Freester Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We have a 3.5yr old English Springer Spaniel who sleeps in our back room (blocked off by rest of the house by child gate). He is a very sooky dog and likes a lot of attention. Barks and whinges from about 4am to be let inside the main part of the house and for us to get up and give him attention, and need some advice on how to stop this. We have 2 young children who are sometimes woken (it's surprising what they'll sleep through), and a very grumpy mummy who is exhausted from early wake up calls!! Any thoughts on how to stop this behaviour without giving into him and letting him in the house? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We have a 3.5yr old English Springer Spaniel who sleeps in our back room (blocked off by rest of the house by child gate). He is a very sooky dog and likes a lot of attention. Barks and whinges from about 4am to be let inside the main part of the house and for us to get up and give him attention, and need some advice on how to stop this. We have 2 young children who are sometimes woken (it's surprising what they'll sleep through), and a very grumpy mummy who is exhausted from early wake up calls!! Any thoughts on how to stop this behaviour without giving into him and letting him in the house? Cheers Have you "given in" in the past? This will have an impact on how easy it is to solve this behaviour. Perhaps you could try crating in the main part of the house for a little while to break the behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Is this a new behaviour from him or has he always done this? If it is new,maybe something environmental like he is cold? Is it possible to crate train him and put his crate somewhere closer to you? What do you usually do when he whinges? Lots of questions for you! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freester Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 Yes we have given in in the past (my darling hubby is part of the problem and so the battle continues!!)... I now that he probably thinks his barking has worked before, so I'll do it again and get let in! We have never had him in a crate before. Maybe this is what we need to do?? this isn't a new behaviour. It has been on and off for quite a while, and we generally just put up with it - but I've had way too much of putting up with it now!! When he whinges we usually ignore it for a bit, then when he keeps going on and on we call out for him to be quiet. If it sounds like he wants to go out for a wee (different bark), we will let him out, then go back to bed with him still in the back room (not let in the house if we are not up yet). If things get really bad, DH usually gets up and sleeps on the couch without letting the dog in the main part of the house. This seems to settle him down a bit for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 (edited) Springers can be big sooks and love being with their family. They are also very good at getting their own way and we had to sit through several "protest" sessions when Em was a youngster As others have mentioned, make sure they are comfortable in terms of bedding and temperature. My youngster is crated in our bedroom, next to me. She loves going to bed (gets a treat) and will sleep in for ages - I was unwell yesterday and spent the whole day in bed. Mr TSD took Em out to toilet when he fed the cats and then put her back in her crate. She happily relaxed in there until lunchtime when she started to get a bit restless. My Dally also has a crate at the foot of the bed but it is open as he is much more trustworthy than Em. At 3.5 years old I wouldn't be getting up in the night to give the dog a toilet break unless there was a medical condition. Last trip outside here is anywhere between 9pm and 11pm and then it's sleep time. Obviously I would get up in the night for a puppy but Em can easily sleep through to around 8.30am now without a problem (she's 10 months). You need to create some rules that suit everyone and then stick to them. Give in just once and you will reinforce the behaviour, making a rod for your own back! By the way, photos are compulsory :D ETA: Just noticed this in your post: When he whinges we usually ignore it for a bit, then when he keeps going on and on we call out for him to be quiet. Calling out for him to be quiet can actually reinforce the behaviour....he got what he wanted....your attention ;) Edited July 18, 2011 by The Spotted Devil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 (edited) Yes we have given in in the past (my darling hubby is part of the problem and so the battle continues!!)... I now that he probably thinks his barking has worked before, so I'll do it again and get let in! We have never had him in a crate before. Maybe this is what we need to do?? this isn't a new behaviour. It has been on and off for quite a while, and we generally just put up with it - but I've had way too much of putting up with it now!! When he whinges we usually ignore it for a bit, then when he keeps going on and on we call out for him to be quiet. If it sounds like he wants to go out for a wee (different bark), we will let him out, then go back to bed with him still in the back room (not let in the house if we are not up yet). If things get really bad, DH usually gets up and sleeps on the couch without letting the dog in the main part of the house. This seems to settle him down a bit for some reason. Maybe your dog has some separation issues? Sounds like he enjoys human company and settles more when you are around. Where does you dog go/what does your dog do when you all go out? When we adopted our greyhound early last year she used to wake us up anywhere between 0500 - 0630. After getting our child to sleep in longer than this, now I was being woken by the dog! One grumpy mummy here too. I did the whole ignore for a while and then tell her off or take her to the toilet. I guess she was used to getting up early, but I wasn't ready for it. We had to completely ignore her until she was quiet, then go in to see her. We have worked out she just wanted her breakfast We also make their room (our dogs sleep in the study) nice and warm and dark. We are all much happier now. Maybe the crate (after training him properly) nearer to you would work better for you. Good luck, it can be very frustrating. eta - it took lots of early morning wake ups and ignoring (weeks) to get to where we are now, but it's worth it in the long run. Edited July 18, 2011 by harley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 (edited) My Toller has started doing this lately as recently someone in the house had a change of work time (0430) and he has started barking anywhere from 0300 for his breakfast cookie. I rugged him last night in his crate and all was quiet. He has never slept outside and has good bedding but it makes sense we are going through the coldest period right now. We seem to have more people in the street parking outside our house and going out/coming home at all hours so it may have something to do with it. Agree with the others though, you will probably need to go through a few nights of yapping with absolutely no reply from you guys in order to get a result from a smart dog. ;) Edited July 18, 2011 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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