u/Content-Movie-2562

Our German Shepherd mix, Margot, has developed a really strange routine and I’m curious if anyone has dealt with something similar

Almost every morning around 4am, she starts barking nonstop until either my husband or I move to the couch. The weird part is that the second one of us does it, she immediately settles down and goes back to sleep until around 6am.

Some background because I think her history matters:

We’ve had her about 8 months

We have 3 other dogs (including a foster)

She doesn’t show separation anxiety when we leave the house

She came from a situation where she mostly stayed isolated in one corner of a fenced yard

She’s still nervous indoors sometimes and often needs encouragement just to come through the doorway

She’s especially fearful of men and took months to comfortably eat around my husband

She likes us, but isn’t super physically affectionate or clingy

Oddly enough, she seems happiest and most confident while hiking or at the dog park

What confuses me is that it doesn’t matter which human goes to the couch. It’s almost like she just wants someone on watch out there with her.

Has anyone seen behavior like this before? Anxiety? Herding instinct? Learned routine? Sleep guarding? We’re genuinely curious because at 4am our brains are barely functioning anymore