A dog can be your best friend and like many best friends they can talk (or in your dog’s case bark) a lot especially when you would rather they not such as when you are trying to sleep. However, unlike your best friend, you can do something to help your dog stop barking at night especially if they are a naturally talkative dog who seem to not be able to help themselves.
But Why Do They Bark Instead of Sleep
Dogs can use barking as a way to tell you something rather it is what they think is a warning or how they are feeling. Your dog could be lonely, in need of more attention that they did not get during the day, bored since they are feeling restless due to a high amount of energy that they did not burn off while exercising or they could be hearing far away sounds that are making them sound the alarm to protect you.
Before You Start to Train
There are few simple rules you should keep in the back of your head while you teach them not to bark at strange times of the night, especially when there is no need for them to do so. Such as not yelling at them since this could make it seem as if you are barking with them and encouraging them to do so. Keep the training upbeat and positive as well as consistent. And get the rest of the house involved as not to confuse the dog.
How to Teach Them Stop
If you only have one dog then there could be a high chance that they are just lonely and you may have to let them sleep inside. However, if this is not possible then getting another dog can help them and you out a lot. But some dogs may actually not like other dogs and this could be the reason behind their night-time barking.
Here is a method to help them learn that other dogs are not a treat and do not need to be barked at: ask a friend who has a quiet, and calm dog to come over or meet up. Start with them being out of sight of your dog. When your friend and their dog get in your dog’s sight then you should start giving your dog really tasty dog food and stop when the friend is out of sight again.
You may have to repeat this for a few days until your dog makes the connection that another dog is good since food is good. However, make sure that your dog is on a leash since they could get scared and runoff. If you are looking for a lost dog you can send out a lost pet alert on a number of websites.
Telling your dog what to do can also be a good way to decrease their barking at night. Simple commands like ‘quiet’ can do the trick. You will need treats. When they bark and do not stop when you say ‘quiet’ then they do not get a treat. But once they stop you shower them with praise and the treat.
Everything you extend the time of silence before you hand overpraise and treats. ‘Go to your place’ or ‘place’ is also a good command to teach them. What you can place a treat in their place and teach them what the command means. Once they know what it means you tell them the command and then go to open any door while they are in their place. If they leave their place to investigate, close the door straight away so they do not see anything.
Take away their treat and try again. Once they learn to stay in their place then you reward them with more treats and praise. There are other things you can do such as making them exercise a bit more (if they can) or ignore them when they bark and only pay attention to them when they stop. This last one may take more time since you should extend the length of how long they stay quiet for before you give them the attention that they want.
Conclusion
There can be many different reasons why dogs bark at night but you can be able to teach them not to. Dogs bark to warn you of something but if there is nothing there, they can end up barking ‘wolf’ with no need.
It is important to understand your dog as well as give them and yourself time in order to fix the barking at night issue. Doing this will help you sleep better at night as well as helping your dog get the rest that they need. Plus, your neighbors will be gratefully too.
