hi everyone
can you help,my 16 weeks ckcs(jubilee) has started barking at night after i put her in her bed in the kitchen. she has only started doing this the last week since i have been home from work with a ripped ligament in my knee,she has been spenting the whole day with me on the sofa,could this be the reason why she is barking at night,because she is calling for me she also howls.

When dogs howl they are in distress, they are trying to locate their pack. It is a form of separation anxiety. Sorry, wish I had the time to answer more fully.

My Cocker howls when I go upstairs during the day to have a shower or sort the washing out. She's fine when I go out - I've taped her and only heard snoring :D - but if I leave her downstairs and don't let her come with me she howls like a pro!!

Now, everytime I leave the room she goes in her crate and I close the lounge door behind me. I make a point of going upstairs with the children for about 20mins per day and ignoring the howls. I wait until she's paused the howling and run :D downstairs so that I'm opening the lounge door whilst she's still quiet. I then go into the room and ignore her for a few minutes and busy myself with a few bits and pieces. If she's still quiet after a few minutes she comes out of her crate and we get on with things again.

It seems to be working and she's settling down a lot - she still howls at the weekend if she hears me upstairs when everyone else in the house is downstairs we just ignore her and she does stop.

I like to think she only does this because she loves me, and as this is the only truely irritating thing she does I can live with it - also she only does it with me not my hubby so I wind him up about how she loves me more than him :D :D :D

Fiona
x x x

Hi Sam,

Be strong, if you want the pup to sleep in the kitchen, then you have to ignore the whining.

Zak did the same thing, he didn't cry from day one, we were really lucky, bu at the age of about 5/6 months he would bark, not howl or cry but just bark. It coincided with being able to 'ask' to go out.

I would come down once and let him out, just in case, but he got no extra 'go to bed treats' or praise, as I thought this would be payment for barking. If it was a real need to go out to toilet that was the reward.

After letting him out the once that would be it.

Does your pup respond to 'no' or 'be quiet' commands? I ask because the other trick I had up my sleeve was a baby monitor, installed the wrong way round, ie the listening end in the dogs sleeping area and the talking to bit in your bedroom. That way if you have to give a command to be quiet, you wont have to strain your larynx or wake the entire house:D

Not sure if this is helpful but it worked for me. I was made of quite strong stuff after being told by a paediatrician to ignore my daughters crying at night, she was doing it every night from the time we went to bed to the time we got up, and if we went in she would just smile at us, obviously just attention seeking and controlling behaviour.

Good luck, Sarah

Hi sam
maybe she's getting too attached to you ,if she snoozing all day on the couch she ain't gonna want to be on her own at night .may be try leaving her for a while in the day and one of yor jumpers. I did this with murphs and my dressing gown and very fetching he looks too :D
LIZ

I recently acquired a new CKC pup and he would howl all night. It is so difficult not to go to them, but I found a good pair of earplugs enabled me to be able to get some sleep and stop myself from going in for a cuddle. It took five nights, but after that there is now not a winge in sight. Just a lovely welcoming greeting when I get up each morning.

One other thing I can suggest which I find helps, is to try and tire the pup out before you go to bed. If he has been snoozing all evening then he is probably alert and full of beans by the time you are ready for bed, and he wants to play. A bit of tug-o-war or a good gnaw on a piece of raw hide usually works for my little one.

Good luck.