Barking at night,HELP!

Amzie

Hey, Just recently my dog has taken up the habit of barking at night at awful hours,dont know how much more my neighbours can take!! I saw a couple of times theres been a cat tormenting him out side,how can I stop them coming into the garden? I've tried the water bottles,spraying vinegar...and other times he just barking at nothing(hes kinda growling too) I dunno whats up with him!! he always sleeps outside in his kennel, hes one year old,gets walked well and is getting plenty of attention! Any Ideas what to do?:(

Eibhin

If it's an option I would let him inside to sleep at night. That will most likely solve the problem.

Amzie

its not an option im afraid,hes been sleeping outside all along and I dont want to give into his demands if thats what he wants! :rolleyes:

boomerang

He's unlikely to be barking to be left indoors if he's used to sleeping out, OP - it's more likely to be a cat a neighbourhood fox, or the barking of a distant dog that's setting him off. Bringing him inside at night (even if it's just the utility room) would solve the problem as he won't see what's sparking off his barking. If it's distant barking setting him off he won't hear it so well - and your neighbours won't hear his barking so well. He's not going to think he has one up on you for being allowed in.

imokyrok

I agree. Bring the dog in. The dog will be happier, the neighbours will be happier and you don't have to worry about the guards arriving on foot of a noise complaint. My dogs sleep indoor and one of them is the size of a small pony. They are no bother indoors.

Amzie

It would be fine if I could just leave him indoors but its my mums house and she dosent want him in the kitchen at night(incase he eats the place)lol!his kennels in bits! He has his own run built for him big enough space so I dont want to be just letting him in after him being happy there all along!

LucyBliss

You could crate him for the night. I did that with mine for a while and now they sleep in the living room, no problems.

I do remember years ago, we had a dog that slept outdoors and went through a phase of barking at odd hours. IIRC, all that really made any impression on him was my Dad going out to reprimand him and settle him down again. It took a while but it worked. As I wasn't the one going out to him in the middle of the night, I'm not entirely certain how long it took for it to work. Maybe it's not such a coincidence that every dog we've had since has slept indoors!

Amzie

Oh I've tried the crate when he was a pup,he absolutely hated it,howelled all night for 2 weeks solid!! in the end had to leave him sleep outside and there hasnt been a peep out of him,just only now he has started barking! I hope this is just a phase, im constantly telling him no but it makes him bark louder(I know he prob thinks Im barking back at him)I tried ignoring him too to which he eventually gives up barking but it takes a good while for him to stop:(

IvySlayer

Errr tell the dog to shut up? It can work.

Amzie

IvySlayer wrote: »

Errr tell the dog to shut up? It can work.

Not with my fella:(

The Sweeper

Figure out what's annoying him. No dog barks in the middle of the night just for shits and giggles.

In the winter, a cold dog will sleep more lightly than a warm and toastie dog, and they'll kick off at the slightest noise.

It's summer, if your dog's not cold then something's annoying him - a cat, a fox, is one of your neighbours working nights or is there something else causing a noise? Usually persistent night time barking will be something like a cat, sitting on the wall watching him.

Your dog defends the garden because it's his territory. It's natural for him to bark at a cat. If you keep telling him to shut up eventually he'll ignore all disturbances including burglars. (Did you know that dogs who are never allowed access to the house supposedly won't defend it, and therefore won't bark if it's burgled? As long as the burglars don't come into their yard, they don't care - the house isn't their territory.)

If it's a cat, either cat-proof your fences, or ask your neighbour to keep it in, or put a trigger light with a sensor to get it to nick off, or sit up a night or two and turn the garden hose on it as it approaches.

Or instead of all that, you could just let your dog indoors for the night, because honestly it will solve all of this. If you're worried about him wrecking the kitchen, give him a Kong toy to chew instead.

Cherry Blossom

Amzie wrote: »

Oh I've tried the crate when he was a pup,he absolutely hated it,howelled all night for 2 weeks solid!! in the end had to leave him sleep outside and there hasnt been a peep out of him,just only now he has started barking! I hope this is just a phase, im constantly telling him no but it makes him bark louder(I know he prob thinks Im barking back at him)I tried ignoring him too to which he eventually gives up barking but it takes a good while for him to stop:(

Sounds like you just chucked him in there and closed the door He has to be introduced to it properly! You start off by just giving him his meals in there, you leave the door open untill he's happy to sleep in there, then when you start closing the door you let him out as soon as he wants out. In your case I'd let him outside as soon as he wants out of the crate. Won't take him long to realise its outside or nice comfy crate indoors where it's warm. It took my puppy all of 2 days to get used to the crate in this way.

adser53

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Sounds like you just chucked him in there and closed the door He has to be introduced to it properly! You start off by just giving him his meals in there, you leave the door open untill he's happy to sleep in there, then when you start closing the door you let him out as soon as he wants out. In your case I'd let him outside as soon as he wants out of the crate. Won't take him long to realise its outside or nice comfy crate indoors where it's warm. It took my puppy all of 2 days to get used to the crate in this way.

Exactly

kylith

As The Sweeper said, it's best to figure out why he's barking and fix that. Until recently mine would bark at the birds roosting in the tree in the garden, and the cat stalking the birds. The cat would also sit on top of the garden wall and taunt them.

I took to keeping a Super soaker on my bedroom windowsill to drench the cat, and I cut down the tree (something I'd been meaning to do for a while anyway), and they havent' barked for weeks now.

Some people prefer to keep dogs inside, and that's fine. Some people prefer to keep them outside, and that's fine too as long as the dog is hardy enough.

Yrag2E

do you live in Coolock by any chance? absolutely tormented by a young dog barking constantly...effecting my sleep now

kylith

Yrag2E wrote: »

do you live in Coolock by any chance? absolutely tormented by a young dog barking constantly...effecting my sleep now

Me? No, I'm not Coolock.

If it's doing your head in try call round and have a chat with the owner in a friendly way. It's possible that they're heavy sleepers and don't realise that there's a problem.

Graces7

Better indoors, or where the dog cannot see or hear what is going on around him. Surely your relatives would prefer that to being kept awake?

Our neighbour's dog used to do this; she could see and hear all kinds of critters etc. They were deaf so they had no idea what the dog was doing.

When we asked was everything OK, they were so embarrassed and moved her to a place behing the house where she could not see the goings on and she was fine then.

Yrag2E

kylith wrote: »

Me? No, I'm not Coolock.

If it's doing your head in try call round and have a chat with the owner in a friendly way. It's possible that they're heavy sleepers and don't realise that there's a problem.

nah the original poster

yeah, I think the neighbours are fully aware of the dog situation. Every one is giving out

Amzie

Yrag2E wrote: »

do you live in Coolock by any chance? absolutely tormented by a young dog barking constantly...effecting my sleep now

Waterford, so its not my doggie annoying ya:rolleyes:

Amzie

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Sounds like you just chucked him in there and closed the door He has to be introduced to it properly! You start off by just giving him his meals in there, you leave the door open untill he's happy to sleep in there, then when you start closing the door you let him out as soon as he wants out. In your case I'd let him outside as soon as he wants out of the crate. Won't take him long to realise its outside or nice comfy crate indoors where it's warm. It took my puppy all of 2 days to get used to the crate in this way.

]

Well that was a good year ago now,we had a run built for him in the garden not just one of those make shift ones so I cant just dispose of it!:( its my mums house so its not my decision to bring him in, hes been sleeping outside happily for months,hes a samoyed so there is no fear of him getting cold in his kennel(and he has his vet bed2 which he like to drag out every now and again,lol:P

Amzie

The Sweeper wrote: »

Figure out what's annoying him. No dog barks in the middle of the night just for shits and giggles.

In the winter, a cold dog will sleep more lightly than a warm and toastie dog, and they'll kick off at the slightest noise.

It's summer, if your dog's not cold then something's annoying him - a cat, a fox, is one of your neighbours working nights or is there something else causing a noise? Usually persistent night time barking will be something like a cat, sitting on the wall watching him.

Your dog defends the garden because it's his territory. It's natural for him to bark at a cat. If you keep telling him to shut up eventually he'll ignore all disturbances including burglars. (Did you know that dogs who are never allowed access to the house supposedly won't defend it, and therefore won't bark if it's burgled? As long as the burglars don't come into their yard, they don't care - the house isn't their territory.)

If it's a cat, either cat-proof your fences, or ask your neighbour to keep it in, or put a trigger light with a sensor to get it to nick off, or sit up a night or two and turn the garden hose on it as it approaches.

Or instead of all that, you could just let your dog indoors for the night, because honestly it will solve all of this. If you're worried about him wrecking the kitchen, give him a Kong toy to chew instead.

There are a couple of cats around where I live and I have no idea who owns them) Only recently they have started annoying him! one night I came down and this evil looking one sitting on the fence glaring at my dog, was absolutely tormenting him. I've put up the bottles with water, put down awful smelling things that they dont like too..(trigger light sounds expensive) it isnt always cats that are annoying him though. Ive come out to check on him and its been nothing:eek: yes like you say its just easy to bring him in but its not my choice here:(

I tell him to shut up constantly, he just barks some more. Hes not barking for hours but hes just very loud and will bark for a while its just so frustrating!! hes been good up until now! I can't pinpoint what it is as where I live is quiet at night so I would know if there was someone around that might be disturbing him

Amzie

kylith wrote: »

As The Sweeper said, it's best to figure out why he's barking and fix that. Until recently mine would bark at the birds roosting in the tree in the garden, and the cat stalking the birds. The cat would also sit on top of the garden wall and taunt them.

I took to keeping a Super soaker on my bedroom windowsill to drench the cat, and I cut down the tree (something I'd been meaning to do for a while anyway), and they havent' barked for weeks now.

Some people prefer to keep dogs inside, and that's fine. Some people prefer to keep them outside, and that's fine too as long as the dog is hardy enough.

Yeah I think the water gun is in order for those pesky cats,Im really starting to hate them:mad: hes the friendliest dog ever but when a cat sits on his fence hes goes ballistic!! Now if only I knew what else was P***ing him off I would be sorted!! I have him indoors aswell but its just he sleeps outside hes a samoyed so hes well able for a bit of cold, I thnk the snow this year was like heaven to him:)