Unnecessary barking

[hazelcb]

My Yorkie, Butch, is 11 1/2 years old. We adopted him when he was 8. His previous "owners," if one can even use that word, had almost starved him to death. He was limp and unresponsive when they brought him to the vet. They claimed they'd "forgotten" to feed him. Butch was also covered in urine and feces. We think he was a puppy mill stud dog who'd had little interaction with people.

After a long stay at our vets' and after getting used to us and to people in general, Butch has become a sweet, loving, happy little man. (He weighs about 5 pounds.) However, some time ago, he started barking for no reason.

At night, he sleeps in his crate, which he loves. He often trots into his crate during the day. All of his toys are there, as well as comfy, soft bedding. However, at night, as soon as he goes into his crate, he starts barking. At first, he only did so for a couple of minutes, and then settled down. Now, he starts barking, and he just won't stop. (We put him to bed when we go to bed. We're in the bed, which is right next to his "little house.")

We've tried talking gently to him, sympathizing with him, ignoring him, or sternly saying "Butch! NO!" The last is the only thing that seems to stop him, at least for a while.

So, what are we doing wrong? What can we do to stop this bedtime behavior?

Thanks for your help!

Hazel

[buddybear]

Instead of putting him in his crate take him into your bed and give him his own special spot to sleep on. If he gets off and goes to his crate so be it.

Normally do you leave his crate door open at night or lock him in????

[hazelcb]

Butch can't get off our bed on his own. He's way too tiny. If he tried to get off our bed, he'd fall and injure himself.

We leave the door to his crate closed. He likes to wander into his crate during the day, and sometimes we've pushed the door almost shut. He seems to be fine with that. Butch loves his "little house." It's only at bedtime that he barks when he's in his little house.

The barking didn't start up immediately. It started quite some time after Butch joined our family.

We have cats, too, and several sleep on our bed. Butch doesn't like it if cats come too close to his personal space, so he snarls at them. I don't think we want to deal with a night of snarling.

Hazel

[canana]

This is quite the mystery! I'm so curious to know too why the barking suddenly started. I feel like something very very small and undetectable must have happened...

* Have you tried to wash the bedding in his little house / crate? I wonder if the cats went into his crate so he is barking / mad that his bedding has cat-smell?

* Does he bark when he goes into the crate during the day?

* Is there something like a reflection that he sees from where his crate is? I know my dogs will bark when they see something moving in the reflection of glass or mirror. Maybe Butch sees a reflection of the cat moving around at night?

* Have you tried to cover up the crate so he can't see out?

* If the crate door is closed, would it help if you placed the crate up on a chair so it's at eye-level to your bed so he can see you guys?

Can you tell I'm excited to find a solution to solve this? hahaa.. I like puzzles & problem solving..hehe...

[Britster]

It may sound cruel, but if he has to sleep in his crate, try moving it to another room or putting a blanket over it. Jackson would never sleep in a crate in the room with me, if he knew I was right next to him, without wanting out but he also is used to sleeping in my bed so I'm not sure.

[hazelcb]

Thanks so much for your detailed reply, canana! To answer your questions:

1. Yes, we wash his bedding regularly. The cats aren't able to get into his little house/crate.

2. When he wanders into his little house during the day, he doesn't bark. He just settles down and plays with his toys.

3. I don't think there are any reflections that he can see. His little house is down on the ground, and our windows are up much higher, so he wouldn't be able to see them.

4. We haven't tried covering up his little house. I wonder if putting a towel or blanket over his little house might help. Maybe we'll have to give that a try.

5. We haven't tried to put his little house up on a chair, either. He can see me--I'm on Butch's side of the bed--easily. (He's a mama's dog.) He starts barking even before we put the lights out.

Butch basically runs our household. (We have 8 rescue cats, he's one of two rescue dogs, and we have 2 foster cats from an animal rescue.) No matter what room we're in, if one of us walks out of the room, Butch barks, too. We are not permitted to leave the room without his say-so. He is really quite a personality!

Any help would be appreciated.

Hazel the Puzzled

[hazelcb]

Originally Posted by Britster

It may sound cruel, but if he has to sleep in his crate, try moving it to another room or putting a blanket over it. Jackson would never sleep in a crate in the room with me, if he knew I was right next to him, without wanting out but he also is used to sleeping in my bed so I'm not sure.

I'm going to try the blanket over his "little house" this evening. I wonder if moving his little house to another room would help. We'll have to give that one a try, too.

[canana]

Originally Posted by hazelcb

Thanks so much for your detailed reply, canana! To answer your questions:
...
4. We haven't tried covering up his little house. I wonder if putting a towel or blanket over his little house might help. Maybe we'll have to give that a try.

5. We haven't tried to put his little house up on a chair, either. He can see me--I'm on Butch's side of the bed--easily. (He's a mama's dog.) He starts barking even before we put the lights out.

Butch basically runs our household. (We have 8 rescue cats, he's one of two rescue dogs, and we have 2 foster cats from an animal rescue.) No matter what room we're in, if one of us walks out of the room, Butch barks, too. We are not permitted to leave the room without his say-so. He is really quite a personality!

Any help would be appreciated.

Hazel the Puzzled

Then in this case, I'd say he may bark more if you put him in another room at night. I know mine will go crazy if they can't see me while sleeping at night - both are crate trained and need to have a good sightline of me when they're asleep.

Covering the crate worked for Scottie but not for Casie. You can try covering different parts of the crate (part or all sides).

In your situation, I'd try some conditioning, if he's only barking during night time due to some kind of fear. As soon as he goes in the crate at night, before the light is turned off, and if he's quiet, I'd give him a treat (or a nice yummy chew for longer distraction). I'd only offer this super yummy treat/chew during this time of the day (i.e. he can't have this any other time). He'll learn that this yummy treat/chew is only available at this time and will look forward to bedtime when the lights are turned off and hopefully associate it with 'good things' and stop barking. **if he starts barking - take away the chew. Treats/chew only if he's quiet.

Or...maybe give him a nightlight? Maybe he became afraid of the dark

Or...the reason could just be that he's trying to put you in your place and that it's not out of fear or anything, but rather it's the intelligent side of Butch trying to train his human In this case, you'll have to tough it out and ignore the barking. For Scottie this ignoring stage took 1-2 very tiring months. For Casie, she stopped barking after less than 1 week!