Breaking dogs from barking in the morning

Question
I have 2 older small dogs that have slept in my bed all of their lives until recently.  The last 5 months or so, I have been keeping them confined in a bathroom at night. They have a nice ortho mattress with a baby gate.  They like it in there.  After getting them used to sleeping in there at night, I would get up to let them out in the mornings and then put them in the bed with me for a few minutes before I actually "got up".  Sigh...wrong answer.  So now, they are barking at 4:30 to go out and then..ultimately.. get in the bed.  We have tried using ear plugs, my partner is sleep deprived BUT I have still been giving in to them. I feel like I have to at least make sure that they don't have to go out, then I put them back in the bathroom.  That lasts a while then the barking starts up again.  I bet you are going to tell me to just let them bark and try to get them on my schedule, but how long do you think this will take? And am I doing the right thing?
Thank you so much for your help.

Answer
First of all, I do completely understand your frustration.  Through training many puppies and a few human children, getting woken up before I am ready is my LEAST favorite thing!!

And yes, the recommended course of action is to let them bark.  What that accomplishes is to teach them that their demanding your action isn't going to work.  It generally takes at least a few days, and what we notice is after the first couple of times the length of time they persist decreases.  You can also help this along a couple of ways.  Since you are up due to the barking, and already resigned to getting out of bed, wait until they stop barking to let them out.  This then becomes a reward for quiet instead of a reward for barking long enough.

Another thing you can try instead of waiting for them to be quiet is to stimulate that behavior by startling them.  What we commonly use is a noise distraction such as a pop can/bottle with pennies in it.  As they are barking quietly walk to the door of the room they are in but stay out of sight.  Shake the penny can (or use whatever noise distraction you choose) and when they stop barking, go to them and reward them.  The reward doesn't even have to be going outside-you can use verbal praise and some treats.  I also add a command at this time such as "hush" or "quiet".

Something else I have found helpful is to occasionally put them in the bathroom with some chew toys during the day when you are home and active.  Just for a short time, 10-15 minutes, a couple of times a day.  This will help to build an association that they are not being left alone or segregated from the pack when they are put into that room.