Oh no! Is that dog keeping you up again at night? I know it can be frustrating when my own neighbor’s dog would stay up and howl at the moon all night long.
Why do dogs bark at night?
What can you do to stop dog barking at night when it gets out of hand?
Your dog is up all night yapping over God-knows-what and it’s keeping you awake or running the risk of getting your neighbors on your bad side
or?
Your neighbor’s dog is at it again barking at every stupid insignificant grasshopper or cat that twitches at night. What can you do?
Stop Your Dog’s Unnecessary Barking!
First things first, if your dog is keeping you up at night with their constant barking, find out the source of why your dog is barking. It’s most likely because of their annoying habit but could your dog be barking at a suspicious stranger walking past your house? Could they be barking at a stray animal in your backyard? For whatever reason, figure out if there is a reason why your dog is barking.
Next, in order to stop dog barking at night, don’t shout back at your dog. Shouting back at your dog may only worsen the situation and intensify their barking. This is like the equivalent of when you yell really loud and your buddy yells back “Hey! You wanna get a nice cold beer, bro?” Of course we’re going to keep barking!
Use one word commands when you’re trying to get your dog to stop barking at night. Dogs can only recognize a few words verses sentences. Stick to one word commands like “Stop” or “Quiet” to cease their barking. Make sure you look at your dog in the eyes when you do this. This is a good way to stop dog barking at night.
Also, don’t forget to reward your dog with a “Good Boy/Girl” or treat so they know you still love them even though the whole neighborhood was pounding on your door to get your dog to stop barking at night. When you reward your dog with a treat, make sure he or she has stopped barking first, otherwise they may think you’re rewarding them for barking.
Another way stop dog barking at night or to silence a dog (without hurting them of course) is to startle with noise! Their hearing is a double edge sword, they have super hero hearing as well sensitive hearing.
So next time your dog wakes you up at night, surprise them with a little noise of your own. A whistle or any sort of noise maker, preferable something that makes a loud pitch noise, can usually startle your dog into silence. Next time your dog sees you approaching with a loud noise maker, barking will be the last thing your dog will want to do.
If nothing else works for your dog, you can always resort to spraying them with water (just a soft mist, so put down the fire hose there, cowboy) along with a firm “Stop” in order to stop dog barking at night.
You might also want to keep in mind the breed of dog you want before adopting a dog. There are dogs out there that have a reputation for barking and while some other breeds are known to be quieter.
If you live in a neighborhood where all the houses are really close together, you may want to avoid getting a noisy Yorkshire Terrier, Cairn Terriers, Fox Terrier and a West Highland White Terrier.
Controlling Excessive Barking
You need to be able to control your dogs barking whilst you’re at home. Try to arrange a situation where your dog barks excessively for example, ask someone to knock on your door or make a sound that you know will make your dog bark. Your dog will then race to that sound and start to bark loudly, you then need to grab his collar whilst at the same time giving the command ‘quiet no barking’.
Your dog should then stop barking, once your dog stops barking give him lots of praise and reward with a doggy treat if available. If he continues to bark wrap your fingers around his muzzle to close his mouth. This needs to be firm so use both hands if you need to and give the command again ‘quiet no barking’. You may need to do this several times before your dog realizes what you want him to do, be patient.
Dog barking in excess is not acceptable to people especially at night. The important thing is to find out what is causing your dog to bark excessively in the first place. This may take a few days of observation to discover what is causing your dog to react with this behavior. You can sometimes find the reason for your dog barking excessively through asking your neighbors if they know of any reason why your dog barks so much especially if you are out and not able to observe.
There are other ways to observe your dog barking with the use of video cameras or setting up a voice recorder to see if there is any sort of pattern to your dog’s behavior, hopefully, this will bring to light what is causing the problem which will then give you the steps to help correct the problem.
When dogs are left alone for long periods of time with no stimulation and confined to a small area they will become bored and frustrated. When this happens they will find ways to relieve the boredom and give signs to their unhappiness by barking.
If your dog is left with little food or water or a toy with which they can play with again boredom and frustration will set in which may then lead to more excessive barking. Your dog needs lots of stimulation, take your dog for lots of walks get him to socialize with other people and dogs, play with your dog regularly.
The most stressful time for us is hearing a dog bark excessively during the night when you are trying to get your well deserved sleep, this is all you need in the middle of the night is to suddenly hear your dog barking and upsetting those all around you. This can really play on your nerves and your neighbors.
Being a responsible dog owner means you need to do all you can the resolve the dog barking habit. Dogs are born to bark, it is a natural thing for them to do, you are not trying to stop your dog from never barking but you are trying to stop the excessive barking that cause you so much stress. Constant yapping does strain your friendships with your neighbors and can cause ongoing resentment.
If your problem is that your next door neighbor’s dog is driving you crazy at night with their endless barking, mention this article to your neighbor. They might be just as fed up with their barking as you are and want to stop dog barking at night as well.
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