whinging!!

I have 2 9 month old brother and sister puppy staffs ( Loki has been snipped)
They are great puppies and we have worked tirelessly training then.
The problem we have with them is whinging, in particular the girl nala. They were always a bit whingy but as they've grown up they've started to settle in the car and when its cold etc. but e have a problem that remains. Whinging in the morning..... It can be anywhere between 5am - 7am they wake up and cry, myself or partner will let then out for the toilet, and put them back to bed, sometime s this is fine sometimes they continue to cry until we get up and feed them, i never feed them before 7am ai think its important to have routine so if its earlier they tend to just climb on my lap and go back to sleep (which is even more frustrating when i could be having a lie in!!)
we have 3 pups in or family at the moment mums is a cocker puppy, and she never hears a Peep out of him.
We fear we've got stick in a bit of a rut with our 2, they cry and think we'll get up to them. I have left then crying a few times to SE if they will calm down even up to an hour and it doesn't change anything..... They just get louder!!
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, as for 2013 i would like a lie in at some point!!

havent got this problem thankfully although i have 2 children who feel lie ins are for wimps.

I think you will just have to bite the bullett and leave them. At their age they should be able to last through the night without needing the toilet. What time do you put them to bed? How often and long do you walk them for and do you have a manic play session an hour or two before their bed time.

You will probably have to just leave them to cry it out till say 7am, but do it in stages so they get used to crying slowly, maybe 10 minutes at a time over a few weeks.

Im sure someone with more experience will be able to give you better advice, but thats how id have a go at it.

Jules

Cassie sometimes does this, i think it's the people getting in cars/going to work the increase in cars going past that disturbs her she thinks it's her sign to get up and go. I can't go back to bed sometimes until i have taken her for a walk then she is happy and quiet. It has been known for us to be out 4.30am ish before i went to work

Well there is two options. Get up and feed and walk then go back to bed for a bit or just ignore it (after letting out for toilet obviously) I think eventually they will stop. You have to remember that a dog can't tell time, they like routine yes, but if their routine starts when the cars start then if thats at 6:30 they think its up time. Did that make sense? lol

Maybe they are crying because after you have put them out they are anticipating their breakfast? Perhaps shift your routine a little bit and after you bring them in from their 5am wee you could either feed them and leave them til 7 (when they will be ready for another wee!) or buy two kongs and keep a bit of peanut butter or sandwich filler on the side, smear the inside of the kongs with it and leave them be. The worst thing you can do is go down to them when they cry. They will just think that crying makes you come and it will make them whingey. At their age tbh you don't really need to be getting up to let them out at 5am, it might be better to change up your routine and just leave them to sleep til you want to get up. That way they havent been woken up and got excited and then left to sleep, they will still be tired. Hope this helps

Thanks for the replies guys..
They go for either 1 long walk or 2 shorter runs on the field opposite us everyday. They tend to go to bed around 10pm but this can vary - bedtime is always - toilet, treat and bed. Sometimes if they are still quite awake they moan for a little bit but only a couple of minutes before the settle down so thats not a problem.
We live in a very quiet area with little cars, so it is doubtful cars or doors wake them as we don't have neighbours as such. Part of the problem I think is my partner works shifts, at the moment he is on earlies leaving the house at 5am but thats only for 3/4 days every 3 weeks, we went through a phase were he let them out before he left (thinking I would get longer in bed!) but that didn't work, they would go straight back to bed but still be whinging an hour later to get up. we tried leaving them (unless they whinged when he was getting ready) and they tend to sleep in their bed after he left but they would still cry when they decided it was time to get up (literally anything between 5-7am)
I have had dogs all my life and never known a dog who doesn't sleep in!!
The kongs is a great idea - however I am worried they will scrap, they are typical food aggressive terriers and although they will happily swap bowls at food time, they can squabble over treats. I will definitely try that at the weekend tho. ( I don'[t set alarms for work any more as there is no need!)

It was never a problem when they were really little because you could pass it off as they are only young and we got them so early at 6 weeks that all night sleeps were impossible. But now they are a little older I don't want to resign myself to 5am wake up calls everyday if we can train it out of them!!!

At the age they are now the amount of walking you're doing probably isn't enough. They need 3x45min walks a day to tire them out, the last one being just before bed so they go to bed tired.

Hi Hayley
Thank you r your reply, I understand your comments however because of where we live 99% of the time they are off the lead, so its a good 1.5-2 hours of running around and chasing each other erveryday, which I think is plenty of excerise, and trust me it tires them out!!

My little boy Alfie (11 months) does this at around half 5 every morning on a weekday and at about 8am on the weekends! I fee your pain because my lie ins are sacred also!! I have found that shouting "Alfie no!" down the stairs helps and he usually does quieten down as he understands the word no. It is still not ideal though as he will do it the next morning... I am just hoping that with consitency he will get the message. Hope this helps!