# Puppy began barking for morning food, how to stop him!?



## the_grimace (May 8, 2013)

Our 5 month old rescue puppy (vets think he is a greyhound mix), has gotten into the terrible habit of barking in the morning for his food. The worst part is it's anywhere from 3AM to 6AM, but regardless it's annoying the heck out of me and my wife. (Future child training?? lol). We've always been proactive about not giving our dogs any attention when crying or whining, but when it's 4AM and our dog is barking loudly for literally 15-20 minutes straight, something has to be done. 

When we open our bedroom door, he usually stops barking (even though he can't see us yet, just hears us), but I feel the damage is already done. (reward for bad behavior) We'll usually feed him, unless it's still super early like before 5AM, and after he eats he usually is content to go back to sleep for A LONG TIME. (he'll sleep till 11-12 honestly...) Sometimes we just take him out for potty, and he is content to sleep after that.

But the fact remains... how can we get him to stop his incessant barking in the first place each and every morning?


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

Unfortunately, so far it sounds like you've trained him that if he barks in the morning, you'll get up.

I would grab some ear plugs and ignore him until he's quiet (even if that means getting up and going about your morning routine and leaving him in his crate), otherwise you're just going to be reinforcing the behaviour.

Note: It will probably get worse before it gets better.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Yep, at this point, you've trained him to keep barking. Your best bet is to really ignore him for as long as it takes to stop barking. Don't get up until you're ready to get up and he'll learn.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

Ignoring sucks, and is really hard, but is probably the best course of action. You could also put him to bed with a food toy to give him something to do/give him a snack later at night, or you could try to re-arrange your feeding schedule so he's eating later at night, at least for now, then as he gets older, gradually feed him earlier and earlier. You will also have to factor in bathroom needs based on feeding time, and adjust accordingly. We give my cats "dinner" and "snack" - which totals the amount of food they should be getting at dinner time, but we give half of it at dinner time and half immediately before going to bed so that they don't harass us for food in the middle of the night. Not the same species, but it is a functional solution for us!


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## the_grimace (May 8, 2013)

I agree with what everyone has said and am ashamed to admit that we probably are actually reinforcing him. Like I said, we almost always have ignored our dogs till they stop when they are crying, but with this one it would be like 4 in the morning and he's literally barking up a storm (and LOUD barking). We originally tried to wait when he started doing it, but after 20 minutes of continuous barking without a break in sight, we eventually caved in. We were firstly concerned about our neighbors complaining, but also being up at 4AM causes you to do rash things! 

We also actually do feed them late (doing the half dinner thing then the other half right before bed), so he really has no excuse to be crying so desperately for food. We'll try ignoring him, but it's going to be some rough mornings here on out.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

the_grimace said:


> Our 5 month old rescue puppy (vets think he is a greyhound mix), has gotten into the terrible habit of barking in the morning for his food. The worst part is it's anywhere from 3AM to 6AM, but regardless it's annoying the heck out of me and my wife. (Future child training?? lol). We've always been proactive about not giving our dogs any attention when crying or whining, but when it's 4AM and our dog is barking loudly for literally 15-20 minutes straight, something has to be done.
> 
> When we open our bedroom door, he usually stops barking (even though he can't see us yet, just hears us), but I feel the damage is already done. (reward for bad behavior) We'll usually feed him, unless it's still super early like before 5AM, and after he eats he usually is content to go back to sleep for A LONG TIME. (he'll sleep till 11-12 honestly...) *Sometimes we just take him out for potty, and he is content to sleep after that.*
> 
> But the fact remains... how can we get him to stop his incessant barking in the first place each and every morning?


I'd take him out to do his business as soon as he wakes up and ignore him if he barks after that.

Sassy was so charming she got me to get up and feed her earlier and earlier through the years. She snorted and rubbed her whole body against the bed - called it a doggy earthquake. If it was really ridiculously early I let her out and told her to go back to bed and she would.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

Actually your puppy is not really barking to get fed, he is barking to get your attention probably because he has to go to the bathroom. At five months he still might need a trip outside during the night especially if you are feeding him right before he goes to bed. If you take him outside to go to the bathroom, make it really boring, no play, then right back into his crate. Being a puppy he will quite willingly eat if you give him food.


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## starrysim (Dec 2, 2012)

Kyllobernese said:


> Actually your puppy is not really barking to get fed, he is barking to get your attention probably because he has to go to the bathroom. At five months he still might need a trip outside during the night especially if you are feeding him right before he goes to bed. If you take him outside to go to the bathroom, make it really boring, no play, then right back into his crate. Being a puppy he will quite willingly eat if you give him food.


This is what I was thinking. How do you know he's barking for food specifically? If giving him food makes him quiet down, maybe it was just attention from you that did the trick. Or, if you take him out to potty after, and he quiets down, then maybe it was a potty break that he wanted.

Either way, I feel your pain. Luna sleeps in the bedroom with us, with the door closed. Most nights she sleeps through the night, or if she does wake up she stays quiet, moves around and falls back asleep. At least once a week, sometimes up to 3-4 times a week, she wakes us up in the middle of the night with barking and scratching at the door. We usually take her out to potty, and then she goes right back to sleep. However, I know she has very good bladder control, she can go 10 hours during the day without problems, and she could probably go longer but we've never tried. So I'm not really sure that she has to go potty every time when she wakes us up at night, but at least once in a while I know she truly has to go (heck, when I get out of bed, I need to go ASAP too!). So I feel really awful ignoring her, I always have a nagging feeling that she may have to really go, and it would be just mean to make her hold it. So this isn't an answer for you, but I'll keep an eye on this thread and maybe I'll learn something useful.


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

I was thinking he needs a potty break, too. I'd take him out to potty on a leash; no talking, no attention, other than to say good dog once he's gone, then right back to bed.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

for the age I agree on the potty break, since your up stairs the barking is what gets your attention that the other signals didn't.. Mine are in the room with me so I hear them stir and get up, go straight for the robe slippers and leash without thinking and it never gets to barking because I respond at the lowest level and that is all that is needed.. I honestly don't remember when they start sleeping through the night I don't put a time limit on when they should learn I always want them to learn to tell me,, even my adults if they ask me to get up I don't think about it we just go.. The main thing you said is that the pup goes back to sleep and is content... And that the second he hears you stir he is quiet to me those are good signs of a good pup that isn't being overly obsessive about the barking just to bark... That is what I am use to in a pup, find a way to tell me that works and when I respond they done. Hang in there


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## the_grimace (May 8, 2013)

Kyllobernese said:


> Actually your puppy is not really barking to get fed, he is barking to get your attention probably because he has to go to the bathroom. At five months he still might need a trip outside during the night especially if you are feeding him right before he goes to bed. If you take him outside to go to the bathroom, make it really boring, no play, then right back into his crate. Being a puppy he will quite willingly eat if you give him food.


95% of the time, it's just food he wants. First thing we do after he is quiet is take him out for potty first. Most mornings he won't go and just keeps running back to the door for food. He'll potty after he eats, but almost never will go till he has eaten breakfast... 

We've been trying to ignore him till he is quiet for the last 3 days now. It's been rough! 

Day 1 he started barking at 5:15AM, he literally did not stop till 6:40!
Day 2 barking started around 5:30, stopped at about 6:30... 
This morning (Day 3) he started barking at 3:15!!!! He stopped at 4AM, so we fell back asleep. Of course he started again at 5AM and continued to 6:15AM! 

So no improvement so far, he barks for over an hour before stopping! I hate to get up and let him out or feed him because I feel it reinforces that barking gets him attention/food. At the same time, getting up and feeding him makes him content for the rest of the morning.


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

Why not get up at 5 (or before he starts barking), give him some food, and then go back to bed until you normally get up?


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

the_grimace said:


> I hate to get up and let him out or feed him because I feel it reinforces that barking gets him attention/food. At the same time, getting up and feeding him makes him content for the rest of the morning.


Stop feeding him his 1st meal in the morning. Instead, feed it to him mid-day before / after his 2nd (?) potty break. 
If he barks his head off after returning from the first potty break of the day, so be it. Just cover the crate, don't feed him, put in earplugs and go back to bed or whatever. That way at least you're not reinforcing the unwanted 6 am behavior, and by rights it should eventually extinguish itself. Don't worry - he'll adapt to his new schedule.

Barking for food is much less annoying and easier to deal with at 1 pm.


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## littlesoprano (Sep 21, 2013)

For our puppy, he started getting into the same habit as well, early in the morning, and random parts of the day as well. We ignored him, but if it got excessive, we'd take him out for a "no-joke potty break". Aka, we let him out of the crate, pick him up, leash him (normally I don't leash him for potties, we just walk out to the spot he likes, and he goes potty but he likes to run around a little first), and he gets 4-5 minutes to go potty. Normally he goes pretty much on cue if I say go potty, or go poop, but if he starts to goof around and just plays with leaves and acorns, its back in the crate, and he gets ignored.

Another thing we also found helps to quiet him, is we put a blanket over his crate, so he can't see us, and it normally calms him right down. We've been sticking with this, and now Cosmo won't start barking in the morning until around 8-9 o'clock, even then he will do a simple bark (just one or two), and wait calmly.


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

We found the same thing with Manna as a pup. All we did was buy a good pair of ear plugs and wait her out, took maybe 2 weeks and it got a lot worse but it worked. Though we did notice that she needs to pee around 6am.


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## the_grimace (May 8, 2013)

10 days in and it's not getting any better! We are really at a loss with what to do. Pretty much every morning sometime between 3-6AM he just starts barking incessantly and won't stop. He literally barks for around an HOUR each time before stopping for even ONE MINUTE for us to go let him out. Some days he barks for an hour and a half, it's simply ridiculous. 

I feel bad for our poor neighbors, whom I'm sure can hear his piercing loud barks every morning at 5AM or whatever. Perhaps we can just try to do a "no joke" potty early in the morning, but that kind of defeats the whole purpose of us just wanting him to wait, even if only to 7PM instead of 5AM.


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## starrysim (Dec 2, 2012)

Did you try preventing the barking by beating him to it? Get up about half an hour before he usually barks, take him for a 3-minute potty and give him a kong, then go back to bed. This way he won't make a habit of barking. Slowly you can delay the time that you get up until he lasts all night.


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## the_grimace (May 8, 2013)

Still at a lost. Nothing seems to get through to him. We have been getting up at 4:30AM before he starts crying to let him out for potty like many people have suggested. We take him out, he goes potty, then right back into bed. We've done this about 3 days now, but he still starts up barking right just an hour later around 5:30 or 6:00, and as always he will go for an hour straight. 

Aside from earplugs, (which honestly I'm not sure will block out his loud whines and barks anyway), we are completely at a lost. Hopefully this is a stage he will grow out of, but man, it's been like a month so far of constant barking EVERY SINGLE MORNING. Our sleep schedules have suffered and stress levels are high. It's no fun being woken up out of your deepest sleep every morning by a complaining dog! We are honestly considering a trainer, because it's really affecting us that badly. 

Thanks for all the help though, but so far results have been fruitless. I think I'm going to begin getting up just to yell at him, it's not ideal, but it's something new. Ignoring him or other tactics to stop the barking haven't worked anyway.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

I think your just at a point of exhaustion so I totally understand not feeling yourself over the this.. I would contact the rescue and ask if they could place the dog in a foster home for a few days to allow yall to catch up on your sleep. Give you a chance to re group and be refreshed to work with the pup when he returns...


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

Could you move him to another place in the house that would be further away from where you sleep? Might just cut down on the noise a bit for you.


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## JazG (11 mo ago)

We have the same problem with our 11 week puppy he's well fed been dewormed he wakes up every morning at 5.30 for the toliet then he thinks its feeding time and whines for the next 20mins to 30mins we ignore him and he falls back asleep we are just hoping he grows out of it but it is very annoying


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

This thread is almost nine years old, so I'm closing it to further replies. Please do start your own thread about this issue, and our currently active members will help you out!


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