Barking in the morning -Help please

I have been pondering this for quite a while and wondered if anyone can help me in anyway.

Fudge is crated overnight with the door closed. She begins barking in the morning sometimes quite early with little squeaky yips.These get louder.

(We have tried leaving the crate open but this seems to distress her and we get barking through the night.)

This continues until we let her out. She is never bursting to relieve herself and will go around the house checking everyone out before she ventures outside.

The dogs we had at home did not seem to do this and just waited until they were let out.

Is this perfectly normal dog behaviour? If so then no worries. I just wondered if anyone had a solution so that the neighbours are not as disturbed by the early morning wake up call.

Teagan cries in a morning (she sleeps next to my bed) when she wants to get up.
She's not bursting for the toilet, and just ambles downstairs and eats breakfast when I give it to her, then goes for a wee!!

I think it's just a "I'm awake, and want to get up" kind of attention seeking.

Is the crate covered? Does she start as it gets light if so a blackout blind at the window might help as she wouldn't know it was morning.

It could be habit...just like us, if we are used to rising at a certain time our body clock will wake us up at that time.
I would try training a 'quiet' command at other times, then when she starts whining in the mornings, when the command is established, you can use it to gradually extend the time she is crated for....start with a couple of mintues quiet and gradually build, so you will alter her body clock...

Sorry if that doesn't make much sense...not too with it today....

She's barking cos she can't get to the fridge.
(Sorry couldn't resist! )

How do I train a quiet command?

My dogs wake me when they wake up (usually as it is getting light). They sleep in my room though, so the worst I get in a wet nose in my face

I just tell them to settle back down and they generally do until it is time for me to get up. If they are really restless it is usually a sign they want to go out for a wee.

I would try as Trouble suggests, blacking out the light, as it sounds to me as though she is just telling you she is awake, and it is time to get up

thanks for the help, will try covering her crate at bedtime first to see if that is the problem.

Hmm don't ask me - mine backfired! I trained Moss to a "speak" command (for fun) which wasn't difficult at all, I then put on the quiet command with a reward the moment he shut up. It worked initially, but now he seems to have sooo much fun chasing squirrels and barking up trees (even when there are NO squirrels) that he seems to have forgotten what "quiet" means

Luckily, he only tends to bark when he is squirrel hunting, so it doesn't bother me too much.

Annoying but normal. I have two that will happily wait, and other, including one still here that will expect you to get up when she is ready.

Of course this behaviour is reinforced as you don't want to have the neighbours complain, and of course you can't sleep through ti.

You get some kids who wake and play quietly with their toys,a nd others who bounce on you wanting you to be with them too.