Puppy barks hysterically at 3 in the morning! Still has separation anxiety, What do I do?

Question

I try and let him bark, since I dont want him to get in the habit of thinking we jump to every cry. BUT! My neighbors probably hate us, and I do just want him to shutup sometimes! We tried putting him in the room with us, which works for a while then he is back to screaming and barking. I tried putting ablanket over his crate which wors for a few hours... How can we get him to stay quiet at night in his crate??? (He has toys, a Kong and treats! We always walk him before bedtime) I am so frustrated!!!

4 mo old Shih Tzu

Answer 1

take him out for a pee. do not let him pee in the cage or else that starts a whole new problem. Also put a toy in with him. Good luck!

Answer 2

How old is he? You say he's a puppy, maybe he needs to go outside? I know you walk him before bed, and that's great, but puppies don't have the capacity to hold themselves all night. Bring him outside first to see if this is the problem.
Edit: Yes, 4 months old is much too young too be holding their bladder all night! A rule of thumb is to add 1 to how many months old they are and that's how long in hours they can hold themselves. So, 4 + 1= 5 hours. So your pup starts to cry around that time! I'd say this is the issue.

If you're sure that's not the problem, then you're right, you can't respond to his barking. Even getting up or yelling at him is attention. He's going to keep doing it as long as it gets a reaction, whatever that may be. It will be a noisy, sleepless couple of nights, however you need to stop responding. Before long he'll know barking doesn't get him anywhere. This is what crate training entails, the dog being able to be left in his crate for extended periods of time without a fuss.
Good luck with your dog!

Answer 3

Never put a muzzle on it.Trust me.If desperate,you can try...But if you put on the muzzle,your dog will get very agitated and bark or bite even more after it is taken out.

You should get a professional trainer to train him.If thrifty, you can get a home training set at pet shops at lesser price.

Oh yes,do not scream at it.It will think you are happy with it's "show" and bark more.

Answer 4

As a professional dog trainer for over 16 years, I have to tell you my strong opinion that you need these group classes for obedience training. http://OnlineDogTraining.enle.info/?kquh

Other pet warehouses are there to get you to buy their products and hang around their strore. And their trainers are their employees...never forget they have an agenda. Most of the trainers have very little education--if they had actual training and skills they wouldn't be there making just over minimum wage--trust me on this. But even if they did have experience and talent...a group setting is a terrible place for learning to take place. It's distraction training and it is the LAST phase of training not the first. You wouldn't have your child try to do their homework in a toy store, would you? Of course not...the level of distraction would be too high! It's the same with dogs. Having said that, these classes can be an excellent way to socialize dogs...but not to train them. And while they appear to be cheaper than a professional trainer...you have to attend many more sessions to get the same results because of the poor learning environment--so you wind up spending MORE money for less training than you would with a professional. Save your money and go to someone who actually knows how to train dogs. OR, read books and try to train your dog yourself. There is nothing they train at a Petsmart or Petco that you can't do yourself with a couple of hours of reading.

Answer 5

He is hungry? Put a dog dish in his crate for "snack" He might still be used to suckling milk from his mother when he feels hunger pangs

Answer 6

try covering the kennel with a blanket and putting a stuff toy that it can cuddle next too

Answer 7

Simple train it , scold it , sell it or get rid of it

Answer 8

Buy a muzzle.