# help our dog is driving us nuts!



## SallyRoseMom (Feb 3, 2014)

love our baby very much! She is my 13 year olds dog we have had her since she was old enough to leave her mom she is now 2 years old, now all of a sudden she wants to bark all night. We have already had the humane society come out twice because someone is complaining about her excessive all night. I have taken her on walks at 1 am I take her out to do her business at whatever time she needs and her barking is becoming a problem because my daughter is up with her all night and is exhausted in school. The other day I stayed awake all night until 6 am when it was time for my daughter to get up for school, we have no idea what else to do....PLEASE HELP ... This is her when we tried putting a muzzle on her (it broke our heart to do this) but she still barked through it


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## Curtis (Jun 9, 2013)

If this is a new behavior after two years, maybe there is a medical issue. Have her surroundings or sleeping arrangements changed? What are your daughter and you doing that helps calm her down? 

Welcome to the forums.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

first I wouldn't leave a muzzle like that on a dog all nite , what if she had to vomit, or couldn't pant to cool down?

What about a bark collar? How about a chewy bone to get keep her occupied?

Is she crated? If so or not, where does she stay at nite? In your room? isolated?


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

If the vet doesn't find anything medically wrong, I would first try wearing her out! (with exercise, not a switch  ). I would make sure she was nice and tired in the evenings and then I would try having music play in the background. She may be hyper alert and that might drown out little noises.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I'm with Galathiel, being proactive during day light to wear that dog out is MUCH better then punishing and reactive at night. There are a million things you (and the rest of us) all do when we decide to add an intelligent and energy filled GSD into our lives.

EXERCISE! Real off leash hours every other day. HIking. Swimming. Biking. Meet ups with other dogs.

TRAINING! Dog classes. Paying the money and taking the time to attend and do 'homework'. ANY kind of classes, flyball, agility, rally, tracking, clicker......

ENGAGEMENT! How many dozens of tricks have you taught up to this point? 

Good info on ---> Welcome to the GSD/FAQ's for the first time owner - German Shepherd Dog Forums specially ---> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...191183-top-training-expectations-puppies.html

Even going back to putting the crate beside your bed at night will get you more in the game cause that's going to make you fix the issue  So you can get those purple squirrels full of frozen ....


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

You may have rewarded the barking with attention, which is extremely difficult to undo unless you are 100% consistent in the new approach. I would: first have her evaluated by a veterinarian and if healthy mentally and physically exercise her throughout the day, feed her a large meat based meal with turkey (remember the sleepiness-after-Thanksgiving?), crate her next to you at night. If nothing works after a few weeks I would crate her in the car as far awy from my bed as possible, since you have to get some sleep at one point.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

You need to be able to take the time to TEACH what you do want rather then punish for what you do not....


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## havery (Jan 1, 2014)

Where is she at night? Crated, outside, or in the room with you? Has anything changed recently in your home? Muzzles aren't meant to be on for long periods of time or to prevent barking, they're a temporary safety measure. 

I think you should consult a trainer. If not, look into a bark collar. They make ones that use a high pitched sound as a deterrent, then escalate to a light shock if the behavior continues. I actually used one on my girl for when we weren't home and it only took a couple days for her to learn. The occasional session was needed in the next couple weeks but overall it worked well.

~*~*~*~
Furbabies:
Sofie Rose born 08/2012
Yann von Erzengel born 02/2006


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Has something changed in the neighborhood? Is there a Peeping Tom out there? I mean, a dog that hasn't been a problem for 2 years and is suddenly doing a LOT of barking only at night, makes me wonder what is going on. Could be medical, I suppose. Not sure what though. Could be that the neighbors are in and out all night long? Maybe a crack house or meth house, and people going through your yard to get to it? 

Are we absolutely sure that the girl doesn't have a legitimate reason for barking if she is inside?


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## mcdanfam (Aug 27, 2013)

We live in a nice, quite community....very safe and usually calm. Lots of people who let their guard down! 
Our dogs were perfect, slept all night! Three or four nights in a row....they were pacing, barking, just seemed restless! 
People who's cars were not locked, had teens going through and stealing stuff! So ours were aware of the teens roaming in the drive ways and in cars. We could not hear it, the teens were quite....but the dogs knew. We found out when police knocked on the door and told us that we needed to make sure our cars were locked....kids had been stealing things. 

Your dog maybe hearing things you are not. We thought ours were going crazy, or having hormonal surges....we were wearing them out in the evening play time....so we could not figure out why they were being so obnoxious through the night. Luckily ours only lasted 3-4 nights....

Good luck figuring out what's going on.....


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## SallyRoseMom (Feb 3, 2014)

Curtis said:


> If this is a new behavior after two years, maybe there is a medical issue. Have her surroundings or sleeping arrangements changed? What are your daughter and you doing that helps calm her down?
> 
> Welcome to the forums.


 

thanks for the welcome...she goes to the vet regularly for check ups so she is in good health. to calm her down we pet her and cuddle her and sit with her, my daughter sings her lullabies (no clue if that works but it seems to sooth her) we moved from our old house back in June and she is just now starting to bark all night


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## SallyRoseMom (Feb 3, 2014)

JakodaCD OA said:


> first I wouldn't leave a muzzle like that on a dog all nite , what if she had to vomit, or couldn't pant to cool down?
> 
> What about a bark collar? How about a chewy bone to get keep her occupied?
> 
> Is she crated? If so or not, where does she stay at nite? In your room? isolated?


 
she was crated but she grew out of it. we don't leave the muzzle on her just because I know I wouldn't want something over my mouth all night. im going to have to look into a bark collar...she is sleeping in our washroom because she has now decided it is play time in the middle of the night and pulls my daughter off her bed


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## SallyRoseMom (Feb 3, 2014)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> I'm with Galathiel, being proactive during day light to wear that dog out is MUCH better then punishing and reactive at night. There are a million things you (and the rest of us) all do when we decide to add an intelligent and energy filled GSD into our lives.
> 
> EXERCISE! Real off leash hours every other day. HIking. Swimming. Biking. Meet ups with other dogs.
> 
> ...


 
we did training but im willing to go back anything so we can sleep and keep humane society away


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

selzer said:


> Has something changed in the neighborhood? Is there a Peeping Tom out there? I mean, a dog that hasn't been a problem for 2 years and is suddenly doing a LOT of barking only at night, makes me wonder what is going on. Could be medical, I suppose. Not sure what though. Could be that the neighbors are in and out all night long? Maybe a crack house or meth house, and people going through your yard to get to it?
> 
> Are we absolutely sure that the girl doesn't have a legitimate reason for barking if she is inside?


Ageed. One night Brutus kept barking and barking-we had no idea what his deal was. In the morning we could see tire tracks right across our yard-a car had slid off the road and nearly hit our house. We hadn't heard a thing…..but Brutus had. Always a good idea to investigate if something is going on outside that the dog hears, and you can't.


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## SallyRoseMom (Feb 3, 2014)

Germanshepherdlova said:


> Ageed. One night Brutus kept barking and barking-we had no idea what his deal was. In the morning we could see tire tracks right across our yard-a car had slid off the road and nearly hit our house. We hadn't heard a thing…..but Brutus had. Always a good idea to investigate if something is going on outside that the dog hears, and you can't.


It could be anything, but nothing we can see; I have asked my neighbor they have surveillance cameras and according to him there is nothing but I did notice they let their little dog out to use the restroom and she likes to antagonize my dog but I know that is not an excuse for excessive barking... We did go out and buy her a new crate and my daughter has it right next to her bed so we are hoping this will help


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## gsdPerseus (Apr 24, 2013)

I wanted to put my 2 cents in since I have a barker, and can relate to what you're going through.
I have to say it sounds like you are rewarding her for barking at night. You said you have walked her at 1am, and that you pet to sooth her. This is simply telling her she's being a good girl- she has no idea you disapprove of her barking at night.
You also said she grew out of her crate- I would go back to crating her, being put in the wash room is probably causing the anxiety and barking. You can buy a large crate, 42" or 48" off eBay for around $50 with free shipping. From experience, it is definitely worth it. Put it beside your bed, near where you sleep, I'd say within arms reach.
If she is barking while you are awake and moving at night, I would leash her and keep her in the same room as you. You'll be able to tell whats triggering her easier, and that will help you stop it as well. If you put her up before you go to bed, which i'd imagine would be seperation anxiety, I would try putting her in the crate with chew toys(try bully sticks if you haven't already- walmart even sells 2 packs) 
or consider keeping her with you until you go to sleep.

Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to mention that these things have stopped my dog from barking, and he loves to bark- it's his favorite way of expressing himself and has been encouraged to bark since puppyhood(he loves singing along to a harmonica!). 
He's also strong willed, and takes stronger corrections than some dogs need. We taught him "hush", using a strong, not loud, but harsh tone. We would have to reinforce that with keeping a leash on him, and a sharp tug(aka leash pop) on the leash to snap him out of it when he wanted to bark when it wasn't approved of.
For example, when we moved the first time it stressed him out, we tried letting him sleep in the bathroom but he would bark and cry, so we put him in our room, door shut, and on a loose leash. We had a roommate who would noisly open the fridge and set our boy off, so we had to correct him a few times over a few days before he relaxed. This was when he first learned hush, since we never had a problem with him barking before. It did work though, and i always check to see why he's barking before I tell him to hush. It helps to find out whats setting them off.

Hope this gives you some ideas, every dog is different- but I do think you need to stop rewarding the barking at night, and get her crate routine back.


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## gsdPerseus (Apr 24, 2013)

I also wanted to say that the cheaper crates off eBay aren't made for dogs that hate crates- they won't stop an escape, but if your dog liked sleeping in her crate, and having it near you at night should work fine.


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## Eiros (Jun 30, 2011)

If it helps, we got our large crate used (and cheap!) off Craigslist... our pup loves it and seems more restless if we don't let him use it. I'd put the crate in your room and see if that helps calm her down. A lot of pups seem to get a sense of security from a crate, so I'd give it a try. 

Rewarding her with pets and cuddles certainly hasn't helped... dogs are dogs and not people. A pet isn't "calming", it's a reward for doing a good job, so I'd stop this behavior right away. 

Teaching "leave it" has helped curbed barking in our pup. Some GSDs can be very vocal, but it's your job to tell them when it's not their job (it's your job) to deal with a situation. Teaching any sort of command will help you communicate with your dog.

Obviously, rule out any medical issues, etc. first! Good luck!


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

It sounds like she is not getting enough exercise and mental stimulation during the day. You said you "did training" which implies you no longer do that. You may not need to go to classes again, though you certainly can, but at the very least spend a few minutes a couple times a day brushing up the training that she already knows. GSDs are high energy, intelligent dogs with strong work ethic and that means that they need training and mental stimulation beyond just an 8 week class. It needs to become a regular part of their lives.

You also mentioned that when she barked you would cuddle and pet her to calm her down. This was very likely actually reinforcing and rewarding her barking. In her mind barking = positive attention from the people. Instead, you need to encourage and reward quiet behavior and ignore unwanted behavior like barking.

And make sure she is getting enough mental and physical exercise during waking hours.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

Just another thought...is it possible that a nocturnal animal has moved into your neighbourhood and is roaming outside your house at night?


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