[Liam]

Hi everyone

I was just wondering if anyone would be able to give me some advice regarding an issue that has just started to arise with my pup barking at night when we put him to bed. Bascially our pup bailey is 15 months now and as of the last 3-4 months he now sleeps in the kitchen downstairs on his foam bed. I would say he is normally really good and when we put him to sleep around 10pm we wont hear a peep out of him until we wake up in the morning.

The problem is i dont know if this is related or not, my pup was attacked by another dog around 4 weeks ago now and i think its fair to say he's a bit wary of other dogs now. If i have been at home all day and put him to bed he is normally fine but me and my partner do shift work so sometimes if we are both working late my parents pop in and take the dog for a walk or even to theres until i get home. When i get in the dog sits with me for about an hour and normally falls asleep on the sofa but when i then lift him to his bed and close the door to the hall way (the kitchen has no door and is open with just a baby gate closed) and go up to bed he will start barking. Its really strange, i'll try and ignore it for 10 mins or so and just when i think he has settled he starts again. So i have to give in with it being late at night as i dont wanna wake anyone up, when i go down to him i'll sit downstairs with him for 30 mins or so and normally he'll go back to his bed by himself so i'll then creep upstairs while leaving the hallway door open this time and sometimes i can get away with it but other times he'll bark again.

I dont know if he maybe is suffering a bit after what has happened and doesn't like being on his own but i cant understand why when i am home all day and put him to bed at night he is fine and when i come home from work and put him to bed after an hr or so he plays up. He is fine if he is in the living room with me when i get in from work but seems to hate it when i go up to bed. I have tried walking him late at night and made sure he doesnt need the loo but he still does it.

Would anyone have any ideas to why this might be? Could it be that i have been at work and he has not seen me? That would explain why he is ok when im home all day and put him to bed fine. I would quite happily let him sleep on the floor in our bedroom but my partner is not so keen

Really hope someone can help

Thanks so much

Liam

 

[hanksimon]

I don't have an answer, unless you've changed schedule recently. Otherwise, you might try walking him for 15 min. just before bed to help him burn off that last bit of energy.... try it for 3 - 5 days every night to establish a routine...

 

[macy1020]

I think puppy is just like a human baby. It can not control the emotion well and just appear it directly. Imagine that your baby cries at night, how could you comfort him/her? Maybe what hanksimon suggest you to do is good for your puppy.

 

[volito]

So i have to give in

Theres your first problem

Ok this is where it is tuff for human but here it goes !
Usually we use extinction: its where we train to extinct a behavior "get rid of it forvever" Now if this has just started and you only reinforced it a few times "by going to dog when he barks or whines" It will be a faster process on the other hand if you been reinforcing for a longer time "going downs stairs when barks" it will take longer....This is because the longer the dog gets reinforced the more fustration there will be...One technical term is "partial reinforcement extiction" If you want to research ....

Now if your dog got attacked it can make him unsure of other dogs it can be why he/she started this new behavior....In training we usually don't stick to the WHY so long because the list just keeps going and we just get to training.....

Ok back to the subject you have to not reinforce the behavior "don't go downstairs" but be aware that when you think it is working your going to see "extinction burst" this is when you think it is solved and the dog acts out like you never seen before this is the burst before extinction.....Then finally you think its over until your partner puts dog in room "something different" so we get spontaneous recovery dog barks again "but should be shorter process"

Ok that is the basics of crate training and puppy proof room training! "that is what professional trainers are taught from science based tarining" my opinion is that almost all dogs go through this training to get used to and love there crates!

It's hard for us humans to get the concept of this but dogs do love there crates after this process....I keep mentioning crates but I know you use a seperate puppy proof room have you and your partner concidered a crate? its the same technique and you can move crate anywhere in house and dog will be safe....


well ill leave it at this anymore questions just ask also you can try alone time training....leave dog in room quiet come back and reward work on longer times each successful session....also tired dog is a good dog......