We've got a 12 week old boxer puppy. We keep him in the kitchen at night with a babygate as a barrier. Initially he'd be a nightmare to go down and would yelp for around an hour before finally going down. Now he's great at this and goes to sleep almost straight away.

The thing is he wakes at 4.30am every morning - without fail! There's no unusual noises that would cause him to wake. After reading all the books we're told to just leave him yelping and he'll soon learn. My dad gets up at 6am every morning and Freddie (the boxer) is still barking up until this point.

Any ideas?

:-D

Originally Posted by greencode

We've got a 12 week old boxer puppy. We keep him in the kitchen at night with a babygate as a barrier. Initially he'd be a nightmare to go down and would yelp for around an hour before finally going down. Now he's great at this and goes to sleep almost straight away.

The thing is he wakes at 4.30am every morning - without fail! There's no unusual noises that would cause him to wake. After reading all the books we're told to just leave him yelping and he'll soon learn. My dad gets up at 6am every morning and Freddie (the boxer) is still barking up until this point.

Any ideas?

Yes--it will require you to get up early though. When the pup starts to yelp tell him to be quiet from a distance (don't even let him see you). As soon as he is quiet for 7-10 seconds or more, go to him and praise him but don't let him out to play. If he starts up again, do the same things again. He will learn that you are only going to repond when he is quiet.

Hey greencode, here i will give some of the tips, hope it will be useful for you
# Remove anything that may be causing your dog discomfort or fear
# Provide lots of toys and items to keep your dog amused
# Spend lots of time with your dog
# Ensure your dog feels safe
# Understand when your dog is barking to communicate
# Exercise your dog regularly
# Don't reinforce anxiety barking
# Remove any potential "triggers" from the dog's environment
# Praise your dog for barking at appropriate times
# Give your dog a treat when it sees things that previously have made it bark
Merry Christmas

[lil mutt]

Providing a lot of dog toys may or may not work nice advice though i rather follow brownsa advice... you will be able to train your dog how to behave that way...