4.00am Barking

**jb.spencer** · 07-22-2011, 05:25 PM

I have a 4 month old Lab puppy, who is generally very well behaved. (for a puppy). He is now sleeping outside, in his kennel, but he wakes up anytime between 4.ooam-5.30am and starts barking. I have tried to ignore him, sometimes up to 1.5 hour, but my neighbours are starting to complain and I'm not sure how to get him to stop until I get up. Any help would be appreciated.

**Tanya** · 07-22-2011, 08:39 PM

you probably will not like my thoughts on this...but here goes.

the easiest and quickest solution is to crate him inside at night. plus, labs are PACK animals and need to live and sleep with their pack, not outside. Labs are often dogs that bark when left outside alone for prolonged periods (day or night) - they do best in a good indoor environment.

there is likely a sound outside he hears every morning that wakes him up and has him bark. there is nothing you can do to stop that sound. and the usual recommendation for barking is to ignore (unless the dog is next to you and barking then you can distract and redirect, or maybe use a spray bottle). any attention given to the dog encourages the behavior. plus yelling at him outside at 4am won't make hte neighbours any happier anyway.

**Tucker** · 07-22-2011, 08:49 PM

Barking outside at 4 AM is lab speak for, "what the F*** am I doing outside - I should be INSIDE with my family!"

Sorry, but Tanya's response is probably one of the nicer responses you are a going to get on this one...most people here feel their dogs are part of the family and deserve to be INSIDE with the family. I hope you will consider bringing your dog inside

**BigBrownDog** · 07-22-2011, 09:17 PM

The birds in my neighborhood start singing at 4 am in the summer. He probably hears them and joins in.

Seriously - if my neighbors dog barked for an hour and a half at 4 am, I would beat them (the neighbors) senseless. You need to bring your dog indoors.

**SharonaZamboni** · 07-22-2011, 11:15 PM

It probably is birds waking him up. Then he starts thinking he's gotta pee! Or chase birds! Or eat breakfast!

**jb.spencer** · 07-23-2011, 06:38 AM

Thanks for the speedy response guys. I appreciate that.

Firstly, I've tried bringing him inside but he still does the early morning barking. I have spared no expense to ensure my pup is comfortable, warm and has shelter outside. He is fine during the day and at night. Its only in early mornings.

Second, in response to Tanya's thread, the PACK theory has long been dismissed by many educated behaviourists and trainers. The pack theory was first used to describe the way wolves behaved in a group in the WILD. Domesticated dogs should never be compared to their wild canine relatives as their environment is completely different. Have a look at the website Pack Theory: Fact or Fiction? | Taryn Blyth. Quite interesting, a must read for any dog owner, whether you agree or not.

Once again, thanks for the responses.

**Mark_J** · 07-23-2011, 09:04 AM

Well I must be different than a lot of folks here because my dogs always have their own home outside (screened in porch). When the weather gets excessively hot or cold they are brought into their designated area inside the house but never crated. I don't feel dogs were ever meant to be thrown in *jail* because it's convenient for me or my schedule.

As to the barking, I've had this happen before and it's always been food. I don't leave food out all the time for the dog to pick at, we have feeding times and when the boys were young they could never quite make it to the morning feeding time. I just got up and fed them and that solved the problem. One dog did think it was a habit he should maintain and tried to keep it up so this is what I did. I picked up a cheap cordless doorbell and put the ringer where he could hear it, when he started barking I would ring the doorbell stick my head out and tell him to be quiet. After a few times I didn't have to tell him anymore, I just rang the bell and he would quiet down. It took about two weeks and the barking stopped...

Interesting article you posted as well (thanks for posting it), my own experiences over the years would disagree with some of it but interesting nonetheless...

**Garth** · 07-23-2011, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by jb.spencer

I have a 4 month old Lab puppy, who is generally very well behaved. (for a puppy). He is now sleeping outside, in his kennel, but he wakes up anytime between 4.ooam-5.30am and starts barking.

I suspect if you were shut outside in a kennel when you were about 5 years old, you'd be crying & barking too. I just don't understand why people get dogs as members of the family & then shut them outside? Seriously, why get a dog at all if it can't live inside with the humans? I just don't get it.

Do you shut your kids out in a kennel? I bet not so what's the difference?

**Mark_J** · 07-23-2011, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by Garth

I suspect if you were shut outside in a kennel when you were about 5 years old, you'd be crying & barking too. I just don't understand why people get dogs as members of the family & then shut them outside? Seriously, why get a dog at all if it can't live inside with the humans? I just don't get it.

Do you shut your kids out in a kennel? I bet not so what's the difference?

I can take a shot at what the difference is. It's a completely different paradigm than what you might be comfortable with but it certainly doesn't negate the love we have for our dogs which I am certain is no less than how you feel about your dogs.

My wife used to have a horse which she loved dearly, that horse was as much a part of the family as my wife but we never really saw fit to bring the horse in and let her chow down with us at the supper table. The horse was much happier outside, running the field, going in and out of the barn at will, etc,etc. The same thing goes for our dogs, I believe they are healthier and happier when they live outside and believe me I have tried it both ways. Our boys get to go run in the yard when they want, sit on the porch in front of the fan when they want, jump in the wading pool when they want and we love them to the point where we don't go anywhere without them ( and I do mean anywhere). We don't crate them during the occasional times when they do come inside for weather reasons, they know where they are allowed to go and are quite happy about it. All of my dogs have always been healthy, happy and very integral parts of our family. Simply because they don't sleep in my bed, eat off my plate or live in a metal cage by the door doesn't mean they aren't happy, healthy vibrant members of my family.

I'd like to see you try and put any of our dogs in a crate inside the house after they have tasted all the freedoms they have had over the course of their lives with us, those crates are something I really don't understand. I'd just like to suggest that simply because someone doesn't raise their dogs the way you do, doesn't meant they don't love their dogs as much or that their dogs are worse off. In fact it might mean just the opposite...

**BigBrownDog** · 07-23-2011, 12:34 PM

Mark-

My younger Lab is in his crate by choice - it is never closed. Both of my dogs have all of my house available to them all day every day and yet Blaise like to sack out in his crate about 1/2 the time. He loves it. I would prefer to have it out of my kitchen but really don't want to take it away since he seems to derive such comfort from it. I'd hardly characterize it as "jail".

To the OP. I suspect your puppy is lonely. Even if you don't suscribe to "pack theory" which I tend to agree with you about, canines are simply not solitary animals.