I just got a new puppy. She's almost 5 months old, and we've had her about 3 months. She's been pretty good so far, but she just started doing something really bad. She's in her kennel in our living room all night, and she usually sleeps. Lately, she has been waking up around 6:00 and barking for an hour, and we have no idea why. We tried putting her out, but she doesn't need to pee. We feed and exercise her right before bed. We don't come to her kennel or let her out, because we're worried that she'll think it's ok to wake up early and bark. She never stops barking. Today, it lasted over an hour!
Does anyone know why she's doing this? How can we make her stop?
It never stops, and lasted over an hour? So how do you know she never stops? I am confused. If she doesn't have to go potty then she is just bored and the more attention you give her the more you reward her for barking. Just let her bark it out until she is quiet -- that is the only way to get her to stop. Don't talk to her, go towards her crate until she is quiet. She's just getting into early teenager stuff, good luck
Well, she wakes up early while we're all still in bed. Then, I don't give her any attention or let her out until she stops barking. While I'm eating breakfast and getting ready, she barks the entire time, and none of us know what to do.
Thanks for all your help!
You're on the right track. She's testing you because she is bored and wants out. You can get a large blanket and cover her kennel without giving her any attention to cut down on her stimulous as you are up and moving about. Just wait it out, once she see's she doesn't get what she wants she'll stop. This is called behavior extinction -- a behavior that is not rewarded eventually stops.
