Desperate Mother Seeks Advice
 

My yorkie is almost two years old. We’ve had her since she was about 12 weeks old. She uses potty pads, and was GREAT with potty training. No problems at all. In December 2008, she started sleeping in the bed with us instead of in the crate since she potty trained so well. The problem: with her new found freedom of sleeping in the bed, she has a HORRIBLE habit of waking up between 4 and 5am – either to explore the house or to BARK LOUDLY and incessantly at miscellaneous sounds outside. She goes to bed about 11:30pm. She is NOT waking because she has to go to the bathroom. It is completely disrupting our sleep, so in the last couple of weeks she has been sleeping in the crate downstairs so at least she can’t run around the house, and if she does bark at 5am, I can’t hear her as well. My dilemma – each time I put her in the crate – she goes to the bathroom in the crate – both #1 and #2!!!!! She NEVER used to go to the bathroom in the crate and I wonder if she is doing this to get back at us for putting her in there. I don’t believe that she really has to go, because when she sleeps in the bed I know she can hold it until at least 7 or 8am when I get up. How can I get her not to bark at every sound outside and to sleep without getting up at 5am. How can I get her not to go to the bathroom inside the crate? (And by the way, she has never slept in a doggy bed. She disregards every one I buy.) It’s really getting very frustrating and I’m becoming very desperate. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

I don't know if it would help or not but my poodle has the same annoying habit of barking at every little noise.

The way to calm him down is to close the bedroom door. I've also threatened him with my deepest voice if he even acts like he's going to bark. He is doing ok that way.

Hope it helps

Thanks for the advice. We do sleep with the door closed, but she continues to wake up. I’m becoming sleep deprived. Oh, what I neglected to mention – once she wakes up in our room she will bark and whine until I open the door because I can’t take the noise anymore. I know this is partly my fault, but I just don’t know what to do at 5am. :(

Sounds like with her "new found freedom" she has become your number one guard dog. My Mia barks at everything too, even people walking on the sidewalk and Heaven forbid if they have a dog with them, She wants to go right through the window. I just tell her she's doing a good job and after she complains a bit ( she grumbles believe it or not) she quiets down and goes back to sitting on the back of the sofa keeping a "watchful" eye out for danger. Good Luck, your baby,s just doing her "job" Lila & Mia

She is an excellent watch dog, but doing her “job” is killing me. And she works OVERTIME hours! LOL

I know what you mean. Although it's not every night. We did start closing the bedroom door because Roxie will go nuts at just hearing the cats moving around the house. She'll bolt off of the bed and sometimes run right over our faces:eek:. Not a pleasant thing in the middle of the night. Do you have any fans or anything running that could help drown out some of the sounds she hears? Doing bathroom duties in the crate does sound like retaliation. She thinks she's protecting you and your locking her up for it lol! If you have to do this to get some sleep then maybe you can put her in a bathroom or something so she at least still has some room to move around.

Mine sleep in our bed as well. There was a time when they slept thru the night, but for the past year or so, TJ wakes up inbetween 4 or 5 am and wants to pee. Our bed is too high, so no going alone. He stands at the edge of the bed and does his "I have to go pee NOW - bark" and I get up like a dead zombie, carry him to the next room where the pee pads are, he pees instantly, I pick him up and we go back to bed....IT SUCKS ~ But he's gotta go, so I have to do it :(

But I know how the sleep deprevation feels...I hope you can figure something out :D

...I do notice that when we have the fan on, he seems to sleep better, kinda like a "white noise" effect ;)

My Samantha used to do this same thing my mom told me to get a pop can put some pennies in it cover top with duct tape. Put it by your bedside.... Tell her good job a couple of times when she barks (the old praise thing) Third time warn her onetime with single word eeeeenough stress the e part the next time she barks shake that can full of pennies , if she barks again say enough again and shake the can again..... I can tell you I only did this twice shaking the can the noise bothered her and she stopped. Every once in a while we give her a refresher course.....lol I think the pennies bother her the way her bark annoys us at wrong time!!!! Hope this helps! ;)