Barking at night - Please help

[zizzi]

I've just joined the forum. I have also posted this in the "puppy" section as well. Here it goes:

We adopted a cavalier king charles spaniel (7 mo old) last week. She has been an excellent dog. She cried the first two nights we had her but then starting sleeping through the night.

Until last night she was very quiet and calm. Then we were watching TV and she saw some animals on the television and she let out a bark... then bark bark bark. We thought it was so funny.

When we went to bed she started barking. Everything I've read says DO NOT go to them when they bark or cry at night so we didn't and my dog barked from midnight until 5 AM.

It's as if she's discovered her bark for the first time and she's going to use it!!

I finally got up and the stirring around made her quiet and so at that point I went in and got her to take her outside. She's, of course, quiet now and I managed to get a few hours of sleep because I fell asleep watching TV with her.

Any advice? Would crate training help? So far she hasn't needed to be crated because she is house trained and she WAS pretty good about being left.

 

[Sausage Dog]

We had a similar problem. Toby is 13 weeks old, got him at 8 weeks old and for the first 3 weeks he was an absolute dream at night. He would sleep all through the night (not even needing toilet) and we didn't hear a squeak from him. Until one Fri night when he woke up whining. So I let him out for a toilet, put him back and he carried on whining. For fear of waking our neighbours, I (rather ashamed to admit this - as I know what we should have done) I let him fall asleep with me on the sofa. He has since done this 5 times since that first night. I apologised to my neighbours for the noise, but they both said that they had not heard him. So, with that in mind, we decided to show him some tough love. So last night, when he woke up, he was put outside for a wee, no talking, no fussing and put straight back into his crate, where he whined, barked and cried for 20 minute until he got the message, all went quiet and back to sleep he went. I intend to do the same every night now, until he realises. He is def tired and just wants to get his own way by being with us in bed, as he goes straight back to sleep if he is with us in bed.

Its the one area that we gave in to him, everything else we have stuck too and I wish we had stuck out that first night when he woke up in the night. ( I would have, but the other half couldn't handle the barking) However, I'm hoping that as he is only little and its happened a handful of times, that we will be able to correct the night time waking/barking.

 

[ARottMweilerY]

<<Then we were watching TV and she saw some animals on the television and she let out a bark... then bark bark bark. We thought it was so funny. >>

She could have found you guys laughing at her to be quite rewarding and something you guys love. So then she tried it at night...

<<I finally got up and the stirring around made her quiet and so at that point I went in and got her to take her outside. She's, of course, quiet now and I managed to get a few hours of sleep because I fell asleep watching TV with her. >>

Hearing you get up in itself could be rewarding, and even though you went to her when she was quiet, in her mind, the barking got you up. Then you followed that up with falling asleep with her watching TV which was her biggest reward.

I know dogs only have 1.5 seconds in which you can reward or correct a behavior, but in this situation this is more than likely what happened. If you could have waited for her to stop barking for 30 seconds to a full min. before you got up the problem could be over with a lot quicker. I suggest you try this the next time she does it, get up when she's quiet, then wait another miniut, if she stays quiet, then go to her and take her out to go potty or what ever, then put her right back. Don't make this time a fun time for her.

Let her out when You want to let her out, not when She wants you to let her out. Hope this helps. Good luck with her!

 

[zizzi]

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

Tonight I took her on a very long walk and she's zonked...I'm hoping that she sleeps all night long. I'm actually afraid to go to sleep tonight because if she starts that barking again I"m going to be even more despondent.

I bought a crate today. I will slowly introduce her to it and maybe this will help her to understand that crate time is bed time and bed time is sleep time. (oh God Please.)