Marley has started growling and barking at every little noise he hears in the night when he is in bed.  I leave him to bark for a while hoping he will stop but he doesnt so I go down tell him to be quite and go straight back up without giving him any fuss, I thought this would stop it, it has been a week now and it was every hour last night.  I havent got long until the neighbours start complaining any ideas on why this has started (hes been fine for two months) and more importantly how do I stop it?

Hmm! looks like I have two choices, I sleep downstairs until he realises theres nothing to be scared of or I take him upstairs n gradually move him back down, which Im a little afraid of doing as I can imagine him ending up there the next 15 years!!!  Looks like a few nights on the couch for me then :-(

My puppy started doing this!  She slept fine, after the initial week and then all of a sudden started barking and whining at night, and waking the kids up!!  I bought her bed upstairs with me and she's been fine ever since!!

is that because shes remained upstairs hough or did you managed to get her back downstairs?

Wow how strange is this...mine has started doing this too!! ( but in the day as well :( ) At first we were laughing calling him our little watchdog now I have to shush him all the time. I left him to bark once as well , he gave himself a sore throat :(  He sleeps with us so hes not lonely. Sometimes he doesn't do it at all, other times its every little noise...I think he thinks hes protecting us letting us know somethings about !!!  Must say he does do it more when hubby is on nights !!

Yes, I can hear him growling before he starts barking and his hackles are up! he thinks hes protecting us, even though if anyone walked in he would be straight on his back wanting a tummy rub!!!  :-) 

I really didnt want him sleeping upstairs but he seems to be going through a bit of funny phase and I dont likie the thouht of him getting scared in the night

I didn't want our dog upstairs but to be honest we all get a better nights sleep and the bonus is that we also get a lie in at weekends!!  Before I think she missed us and barked until we got up whereas now she wakes, looks at us still asleep, and leaves us until 9ish??!!  We just take her bed up and she gets in and stays there.

Maybe leaving a radio on quietly, she will not be in such silence it can be very scary for a baby to be alone in the dark, every tick or snick of the house cooling down even might make her think a big bad Bogey man is coming.

perhaps try a night light or a lamp with a low watt bulb, then he'll see nothing is there.

Is he in a room where your boiler is or a noisy radiator pipe that makes sounds that cause him to bark???

You may have a mouse in your kitchen.

I thought about doing this, Im ging to try it tonight.  There is a lamp post near to the kitchen window so its not dark in there.  Oh come to think of it there is a mouse who lives in our garden-perhaps its got in!!!  I think it is mainly when there is activity in the street though, a voice, a car, a door being open or shut, early hours in the morning it could possibly even be cats coming in the garden or something as when I look out the window I cant see anything, hopefully a radio will drown out these noises and he will be more settled again :-)

hi
our puppy 6 month old has been doing this recently
screaming when he is put into his puppy bed/pen
then eats the bars to get out,barks whines u name it for around a hour or so
then in middle of night he does it we take him toiliet and its back to bed

but these last few days he has been barking all night and is only relaxed in the lounge he hates being confined to his pen
but its for his own safety at night we cant have him free in the house at night.

what shall we do?
we thought of bringing him upstairs but then doesnt he get used to this and be spoilt?
and then have withdrawel symtoms and become stressed if he cant be in our constant company all the time? anxiety ?
we have the dap diffuser its not working :(

Our dog does this constantly and there is no easy fix they either stop it or they dont!!! awfull I know!!

I think its due to the light nights as our was quiet for a while over the winter but now starts a 4 in the morning!!!!!! she does this for a wee and a drink and a poo and if she hears anyone out and about or awake next door!!! The only thing that shuts her up is someone getting up and letting her out of her crate for whatever she wants, go back to bed if you like she be fine for a while anyway, so we muzzled her over night and it works fine she is used to a muzzle though considering that she barks her head and your ears off at every opportunity!!! big dog loud bark!!! deaf owners and annoyed neighbours....lol  and now children who sleep through anything..lol

gumi, could it be your pup is getting a little cramped in the crate now he is bigger? If not, I would try giving a stuffed kong at bedtime, and if that doesn't work, start crate training again.

Mands, why does your dog bark to be let out for a drink? Is she shut in without a drink? I can't imagine anything worse than not being above to have a drink with a dry mouth, especially in this hot weather. Having said that, has it occurred to you that rather being dominant (as you mentioned in the other thread) your dog is simply very good at 'playing' you? She barks because she wants something, how else is she meant to let you know? Then you respond, giving her what she wants. Why wouldn't she bark? It gets her what she wants. If she needs a drink or the toilet, and is barking to get out for that reason, muzzling her is very cruel, in my opinion. Yes, it'll stop her barking, but it won't stop her needing a drink or needing the toilet. :-(

most of the time she barks for nothing, I have gave her a drink in the crate but she sits in it and spills it leaving 2 very wet dogs and a huge puddle on the floor and yes she continues to do it and play us becuase she gets what she wants. She is muzzled because she will bark for hours and having 2 children that will sllep through it for a while and a dog that has more stamina than us  she will bark all night to be out of the crate but then I have a dog that out of the crate will destroy everything and mess all over the floor ! she is now 2 and would still do the same, if you there for her to tell you as she wont mess in the crate thats fine but when out of the crate she thinks of nothing just to do it on the floor and not ask to go out or let you know in any way...........this dog was from a bad breeder and I got her at 6 months old with a prolapsed third eye lid which the breeder said she had just bumped during the journey and an abnormal nipple which will be removed when she has her first season,,,,still waiting. The muzzle is a size bigger than she needs so she can wear it over night it doesnt stop her barking but it does stop the excessively loud and aggresive barks. its big enough for her to drink through and pant. Even after hours of walking and activities shes not bored she does however suffer from separation axiety, but upstairs with us she ate the stair carpet and ended up in the vets with suspected nylon in her stomach which had to potential to rupture and cut her stomach, she is a weimaraner and they are notoriuos for eating things they shouldnt unfortunately she doesnt have the brains to realise that what she is chewing or eating could kill her! and this is not something shes grown out of or going to grow out of due to the separation anxiety, according to the vet Im doing everything right that I can do to keep her safe, she also wears a muzzle not just for the barking but the main reason is she destroys and eats whatever she lies on, she even destroyed the tray in the crate and I cant have her bed down on nothing.  What do you recommend I do with her. I would seriously like your advice and from others too.

Well, how did you crate train her? However, if that wasn't the reason, I'd be working on the seperation anxiety.

If nothing else works, I'd have her sleeping in her crate next to my bed.

>muzzling her is very cruel, in my opinion. Yes, it'll stop her barking, but it won't stop her needing a drink or needing the toilet.

I agree,
other than the frustration/cruelness factor,muzzling the dog is just putting a band aid on the problem,not actually solving it...

Mands you don't happen to be a Cesar fan?

I would like to have her in the crate next to my bed but the room just isnt big enough its a big crate the biggest size you can get she and the othe dog both sleep in it , for all it is he sanctuary and she takes all of her toys and treats in it its no substitute for your human companion.

I agree it is a band aid but how do I stop her barking?,

she has nearly went throught he living room window on a number of occasions when anyone or any thing enters the street.

I have seen a number of trainers with her and they all say the same thing ' how do you cope with this dog?' I say do because I see the potential in her when shes being good, I CANT REHOME HER BECAUSE I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH HER THATS JUST PASSING THE PROBLEM ON.

Without knowing or seeing the dog it is hard to advise, but from what you have said on this and other post, (if this is the one you refer to as 'dominant') I would say you have one very frightened and unhappy dog.

YOu need ot find a good, very experienced behaviourist who will not be fazed by her behaviour, and will reassure you.

>I agree it is a band aid but how do I stop her barking?,

Geez i  wish i could answer that,but I'm no trainer.All of my dogs have always slept in the bedroom with me from day one,so i have never experienced these types of problems before.Plus, i have never, and will never use a crate,my views on those are not positive.
I hope someone will come along that will be able to help you and your dog..Be prepared to answer loads of questions :-D

I am concerned that you crate the two dogs together.  The only time I would expect two dogs to share a crate is when I am with them likeat a show or travelling. 

It could be the other dog hogs all the space, growl at her when she moves etc,a and she is barking as she doesn't like the situation.

Yes it is and I refer to her as dominant because of how she behaves with the other dog. Ill explain

she mounts him when he has a toy or a bone and has it before she had a chance to get it

when she has a toy she will shove it in his face and run away with it or just sit next to him

she will fight with him over toys

If he has a toy or bone she will stand over him as long as you let her

when we are out and off lead she bites his hind quarters, hangs off his neck and ears to the point of drawing blood

she wont entertain other dogs only to snap at them she will walk infront of them and keep looking behind her if they get too close shell have a few short barky snaps at them

and then on the other hand some dogs she sees she lies down on her tummy with legs out until they get to her alomost as if she is pointing at them.

Im not a dog expert and this is behaviour I dont understand and havent witnessed before , not all of it is her being dominant. Admittedly I am doing things wrong but not knowing what to do , where do you start.

When Im working she does go to work with hubby for the day and loves it.

> I am concerned that you crate the two dogs together.  The only time I would expect two dogs to share a crate is when I am with them likeat a show or travelling. 
>
> It could be the other dog hogs all the space, growl at her when she moves etc,a and she is barking as she doesn't like the situation

I can understand why you would think that but they share the crate very well and out of the crate she lies with him. if anything she lies ontop of him in the crate even though there is plenty of room. He hasnt always been in the crate wih her she did have it to herself and is better behaved and quieter when hes in it, he actually started going in on his own when I said bed time. She seems to be more concerned what is going on out of the crate and steps all over him even sitting on his head whil the rest of the crate is empty.

None of the behaviours you have described imply dominance to me.

when she has a toy she will shove it in his face and run away with it or just sit next to him

That sounds to me like she is simply trying to instigate play, my dogs do this to each other all the time.

she will fight with him over toys

That sounds like pretty normal doggy behaviour, it is usually play that gets out of hand, assuming no serious injury?

If he has a toy or bone she will stand over him as long as you let her

That sounds simply like she wants what he has, but knows he's unlikely to be pleased if she tried to take it, so doesn't and insteads waits around for him to leave it.

I would imagien the mounting is learned behaviour, maybe something she does when excited. The out off lead thing sounds like play but that she has little or no bite inhibition and he's not good at letting her know that.

Her behaviour with other dogs does sound like she is scared of them.