Dogs love barking, either at night or during the day. Both are disturbing, but it will be more disturbing at night. This situation might be frustrating for you, especially when it seems that your dog is making noise for no apparent reason.
Your dog probably is not barking at ghosts that roam through the halls of your house. However, he or she might try to tell you something. There are some underlying reasons why your dog keeps barking at night. First is boredom. Just like humans, dogs get bored too.
Dogs tend to vocalize more often when they feel bored, especially when they are left alone for a long period of time. Another reason is fear. Just like humans, dogs feel anxious too as they hear something that is scary or startles them.
Besides, dogs aren’t able to shut out noise as well. They have such acute hearing. Putting on a TV or radio might help block out some external noise and eliminate bedtime barking too.
Let’s see the further explanation on the reasons why your dog is barking at night along with the ways to stop them.
- Take Note of these Factors
There are some factors that may stimulate the night barking. These factors will help you to figure out the best ways to stop it. Here are the factors:
First, it is about the sound of your dog’s bark. Interestingly, there are 11 common types of dog barks, such as the lonely and bored bark, stay away bark, and the “I want what you’ve got” bark.
Different barks can reflect different emotions your dog might have. You can read about boredom in dogs, read it deeper on how to tell that your dog is really bored.
The second factor is about the place where your dog sleeps. If your dog sleeps alone, in a crate or even outdoors, there are some possibilities for his late-night barking. Dogs that sleep in an isolated place are likely to be lonelier.
The last factor is what makes the barking starts and stops. Your dog doesn’t truly bark all night, but some conditions may startle your dog awake.
- Consider Letting Your Dog Sleep out of the Crate
If your dog spends the night in the crate and mostly barks during that time, then you should consider letting your dog sleep outside the crate. If you really want your dog to sleep nicely in the crate overnight, then you can go back to the basic crate training and try to create positive reinforcement.
If you feel like your dog doesn’t feel happy being in a crate, you may follow these ways on how to make your dog love being in the crate.
- Create a Comfortable Sleeping Environment
Another reason why your dog barks at night is discomfort. Your dog might feel cold and unable to move around or even physically uncomfortable. When your dog feel uncomfortable, he might whimper at night and refuse to go to his sleeping spot.
If this is the problem, then you can change your dog’s sleeping environment. Give him a bigger crate or add some padding. If these ways don’t work, and you still suspect any symptoms of discomfort, then contact your vet immediately.
- Play with Him
Dogs need more exercise, and by getting busy, they won’t think to bark! You can try playing some games with your dog every day and provide him with some toys so that he won’t get bored, even when you’re at work.
You can also walk your dog so that he will get extra help burning off the energy. You can try this way if your dog spends most of the time sitting around the house and doesn’t have much to do.
Try these popular tips to keep your dog happy playing indoors. If you wish to give your dog some toys, read some dog toys you have to avoid.
Besides the ways above, there are some tips you can do to stop your dog from barking at might. You need to convince him that barking won’t bring you to him. Here are some tips related to it:
- Convince your dog that barking and whining will get him nowhere. To fix this, you have to ignore him.
- Not to respond. Do not directly go to your dog and do not call out soothing words or holler at him and don’t let him out of his confined place.
- If you comfort your dog once, then you give him the reason that barking will bring him what he wants.
- If your dog doesn’t get rewarded with attention after barking or whining at night, then he won’t have any reason to bark at night and eventually stops that behavior because it doesn’t work at all.
However, if those tips above don’t work, and your dog still barks at night, then you should consult with the vet to seek for any diseases or illness your dog might have.
You can also try these ways on how to train your dog to stop barking.