Hi all, New to this forum but I'm looking for some help. I have an australian shepherd puppy (just over 6 months) who is starting to whine & yelp for attention. It is the worst first thing in the morning (starting around 5:30am) but will happen at other times during the day too.

I know he can last the night because up until a few weeks ago, he's been going to bed around 11 pm and lasting until close to 7:00 am which is when we get up and go for a walk before breakfast.

But now he's up in the middle of the night or extremely early (like 4 am once) and starts whining. Then he escalates to his big dog barks and won't stop until you let him out.

He barely goes pee (because he really only wanted out). Then when he goes back to bed - it starts up again.

I'm not sure why things changed - he was so good at night time. Now the mornings are horrible and I don't get a full night sleep anymore.

Hullo! i may have the answer to your problem. (just as a side note i have a 5 month old Aussie too, and haven't had too many problems) First of does he have access to water at night(if he does cut it out till his bladder develops more, remember, i know they get big fast, but they're still growin ) if that's not the issue try taking him for a little walk, just around the block or up and down the street just so that (s)he has an activity with you(this is important) and it to a less affect tires the puppy out, also try and not let her/him sleep in the after noon (probably after 4 or so) because that will cause a store of energy and the pup will wake up early. you could also just ignore the puppy and it will figure out by it's self not to bug you when you're sleeping, an easy way out that doesn't really address any of the problems that the pup is having.

hope this helps
Greg

to take him to see doctor. just play with him more and communicate with him more. give him more care then let it be afterwards. something would change I believe.

You can ignore your dog (which I think is quite hard when he is making all those noise). If he gets thirsty in the middle of the night, have some water readily available. Do you take him to walks before sleeping? This will usually make him tired and sleep more.

Hey, as long as there is no medical problem with your dog, its extremely important that no matter how much it barks, dont give in. By doing this you just teach it that barking is a good way to get attention.