast as treats. Tomorrow (Saturday) he will no doubt wake at 6am and start barking but I know that I can let him out for a wee and then I can leave him downstairs loose and he will go back to sleep on his other bed in the living room, I can then go back to bed until I feel like getting up.

A puppy's attitude is "you can sleep when you are dead, but I can sleep when you don't want me to"
 
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