Barking dog??

Question

At night when I put my dog in the garage(she sleeps in there cuz she's an outdoor dog, and its warm in there) for the night, she will start barking and won't stop until early morning. Any tips on how to silence her?

Answer 1

I had a Rott/Pitt mix that used to do the very same thing and it used to drive me crazy, and he would start just when I was falling asleep. This is what finally worked for me, i got a radio nothing fancy and i find a am talk radio station not music and left it on. And the first night i tried it he was quiet, I actually got worried and went and checked on him and he was out cold sleeping. Then i asked a trainer friend of mine and he said that They howl and whine because the house gets to quiet and the noise of the talk radio makes him think someone is home. I have also heard a old fashioned tick tick clock will work, but i found the radio did the trick for him. The idea of the shock collar is a good one, but it will make him not bark either and if you have a intruder you wont know. Hope this works as well for you as it did for me!!

Answer 2

Is this a working dog? That is, does she tend to sheep or cattle? If so, then training is in order.

If not, then I'm not sure why you even have this dog. To keep it outside all day, then toss it inside a garage at night, where it is alone both day and night throughout the year seems cruel. Playing with the dog for a few minutes a day or when you feed her is hardly companionship. She wants either companionship or wants to be free.

However, if you are set in your ways, then more obedience training is needed. Some people have suggested collars with sprays or mild shocks - those can work. Alternatives are you doing the training yourself. This is good because it sounds like the dog doesn't spend much time with people, so training her gives you that extra bonding she desperately needs.

Train using the "good cop/bad cop" routine. Start by praising and reassuring her when she's brought in the garage (lots of "good girls!"). Then have a can with some coins in it (about 20 pennies is fine). Stand near your garage door, but don't let her see you. When she barks, toss the can at her feet. It makes this loud noise, which will surprise her. Then go inside the garage and say things like, "Come here girl - oh you poor thing, that loud noise scared you." The goal is for her to associate barking with that loud can being tossed at her and her being quiet being associated with praise from you. This way she doesn't view you as punishing her, but rather, whenever she barks, there's this loud can coming crashing near her! She doesn't like that and hence will be more quiet.

Also, try making a spot in the garage for her. Get a large crate (big enough for her to stand and turn around in). But in a soft cushion. Give her toys and a treat. This way she knows that crate time is also sleep time - and she gets a reward when she goes into her crate.

I'm still a fan of more interaction on your part with your dog (unless she's a working dog). I've seen people keep their dogs outside day/night and it boggles my mind - the poor things are alone constantly. What type of life is that. But if you can't do this, then at least train her better and make sure she is spayed. An outside dog that is not spayed will eventually get pregnant.

Answer 3

Do not use a bark collar. If I understand this correctly as I have never used one a bark collar shocks the dog everytime it barks? That is just cruel. How would you like to be shocked everytime you spoke? What if the dog was in pain during the night and needed to let you know or what if someone was breaking in? How would the dog let you know? There are many other ways than shock collars to solve behavior problems.
Consult an animal behaviorist. I wish I could give you more advice as to what is the best way to solve this problem, but I am not an expert. I just wanted to plead with you not to take shock collar advice. It is cruel. I've shocked myself with one of those just to see how it feels and it HURTS!!!

Answer 4

I don't like the bark collars simply because there are occasions where it is appropriate for a dog to bark. I don't think it's a good idea to train them not to bark at all.

When I had my dog outside as a pup, he'd bark at all kinds of stuff. I'd go outside, reassure him that things were okay, tell him to 'be quiet', then go back inside. If he persisted in barking, I'd go back out, tell him to be quiet, grab his snout, and give him a light swat across the nose.

He got the point that it was okay to bark at strange people, but it was not okay to keep barking after I told him to quiet down or after the strange people had passed the property.

Answer 5

Hmm theres a few things like the citronella collar, it shoots citronella oil in the dogs face when it barks, but its kinda cruel.

So maybe you could start training the dog not to bark. Whatever you do dont yell when its barking this just reinforces its barking, the dog thinks you are barking with it.

Answer 6

Let her sleep indoors one night and see if she still barks. You can try a muzzle or see if there is something out there that would bother her. Spend the night in the garage with her, see what she does.

Answer 7

bark collars are very helpful if your dog has a low threshold for pain. i bought one for my dog and although a buddy of mine and i felt a huge sting when we tried it on ourselves my dog wasn't even phased. any who, barking is sometimes a sign of a very energetic dog. try exercising him by walking him a few hours before you go to bed and play with him as much as you can. if the dog will retriever through a tennis ball or frisbee for him and wear his tail out. usually lots of exercise will help a dog who barks a lot. also, you may want to get him a kennel to sleep in. dogs are den animals and usually will feel comfortable and eventually settle down when they feel comfortable inside their den. this may take a few nights for them to get use to their new surrounds but pick up a training book that will show you ways to make him more comfy more quickly in his new home.

Answer 8

trust me what ever you do dont give her ANY attetntion she has to learn but after a certain amoutn of time lets say 5 months and she is still barking wellthe nyou better take her inside you could uot a crate in your room and keep her in there she may just want to be near you

Answer 9

She's lonely, genius. Bring her inside.

Dogs are social animals. They live in packs. They aren't meant to be outside dogs, and they aren't meant to spend hours and hours alone.

Social animals need the companionship of other animals, both for their sense of security, and for their mental growth. How would you like to be forced to stay someplace with very minimal contact from anybody? It would suck. How do you think the dog feels? Jesus, if you locked me in the garage all night, I'd swear at you, too.

Answer 10

Bark collar.Petsmart has them.