Suddenly barking through the night - what to do??

[PalmBch2002]

I have 2 dogs - a yorkie and a poodle. They are both crate trained and stay in thier crate in the opposite end of the house from us, at night. The last 2 nights though our poodle has started barking the second we walk away from the crate and she doesn't stop! We've tried everything from spanking her to rattling the crate to just yelling "no" but nothing stops her. We eventually have to just get her out and put her in bed with us to get her to stop barking. The yorkie doesn't bark at all. During the day the poodle will bark but then quiet down after a minute. She is older (about 11-12) and really just sleeps her life away each day. Could she be having seperation issue? I really would love for her to stay in her own bed so I can have mine to myself :) Thanks!

[rileyandfredsmom]

well, the first night you put her in the bed with you is what has caused the continued barking problem. She barked, you rewarded her with getting into bed with you, now, she thinks all she had to do to get out of her crate is to bark and you have reinforced that.

There could be a couple of causes, one might be that there is excessive noise in the neighborhood (firecrackers and such) as this is a holiday week and that has upset her or maybe she isn't feeling well or maybe there is something in her crate that is bothering her. Maybe you should wash her bedding, get a couple of her toys together, put her in it and walk away....no attention needs to be paid to the barking. Also, maybe take her for a long walk before bed or an extra long play session. She will bark for a bit but will eventually settle down, she may even bark the entire night the first night or so but you are going to have to deal with it if you want her back in her crate.

[pocket]

the last 2 nights? it's probably fireworks. ari is having a hard time too.

[lawphil]

It is probably the fireworks this week.

Also I want to reiterate what was said before that by taking her out and putting her in your bed you have rewarded her and she will bark again so that she gets that same reward.

I also would not spank, yell, or rattle her cage. The cage is supposed to be her home & safe haven and you are making it the exact opposite when you yell at her when she is in there or worse shake it. I am actually a little horrified at the thought of rattling a dogs cage or hitting the dog.

The best thing to do is just ignore her -- even if she barks all night. She will eventually give up and realize that she is not getting out. I wouldn't put her back in the cage until you are ready to ride out a night of barking.

[coquelicot]

My dog, who NEVER barks, has even been whining some the past couple of nights. The fireworks are definitely the cause, because she calms down later on. Usually just saying her name and "Hush" from another room will get her to stop. Then again, that's just whining and not flat-out barking. Maybe for a few days until people quit setting off fireworks, have the dog in your bed, but earlier in the evening before she starts barking. She can't associate barking with getting out of her crate, or she'll keep doing it long after the fireworks stop.

[PalmBch2002]

Thanks everyone! It's been non-stop for the last almost 2-weeks so I decided to take her into the vet on Sat. After an examination it was determined that she's near blind and deaf so the vet thought that might be part of the cause. So he suggested a nightlight! So I bought one on Sat and I'm happy to say that last night was the 2nd night in a row that she didn't bark! Kinda silly that it was such a small problem that we could've avoided by just keeping the bathroom light on!