Dogs barking in their crate at 5:30 every morning

Question

We recently rescued two poodle terriers ages 6 and 7.

When we first got them they stayed quiet until we got up. Its been about 4 months since we've had them and about a month ago they started barking in the early mornings.

They both sleep together in their crate in the family room downstairs, but are very loud. They were neglected before, but now know that they are loved.

We try to ignore the barking but it generally gets louder and longer. I will yell down to stop it and they will stop for about 20 minutes and then start up again.

We are all new to having dogs and my one teenage daughter (who loves her sleep) is getting very upset.
How can I get them to stop and wait till we get up?

Answer 1

First of all, you will need to figure out why they are barking. Only then you can try working on the solution. Dogs bark for a number of reasons. It could be because of boredom, or they might be afraid of something. Sometimes it's just attention grabbing thing for them, and sometimes it can be a medical condition.

And based on the cause, the solution differs. If you are not able to figure out the cause, then you can also call for a professional help. I had been in similar situation and this article helped me in the past.

My dog used to bark excessively but only when he was alone at home, although he remained quiet when we were around. After a while, I got to know about his barking problem from one of our neighbors. First, I took him to a vet, and he was healthy as a horse so it ruled out barking caused by pain or injury. Then I read few articles online and tried a couple of different suggestions and some of them worked for a couple of days but not permanently. Finally, I got a spray bark collar (there are many other types of bark collars available but I avoided them). Whenever we left our house, we put the collar on him and it worked wonderfully. He stopped barking and after a while, we removed his collar, and he stayed calm. So I guess it was a behavioral issue with him.

But that's my dog and as experts say, every dog is different. So first, try to figure out the cause of barking.

Answer 2

Dogs bark as a form of communication — as you no doubt know.
The adult wild canine will howl or bark as a way to signal its presence, location, and condition to others of the same or foreign packs. Additionally, canine pups will bark for attention from their mothers.

Domesticated dogs exhibit behavior which has been described as a permanent state of quasi-adolescence. The process of domestication has filtered in preference for traits which would be seen as immature in an undomesticated canine.

Anyways.
Seeing as how the morning barking is a recent occurance, you should look to more recent events for the cause of their behavior.

• Did their environment change recently?
  Are there noises, which may be almost inaudible to you, that would trigger a barking chain?

• Has your routine changed in some way? Does it appear to them that you are unavailable?
  Were they being housed in crates since prior to the recent spate of barking?

• Is there some other need that would prompt the dogs to bark for attention?
  Do they lack food or water in the mornings? Do they need to “do their business”?

Not all dogs will bark for such needs, of course. I've seen that smaller or confined dogs tend to be more likely to do so.

In your situation, of course, the dogs are barking in the mornings and not at night when they are first secured in the crates. That leads me to suspect the first or the third of my presented possibilities.

If it is at all possible, you could try releasing the dogs for a few mornings. Do they bark?
If they need briefly let outside, then it might be necessary to do so at about the time when they'd begin barking. Whether you adjust your schedule or are able to get some sleep later is, of course, something you need to consider.