YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post

exhaustedinok · 08-12-2008, 09:12 AM

My Bella (4 mo. now) is piddle pad trained, so I'm a little luckier in that respect, but she wakes up before me too. It started out with her not wanting to sleep in her own bed on the floor next to mine very early on, and she'd whine and cry for a long, long time. At first I gave up and put her in bed with me because I'm impatient, but then I realized I'd just have to suffer a few times until she got the hint that she wasn't going to be sleeping in my bed. It only took one night of real wailing for at least an hour, maybe more.....it felt like an eternity.....and one night of a shorter period of testing the waters for her to realize. She still whines for 30 sec.-1 min after I turn off the light, but that's it. She's just checking to make sure things haven't changed, but she gives up VERY quickly now. Same thing with waking up.... We started out potty training with using a crate at all times, even though at night she would use her pads and not have accidents. She started crying super early in the morning (2-3'ish a.m.) even though she'd had no water or food since 9:00 pm and had gone before she went to bed. I'd get up, take her to her pad--she'd go and we'd go back to bed. That got very old, very quickly!! Now, no more crate in the bedroom, just her bed again with pads in the corner. She used to whine at the bed when she heard me move around or heard my alarm clock go off and get "snoozed", but I would lay there until she stopped whining before I got up. That way she learned, whining = not getting what I want, and silence = getting what I want quicker. She still tests those waters and whines a bit, but she gives up quickly and lets me go back to sleep. If I wake up before my alarm clock goes off and am still and quiet, I can hear her playing in the floor--she still gets up before me, but she plays until I get up. I always make sure to have at least 3 of her toys in there: her favorite baby (plush puppy), her blue nylabone dental chew, and a rattle mouse (one she stole from my kitty--she likes to toss it and shake it!) She seems content to play by herself until she knows I'm awake, and then she lets me know she wants me to get up with her, but gives up quickly if I don't just yet. Good luck!!! Whatever you decide to try, it will take a TON of patience and perserverence. DON'T give in!! He'll get the idea eventually. Even if you have to wait for just a moment of silence to get up, don't get up while he's still barking/whining! Reward the good behavior (silence), and try as hard as you can to ignore him in the meantime. Don't move or even talk to him or anyone else in the room while he's whining/barking, so he can see that he gets no reaction from you with his behavior. If he's more than 4 months old, he should have the muscle control to be able to hold it a good 8 hours, and more than likely he just wants you to get up because he enjoys being with you.

08-12-2008, 09:12 AM	#17
exhaustedinok Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Stillwater, OK, USA Posts: 2	My Bella (4 mo. now) is piddle pad trained, so I'm a little luckier in that respect, but she wakes up before me too. It started out with her not wanting to sleep in her own bed on the floor next to mine very early on, and she'd whine and cry for a long, long time. At first I gave up and put her in bed with me because I'm impatient, but then I realized I'd just have to suffer a few times until she got the hint that she wasn't going to be sleeping in my bed. It only took one night of real wailing for at least an hour, maybe more.....it felt like an eternity.....and one night of a shorter period of testing the waters for her to realize. She still whines for 30 sec.-1 min after I turn off the light, but that's it. She's just checking to make sure things haven't changed, but she gives up VERY quickly now. Same thing with waking up.... We started out potty training with using a crate at all times, even though at night she would use her pads and not have accidents. She started crying super early in the morning (2-3'ish a.m.) even though she'd had no water or food since 9:00 pm and had gone before she went to bed. I'd get up, take her to her pad--she'd go and we'd go back to bed. That got very old, very quickly!! Now, no more crate in the bedroom, just her bed again with pads in the corner. She used to whine at the bed when she heard me move around or heard my alarm clock go off and get "snoozed", but I would lay there until she stopped whining before I got up. That way she learned, whining = not getting what I want, and silence = getting what I want quicker. She still tests those waters and whines a bit, but she gives up quickly and lets me go back to sleep. If I wake up before my alarm clock goes off and am still and quiet, I can hear her playing in the floor--she still gets up before me, but she plays until I get up. I always make sure to have at least 3 of her toys in there: her favorite baby (plush puppy), her blue nylabone dental chew, and a rattle mouse (one she stole from my kitty--she likes to toss it and shake it!) She seems content to play by herself until she knows I'm awake, and then she lets me know she wants me to get up with her, but gives up quickly if I don't just yet. Good luck!!! Whatever you decide to try, it will take a TON of patience and perserverence. DON'T give in!! He'll get the idea eventually. Even if you have to wait for just a moment of silence to get up, don't get up while he's still barking/whining! Reward the good behavior (silence), and try as hard as you can to ignore him in the meantime. Don't move or even talk to him or anyone else in the room while he's whining/barking, so he can see that he gets no reaction from you with his behavior. If he's more than 4 months old, he should have the muscle control to be able to hold it a good 8 hours, and more than likely he just wants you to get up because he enjoys being with you.