Barking early in the morning

[dave]

We have a 6 month old Cockapoo called Poppy and since we had her at 9 weeks of age we have been having problems with separation anxiety . Nights are a real issue as, although she goes to sleep well, she will wake during the night and bark, howl and whine which is disturbing us and our neighbour. From day 1 I have left her in her crate in the kitchen and have been hopeful that she might just grow out of it. Does anyone have any suggestions please? :

[JMFS]

As I was responding the trash picker uppers came by, which always sets Gertie off. I fed her treats right before she barked at them each time. Ah, barking, it's Lovely (sarcasm). I often wonder what dogs think of us constantly making noise and then telling them to be quiet when they pipe up occasionally!

 

Momo did the same thing as Poppy initially and the first night I slept on the couch near his crate, which quieted him. Putting 2 and 2 together I moved the crate into our bedroom and he was fine at the foot of our bed ever after that. When we moved to a new place he started barking early in the morning, right about when it started getting light outside. I threw a blanket over the crate and that netted an extra hour or two of sleep. He eventually learned to relax until I was up and moving.

 

Gertie, on the other hand . . . I'm just glad we don't have neighbors against our wall. She and Abbi feed off each other, and the whole time we are gone we can see them pace, howl, and bark. One thing that helped Gertie immensely was getting a pen to replace the crate. We were able to cordon off a section of the room and keep her bed in the penned area. We collapse it when we get back home since we have limited space in the office. She's much happier now, and quieter, but Abbi will still get her going.

 

Has the neighbor complained? As a neighbor of noisy dogs at many times in my life I can tell you it would have gone a long way with me if my neighbors would have been making Any attempt, whatsoever, to train their dogs. Had they told me, "give us a chance to get them trained, we're working on it," I would have had far more patience. One neighbor's solution was to throw the dogs out onto their balcony so Everyone could share in the misery. :mad: At 5 a.m. I'm not the nicest person. By 10 a.m. I'm rather cheery. It was at 5 a.m. that they chose to do this one morning and they got chewed up one side and down the other and Everyone got to share in that exchange. The sad part is that the rest of my neighbors thanked me and said they'd been wanting to do that forever. The owners of the little devils kept the pups inside until 7 a.m. from then on (somewhat in accordance to the Noise Ordinance I gave them a copy of). It wasn't bad puppies, it was utter lack of training and general consideration towards others. I don't understand why people like that even get dogs; they should stick with cats. Or fish. Or pet rocks.

 

Anyway, communication will Usually buy you wiggle room if the neighbor is grumpy about it. Knowing that it's a temporary situation relieves that tension, and potential confrontation. Even if they're not outwardly antagonistic, it might serve you well to let them know you're working on it. I've seen some ugly behavior from people when it comes to noise and it all could have been avoided (unless the neighbor is one of those who's just a hateful person all around - there's no appeasing those people). I've even read about people with new babies going around talking to their neighbors to ask for a little extra patience during the initial phase. There was one about a couple who handed out treat bags with ear plugs on a plane because they weren't sure how their baby was going to behave. I don't know how true that is because that would be costly for a Whole plane full of people, but it's food for thought.

Edited March 7, 2019 by JenniferM.
Polly is not Polly, Polly is Poppy!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi Dave,

Many times this type of barking can be solved by simply moving the crate in the bedroom or at least by the entrance of the bedroom. Anything that allows her to see you/hear you, perceive your proximity and feel part of the family. Many dogs wake up in the middle of the night wondering where their family is and then fall back asleep reassured of hearing their owners breathing or just anything that informs them of close proximity.

 

If your dog is far away in the kitchen, upon waking up she may feel away from her social group, her family. On top of this, if you get up to and walk into the kitchen when she barks to tell her to shush, you will have reinforced her barking which creates a habit of her barking every night just to be reassured of your presence.

 

If she would be closer, there may be chances she won't need to do this anymore or she may do this less. On top of this, dogs with anxiety need their restorative sleep and rehearsing their anxiety creates a vicious cycle. Howling is something dogs often do when they are away from their social group and want to reunite. With her family close by, she may therefore no longer feel a need for this.

 

Hope this helps,

Best,

Adrienne

[dave]

Hi Jennifer

 

To be honest the neighbour has been very understanding initially denying they could hear her until finally admitting it last week! Therefore there is no real pressure to resolve the issue quickly however we do need to sort it out at some point.

[dave]

Hi Adrienne, Thanks very much for your advice. I guess we haven't been thinking like a dog does! We had a Border Collie for 15 years who quite happily sleep in the kitchen so we had hoped Poppy would do the same but clearly not. Perhaps with hindsight we should have started her off in the bedroom with us and gradually moved her further away. Do you think we can ever get her to settle in the kitchen or should we accept she has different needs to our old dog? We have heard so many owners say their dog sleeps either on or in their beds and we are adamant that won't happen so hopefully, if she won't settle in the kitchen then the landing will do.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Cockapoos are very smart and social dogs who particularly love to be with their families (as many of the smaller dog breeds who were selectively bred for a good extent to be companions). Generally, with puppies it's a good idea to start with them in a crate in the bedroom (next to the bed the first nights) and then move them very gradually away if the bedroom is not going to be their permanent area, although most dogs do best sticking nearby if that is possible as they feel reassured by their owner's presence. It may be possible with time as she grows more confident (and steps are taken to help her increase her independence so to better keep her under threshold) that she may be gradually moved again to the kitchen.

 

Generally, sleeping in the same bed with the owners can be counterproductive in dogs who show signs of separation anxiety, but sharing the bedroom or keeping the dog nearby, can be a good middle ground that reassures the dog, reduces stress and keeps the dog under threshold-and of course, also helps keep neighbors happy:)

[JMFS]

Hi Jennifer

 

To be honest the neighbour has been very understanding initially denying they could hear her until finally admitting it last week! Therefore there is no real pressure to resolve the issue quickly however we do need to sort it out at some point.

 

That's fantastic! That takes a load of pressure off, which makes the training more fun. :)

[dave]

Hi Adrienne, Poppy had been in her crate for the past 2 nights and has been brilliant! Thinking ahead we don't particularly want her wandering in and out of the bedroom when she is eventually in a dog bed so, on the assumption she is happy to just hear us rather than see us at night, I plan to gradually close the bedroom door. If this works then the landing can be her permanent nighttime location. Do you feel this is sensible? Thanks once again for your great advice. Dave

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Oh, great! Good to hear, I was wondering about how things were going! Yes, your plan makes sense and it sounds like a good middle-ground option. Slow and steady wins the race, which means you may have to go very gradual in the transition. Although, there are also ways to train dogs to stay put in the bedroom and not wander around at night or they can transition from a crate to a larger soft play pen for the night if kept in the bedroom. The noise of a dog moving in a crate at night can be very annoying!

 

If she struggles with the bedroom door closed, there's also the option to install a baby gate so that she can still see through the bars versus a door which removes all the reassuring visuals and buffers sounds (many dogs feel reassured by just hearing their owners breathing). Calming aids such as pheromone plug-ins, calming music played etc. can sometimes also help with transitions from one room to another. Also, as Jennifer pointed out, a blanket over the crate may help reduce barking if there is light seeping through windows in the morning and awakening your dog which may trigger early morning barking. So you have several options there and back-up plans if things don't progress as planned.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[dave]

Hi Adrienne, Thanks one again for the very useful advice.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You're very welcome! Sends pats to Poppy for me,

Best,

Adrienne