Early Morning Wake Up Call from Your Goldendoodle

QUESTION:
Puppy sleeps pretty well now. She usually goes to bed about 10 and sleeps until 2 or 3. I usually get up around 7 to start my day.

The last couple of days she has been barking to wake us up at 5am. I think it is because she is hungry. What can we do to make her sleep the other 2 hours and wait to eat?

We have tried to feed her later in the day and can’t seem to make her not be hungry at 5.

MY SOLUTION:
Getting up at 5 AM is now conditioned if she has been successful at getting you up. Everything you do with a dog conditions them for a behavior. If she has gone to the bathroom at 2 or 3 AM and she is getting you up earlier than you want, she knows now that she will get you up and get attention. What I would do is honor her waking you up. Take her out at 5 AM again just to make sure she does not have to potty. (Sometimes if you feed later, they need to poop earlier so she may truly need to potty). My guess is she will pee. Bring her back in and put her in the kennel immediately with a Kong with peanut butter so she gets a reward for going outside and getting in her crate. You are probably going to have to go back through the crate crying again because now she has a routine of getting up at 5AM and she needs to learn that you will not let her out until you get up at 7AM.

Pups are very smart and once they learn they get attention, they will use it.

Hopefully this works. Tough love once again sprinkled with positive reinforcement.