How to stop your dog barking at night

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If your dog starts barking at night, or very early in the morning, it can disturb you, and your neighbours. This guide shows you how to stop your dog barking at night.

Why does my dog bark at night?

There are various reasons for your dog barking at night, the first being that your dog might need to urinate. If you keep a pee mat infront of your dog’s cage, they may bark to get you to open their crate so they can go to the mat. While you open the cage, they think that when they bark, you’ll come. After learning this, they’d start barking for no reason, other than they want to be with you.

If your dog can roam around the house, and is not in a crate at night, he may come to your bedroom door and bark. This is just to be with you.

Dogs normally wake up at around 4am, and go back to sleep after 15-20 minutes. Sometimes, they may not go to sleep again, and just stay there. This causes them to get bored, and want to be with their humans.

How to stop it?

Stopping this is the hard part, because your dog thinks that if they bark, you’ll come. The first way to stop your dog barking is just to ignore it. This can take 2-7 days for your dog to understand that their barking will not get you to come.

The second way is to entertain your dog. If they have a crate, hang a toy from the top of the cage so that they can grab it, and play with it.

If you feel that your dog is insecure/anxious, you need to contact a trainer/vet, they can recommend some sort tools. There are some tools, that release scents. You can also leave a worn T-Shirt with your dog, as they can smell you through it and that comforts you.

Conclusion: For most dogs, ignoring would be the best way forward. At max, it should take a week. If it exceeds that, make sure to contact a trainer nearby.

If you have any more questions, ask a question in the comments, or on Twitter with the tag #ThePetProjectQ or mention @ThePetProjectIN.