# 7 Month Old Puppy won't stop barking at night, Help Please!



## Richmond Custodio (Jan 28, 2017)

Hello everyone!

For the past month, we've been leaving our puppy out in the backyard at night without crating him and he's been awesome. Recently, he's been messing up the backyard at night (chewing on things, digging, etc.). So like everyone always recommends, crate him when he's not being supervised. He was always good in the crate. We have two crates, one wired one and another kennel one thats big enough to put his house in. Before, he didn't bark, whine, or anything. He would go in, lie down, and sleep. 

Now that we're crating him because of his behavior, he is constantly barking at night only from 11pm-5am. I would ignore it for about an hour but see he keeps barking and whining. I have some mean neighbors so I know they're going to complain about him so I'm trying to figure out what I can do to help him. I can get him a bark collar but I'm trying to stay away from that. I've been training him to quiet but at night he'll be quiet for 30 mins then go back to barking. 

Is there anything I can do to help fix this?! I know he's in the age of where he's being a butthead but I really don't know how to deal with this??

Last night, I moved him from his kennel to his crate inside and lied down with him for 30 mins until he fell asleep. As soon as I got up, he starting barking... I'm assuming separation anxiety but not sure??

Should I just let him keep barking at night and ignore him so I don't reinforce this bad habit or is there anything else I can do??? 

Thanks in advance everyone!!


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

try letting him sleep in the house. maybe a crate in your room. my dogs sleep in the bed with me at night and never barked.


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## Deb (Nov 20, 2010)

I second the crate in the bedroom.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Me too.


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## Shooter (Nov 19, 2016)

I must agree with everyone else. Crate in the bedroom has worked very well for me. Plus I want my Shep to be my eyes and ears when I'm sleeping. The downside is the midnight gas that can raise the dead.


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## Kazel (Nov 29, 2016)

Crates nearby people tend to work well. They also make bark boxes that emit a high frequency sound when the dog barks, however those don't always work the best since some dogs learn how to make noises that don't trigger the sound or just don't care about it and bark anyway.

You're best bet is to just completely ignore him in the crate though, and maybe put a blanket over it. If he learns that you'll come back even if it's just to quiet him down that'll keep his barking up. It may take awhile and he'll be annoying until then but you just have to persevere. Only bring him out of the crate if he is quiet.


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## misfits (Jan 13, 2011)

Is he crated in the house, or out in the yard?


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## giebel (Jul 28, 2016)

Midnight Gas (lol) too funny . Thanks for that one. Puppy gas and senior dog breath almost deadlier than
bites


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Bark Collar is usually recommended when the dog barks and there is no owner present?? If the dog is "barking" while you are there??? That's a bit different ... what's the deal???


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

It was a mistake to ever put the puppy outside. Agree that, at this point, it may be best to crate him in your room. My two are crated downstairs and remain quiet all night. I like them to be able to settle down, without me.

Good luck!


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## Richmond Custodio (Jan 28, 2017)

Sorry everyone, the site wouldn't let me log in on my phone for some reason >.< But anyways, I would like to crate him inside but he doesn't like to be inside at all sadly. We would try to bring him in but the moment he comes inside he's constantly barking and waiting at the door for us to let him out. Plus my family isn't a huge fan of dogs inside. I put him in the garage and he barks more too. I've been ignoring his bark and he eventually stops but not every time. My neighbors are getting mad and ended up calling animal patrol telling them we abuse him and they came to check and saw no signs (cause we don't) but my neighbors are dicks... 

Also when you guys crate your puppy inside, when do you guys generally start to crate them out? My past german shepherds, I have crated them outside and they've always been fine?


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## Richmond Custodio (Jan 28, 2017)

He's crated outside or sometimes in the garage. I probably should say that his crate outside is a kennel. About 10ft by 7ft. But the one in the garage is a smaller one you'd get at walmart. Sorry was so tired when I wrote this lol


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

What kind of interaction with people does this dog get? He is never allowed in the house? Does he get exercise? Mental stimulation? Companionship?

Sounds like the dog is unhappy outside, and you guys don't want him inside. Maybe you should find him another home.


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## Richmond Custodio (Jan 28, 2017)

He gets plenty of interactions? Excuse me, I guess crating him at night means I should find him a new home? FYI, He is in his kennel at night from 10pm-6am. He goes on hikes in the mornings, then I take him to our coffee shop and we hang out outside on week days. Then in the afternoon, we do a little training session then he goes to play with our friends dog. Weekends we take him out to the lake and his training class. 

Please don't say he should find a new home after not knowing everything about my pup.


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## PJR (Mar 16, 2017)

Would prefer more details about exercise etc as digging and other initial destructive behaviour which caused you to crate is typically a sign of not enough stimulation either physically or mentally but going by your last post he spends almost all of his time with you or around other people/dogs. So assuming he gets enough stimulation then it sounds more like separation anxiety. Likely his anxiety caused the destructive behaviour before, once crated that outlet was no longer possible so he starter barking. As a side note the dark can often emphasis these anxieties so timing isn't that surprising. Ignoring the behaviour may or may not work, barking can be self rewarding so it often depends on the dog itself.

Personally I'd try working on getting him used to gradually being on his own more often, build his confidence to be alone, give him an active toy and leave him for a couple of minutes during the day, if he's fine then extend the time until he's more comfortable, once the time is good you can change environments and times. Personally I would agree with the others and bring him inside for now until you've built this stage up especially at his still young age.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Richmond Custodio said:


> He gets plenty of interactions? Excuse me, I guess crating him at night means I should find him a new home? FYI, He is in his kennel at night from 10pm-6am. He goes on hikes in the mornings, then I take him to our coffee shop and we hang out outside on week days. Then in the afternoon, we do a little training session then he goes to play with our friends dog. Weekends we take him out to the lake and his training class.
> 
> Please don't say he should find a new home after not knowing everything about my pup.


exasperating
I wish posters would give a full picture of what is going on when asking for help.

" Excuse me, I guess crating him at night means I should find him a new home? "

well , yeah . It might mean just that . Your neighbours have every right to be annoyed . There are by laws for noice and you have already been visited by animal control. The thing that the neighbours didn't have was proof. All they need to do is to record the dog's nuisance barking .

key point . You said "Plus my family isn't a huge fan of dogs inside"
and " Recently, he's been messing up the backyard at night (chewing on things, digging, etc.)."

so the neighbours are mean and taking action , and the other people in the house , from the sounds of it , parents , are not totally thrilled with the dog and eventually get tired of the stress of barking and yard destruction and will take some action.

a dog doesn't have to live in the house to be happy . But you have to have much more contact and engagement with the dog . The dog is outside -- and so are you. 

you did say you were going for a morning hike and a hang out at the coffee shop and playing with a friends dog . 

maybe this dog needs more dedicated focus from you , not just being with you , each in their own zone. 

that's like the dog owner who thinks doing something with their dog is going along for a car ride.

yes , I did have that discussion the other day . Told the person they needed to park the car and take the dog OUT of the car and go for a brisk walk which included surprises with training opportunities and not just a monotonous routine stroll.

is this dog a hyper dog , a lonely bored dog,


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## PJR (Mar 16, 2017)

carmspack said:


> maybe this dog needs more dedicated focus from you , not just being with you , each in their own zone.


Agree with this point in particular. I was giving you the benefit of the doubt but it is important the time you're spending with the dog involves active engagement from you. Especially if he is just sleeping in your coffee shop all day then it wouldn't really be surprising that he'd be up all night, bored and frustrated and needing an outlet.


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

The main things puppies crave when awake is engagement. The engagement can be people( preferably) or other dogs( as in multiple dogs in household), but they crave the stimulation and security that could from these sources. Also, crating or kenneling are things that really should be introduced for small periods and extended over time.( the exception is overnight, but even then the crate should be somewhere so that puppy has feeling of contact with human or dog family for security purposes AND so that puppy can learn the behavior of the people or other dogs during this overnight period( which is to settle or sleep). 
Once put in crate for short periods, he should not be engaged while in crate, and only removed from crate when he is NOT barking and settled.
99% of time when I am called to help an owner with this problem, the owner has created the problem by violating some of the above principles....and if you can't accommodate the above principles, it is time to really consider if situation is good for all involved, including the neighbors.
One other thing, when you leave a puppy out all night in yard, he's going to pursue engagement on HIS terms and timeframe.....thus the destructive or digging behaviors......so when the engagement was removed( albeit self engagement) and crating started, he protested in only way he knows. Bad habits always begin with long periods of unsupervised free access to yard or house when in puppy stage.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

Richmond Custodio said:


> Hello everyone!
> 
> For the past month, we've been leaving our puppy out in the backyard at night without crating him and he's been awesome. Recently, he's been messing up the backyard at night (chewing on things, digging, etc.). So like everyone always recommends, crate him when he's not being supervised. He was always good in the crate. We have two crates, one wired one and another kennel one thats big enough to put his house in. Before, he didn't bark, whine, or anything. He would go in, lie down, and sleep.
> 
> ...


Something is not adding up here. This dog spends basically all day with you, hiking, training, going to the coffee shop, and still has the energy to bark and destroy stuff from 11pm until 5am?

My view is, a dog that lives outside in the yard probably spends about as much time WITH people as my dogs spend alone from people. Dogs are super social, especially this breed, and this is a puppy.

When you say you hang out with him in the yard- here is my question: do you work? go to school? How many hours out of every 24 is this dog truly alone? 

I honestly think he needs to be with the family and taught how to behave with the family.

Or are you kenneling him all the time instead of leaving him loose in the yard because he's been destructive?

There is no way a dog who is barking and trashing the place all night long is happy and well adjusted.


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