PUPPY starts barking as soon as he wakes up in morning

[MILEStheMALTESE]

I have a 6 month old maltese who barks excessively at 7 am (on the dot) every morning. When he wakes up from his other naps during the day, he doesn't bark at all. Someone told us it could be separation anxiety. We give him the appropriate amount of time as far as exercise and attention, and he has more than enough toys in his crate. It seems that he starts barking after he wakes up and relieves himself. We don't give him water past 6:30 pm. We both work late and the 7 am wake up call is one we want to eliminate. Can anyone help?

-Sleepless in San Jose

[Lyka_01]

Probably barking in the morning became his habit...Oh that's bad I hate noisy dog...

[RavenChaos21]

That is the same with my nymphy. As soon as the sun rises she wants to play with me and sometimes all I want to do is sleep in. What I have seen that works sometimes is you put a towel over the crate after he falls asleep so that when he wakes up he doesn't see the brightness of the light through your windows or anything. It gives him the illusion that it is still night time outside. Not a heavy blanket just a thin towel so no light penetrates until you are ready to start your day.

[melody]

Originally Posted by RavenChaos21

That is the same with my nymphy. As soon as the sun rises she wants to play with me and sometimes all I want to do is sleep in. What I have seen that works sometimes is you put a towel over the crate after he falls asleep so that when he wakes up he doesn't see the brightness of the light through your windows or anything. It gives him the illusion that it is still night time outside. Not a heavy blanket just a thin towel so no light penetrates until you are ready to start your day.

I should say, good work Raven! That's an interesting trick. I think I will have to do that too with my labrador when I let him sleep inside during cold days.

[glaiza]

That'll be a nice doggy alarm clock - that is if you need to wake up at 7am each morning, but since you work late and need to sleep in - that can be a bit of a hassle. It could be that your dog is bored. Puppies often have lots of energy and they exhibit it in different ways. Some chew and others, like your's does, bark.

Here are some great articles on Dog Barking, which are found right here on the DOA site. Here are the links.

http://dogobedienceadvice.com/how_stop_dog_barking.php
http://dogobedienceadvice.com/dog_barking_solutions.php
http://dogobedienceadvice.com/stop_barking_advice.php
http://dogobedienceadvice.com/why_do_dogs_bark.php