i put a post on this site not so long ago concirning my english springer spaniel 6months old
we have now come to a complete standstill and do not no what else to try
her barking is becoming more and more unacceptable and are worried now that neighbours will soon start complainin
we go to bed at night and she is toileted and then put in her cage which she doesnt mind as she has been doin this since an early age and feals that this is her space and our other 2 dogs are also caged at night  she goes through the night till bout 3 am to 4am of which she barks and i come down and let her out  then shes placed back in her cage but from then onwards its continuece barking and as she gets older the barking is gettin louder weve tried everythin that was suggested from my last post from ignoring her to rewarding her when she stops barking 2 removing her from the room when she does bark excesively but as u can understand at 3am in the morn every morn 7 days a week patience is wearing thin!!!! apart from the barking she`s a great little dog very happy enjoys her walks loves her dinners and spending time in garden with us were reapetedly being told to sort this problem out now but we just dont no how i`d b grateful if somebody could give me some advice weve also tryed takin her up with us at night but its no different she still barks
many thanxs michelle

Can you set your alarm for, say, 2.45?  Then you can let her out and she can then  'unlearn' that barking does not bring you under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!  By allowing her to learn that if she barks you come (but only sometimes) she hasn't had the chance to unlearn the behaviour, infact, by using a 'random reward' system (which is what you are inadvertently doing) you are reinforcing the idea in her head that if you don't come the first time, then she needs to bark more.........  Yes, she will get worse before she gets it into her head that barking no longer works, so you must stick at it - buy the neighbours some ear plugs and a nice bottle of something and go round there and explain what you are trying to do - by being pro active you can often defuse a situation if the neighbours see you are trying to do something about it.

The most important thing is consistency of approach - stick with this, and the behaviour WILL die off, as it is no longer getting the reward she seeks.....

thankq i will try this tonight i hadnt thought about getting up those few mins before she kicks in !!! its very distressin when shes bin barking for so long because we have bin doing the `dont keep coming down to her`  when i do eventually go to her she`s got herself in a right state and i dont want her to be like this its not good for her
i`ll start tonight settin my alarm for 2.45 and keep with it and hopefully she will get better she`s a darling really and i wouldnt get rid of her under any circumstances
thanq for your quick reply
michelle