We have a 12 week old puppy weimaraner. She is crated at night & has progressed (since 8 weeks old) from barking alot of the night to barking minimally.
She no longer barks when she is put in, but she does bark in the middle of the night (usually right before we are ready to let her out to go potty) & she barks in the morning (usually right before we are ready to get up & take her for a walk & feed her.) Its almost as if she has developed an internal clock, but its just a tad early. We've been ignoring her & not letting her out until she stops barking, but she still continues to bark at those times of the night. Any suggestions?
2007-06-01 05:48:23 · 6 answers · asked by Kirsten S 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Maybe she is LONELY. I dunno why people buy puppies if they aren't going to baby them. Why put her in a crate when you ARE HOME?? I understand putting them in a crate for damage control during the time when you are not there, but to not sleep with your dog?? What kind of people don't sleep with their dogs??
2007-06-01 05:53:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
You are definitely on the right track by not letting her out until she stops barking! It may be that she just can't wait any longer in the morning. You know how you wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is pee? It may be that she woke up an hour earlier and has been crossing her doggie legs hoping you'd wake up and let her out.
The fact that she barks just before she is to be let out to potty in the night tells you something about what needs to be done to resolve the problem. It seems that she has learned that she always gets to come out a while after she goes in and that is probably contributing to the barking problem in the middle of the night. This means her body is getting ready to pee and as the time gets closer she figures she'll throw in some barking to speed things up. (Our environments can trigger even such fundamental urges as urination! I used to have evening meetings and it got so that I always had to pee at 7:30pm... right about the time we usually took a break. For about 15 minutes before the break I was already feeling the sensations... on a schedule. Now that I don't have those meetings that 7:30 urge is gone.)
I would not crate her until you're going to be leaving her in for the night... don't put her in and then let her out in the middle of the night when you go to bed. Just leave her out until you're ready to go to bed so that she can learn that once she's in she's in for the night. Let her doze on a dog bed or next to you as you watch TV or whatever you're doing in the evening, but discontinue putting her in and letting her out later in the night.
If it's any consolation my dogs are older than yours and now they sometimes sleep until 9am!
2007-06-01 13:00:59 · answer #2 · answered by Behaviorist 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Aside from using a remote collar (which I don't recommend) there are no other suggestions.
What you're doing is right. Ignore her and let her out when she's quiet and calm. My dogs had to be in the down position before they were allowed out. And even when I opened the door they had to wait till I have them a command to leave the kennel. You may want to try that. It's a little more control.
She's doing what she's been trained to do. "When I bark, they come, let me out, and I go for a walk"
When she barks - though early, and frustrating you must ignore her. Don't yell (it only encourages and reinforces the behavior because you're giving her attention). Just ignore.
Put her in sit and/or down before you open the door. Don't let her just run out. Give her a command to leave.
Good Luck
2007-06-01 13:01:11 · answer #3 · answered by sillybuttmunky 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i have a 1 year old westie and we had to crate train him what you need to do before u put her in the crate make sure she goes to the bathroom to do #1 AND #2 and put a small toy in the crate to entertain her what i did was every time my dog barked i would tell him no and each night that he got better if he did ok i would give him a small piece of cheese in the morning and when he got better i gave him more and more cheese the following morning he learned this at 6 months and now he doesnt bark just make sure u give her her fav. treat everymorning and say why she deservies it
2007-06-01 13:16:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My dogs do that too. You might want to try and change your routine a little every day so she gets out of the schedule. I also put the crate in my room so my dog knows I'm near by, that seemed to help him.
The person who said you should sleep with your dog is mistaken. To a dog this would be putting them on the same level as you and can cause future problems.
Dogs are not babies or people, they are dogs.
2007-06-01 12:57:54 · answer #5 · answered by rmblr529 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
sounds like she is bored and is wanting some attention
2007-06-05 05:30:53 · answer #6 · answered by cheri h 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋