My 6 month old Bouv pup whines and barks a lot for attention and food. If he hears your rollover in the morning, that is it, he wants you to get up, even if it's 5:30. I have been giving him a little kibble at 6 am on the weekends in hopes that I can go back to sleep for an hour or two. Sometimes it's not even the food or having to go out, he just wants you to come downstairs and let him out to sleep on the deck or sleep in the living room. We have a very small city house and neighbors close by, so letting him bark isn't an option. Sometimes if I tell him to go lay down in a grouchy voice he'll leave me alone. While you are making dinner or his bowl he's barking a squeeley loud bark. If you gate the stairs so he can't follow you upstairs he whines and barks. He's definitely high maintenance.

At least he doesn't beg or bark while we eat. I've forbidden the kids to feed him from the table. I do feed him first if we are eating late, because he can't go until 7 or 8 PM, he'd be starving.

Is it true I need to teach him how to bark first and then teach him quiet? I have the puppy and the beginner obedience dvd, but don't remember seeing too much about it.

So, when he is whining and barking, are you getting up and letting him out of his crate?

AND...while you are making his food and he is whining and barking, do you give it to him while he is still whining and barking?

No on both. Given he is in his crate all of the day he doesn't get too much crate time when we are home. I'm sure that is part of the problem, but given we are at work all day M-F, don't really think it would be fair to keep him in there a lot when we are home. He has been great with housetraining, so no issues there. He isn't whining or barking when I get home to let him out of his crate. I do make him sit and be quiet before I give him his bowl of food.

I can deal with most of that stuff. If I could only get him to let us sleep later. He's up at 5:45, the sun isn't even up. Since he's a puppy I'm always thinking he needs to go out and pee, he does when I let him out, but it doesn't seem like he was in that much of a rush. I take him out at 11-11:30 at night, in hopes that he'll sleep later. Maybe when he's older, he'll get lazier and sleep more. My 4 yr old terrier would sleep until 9 if you let her. How can I get him to sleep later? He sleeps downstairs usually because it's too hot up in the bedrooms and comes up to wake us up at 5:45.

Sounds like he may need more exercise. How much is he getting now?

Some pups/dogs are just early risers...if I want to sleep in, I will give them a potty break and then a frozen kong with some goodie in it, and go back to bed.

Do I like getting up and interrupting my sleep? Well.....since I am an early riser anyway, not too much, but when I want to sleep in..it is a bit of an inconvienence.

But I am the one that chose to have dogs, so I can't fault them really.....

He sleeps downstairs and then "comes up" to get you up. So he is sleeping loose in the house (like the boss, perhaps) and has free reign of where to go and when?

How about crating him for sleeping time? That way he cannot come and get you up, when he feels like it. That puts you back in control.

Cheers!

Put a black sheet (like a bed sheet) over a crate so it's pretty blacked out and the light doesn't get him up at 530am.

I did what Ed did and put Brenna's crate in a closet(large walk-in)...the door is open all the time so she can see us unless we have company over that is bothered by her.

I just have a problem putting him in the crate to sleep when he spends 8-10 hours during the day in it. I know I should, but I find it hard to do. And now I'm sure it would take a long time to get him used to it and he would bark relentlessly.

He's getting about 45 mins a day walking and then a lot of time chasing our other terrrier around. But I'm sure he can use some more walks, he gets obnoxious.

That's what I've been doing, letting him out giving him a snack and going back to bed on the weekends.

Leslie,

It is okay for him to spend more time in his crate.

When I first started crate training I felt the same way. However, now, I know the balance between crate time, work time, play time and outdoor kennel or "be a dog" time.
My dogs love their crates and when they are tired or want some alone time, that is where they go. They actually spend quite a bit of time in them by themselves.

It is hard at first, and I would definitely do some more structured exercise time.

I know what you mean ... but do you want him able to wake you up? Do you expect him to sleep when you sleep?

I feel the same way ... and as such on days when I feel like letting the pup have the run of the kitchen (his crate is also in the kitchen), I put on his muzzle ('cause he is still a chewer) and put the gate up.

When I come home, what is he doing? SLEEPING! Where is he Sleeping? In his crate!

I've read somewhere that the adult dog will sleep up to 16 hrs per day ... YIKES ... so he might as well sleep in the crate is my theory, and they do seem to prefer it.

Good Luck!