Being a pet owner means having small creatures and big responsibilities to deal with. You spend the whole day with your lovable dog, cuddling and playing frisbee, but as soon as you hit the sack, it has a sudden barking outburst.
Your dog barking at night doesn't only mess with your eardrums and sleep of your neighbors but also indicates that your dog might be having a problem. What that problem is could be anywhere from gaining attention to alerting against intruders.
This article entails the reasons and treatments on how to stop dogs barking at night. So, without further ado, let's get right into it.
Why Do Dogs Bark at Night?
First things first, you need to determine the factors that are causing your dog to bark in the middle of the night. Dogs usually bark at night for a variety of reasons, some usual, others unusual. We have listed the most common reasons below. Let's study them in detail.
Hunger
Hunger doesn't only make humans cranky but animals too. Often the low howling noise at night means they're hungry or the meal they had was insufficient. They growl with their mouths closed and lick their outer lips frequently. However, they bark excessively only when they haven't had any meals for days on end.
Boredom
Dogs tend to bark when they become bored of their environment or do not get the required stimulation. This can be if they have stayed the whole day indoors, have lost interest in their play toys and need something new as their friend.
Loneliness
One of the biggest reasons your dog might be barking at night is because they feel lonely. Dogs are naturally social; they love to be along with their kind or their hooman. And staying apart from the world the whole day can make them sad and lonely. Your long working hours are as bleak for them as for you.
And this can even make them scared, especially if they sleep in their crates or far away from you and were previously habitual of sleeping with their mother or fellow dogs.
Discomfort
Another reason your dog might be barking at night is that they are uneasy. They may be trying to indicate that the crate they sleep in is uncomfortable since barking is associated with emotions and physical discomfort.
Similarly, depending upon the weather, they might be cold, cannot change their position, or are in pain. In such cases their barking is loud, anxious, or frightened.
Intrusion Alert
Dogs have an innate quality to alert their owners of any intrusion near the house or neighborhood. They have this instinct to bark when they see something unusual or something frightens them. Most of the time, this is the case and is encouraged widely.
Seeking Attention
Dogs tend to bark when they need your attention over something, this is true not only for nights but daytime also. They think that barking will bring you to them, and it is usually when they need to be petted or played around with.
Improper Training
Your dog may also be barking because he is accustomed to being out in the yard at night and tonight its locked up in the house. If the dog is outside, it may be barking because someone tried to take it away. In such cases, proper training can play a crucial role in telling the dog what he needs to do.
Great Audible Range
Dogs have a really high audible range, meaning they can hear sounds that human ears can't. These sounds may be coming from far away places or animals having high-pitched voices. They might also react to cars passing by or some wayfarer by barking.
In such cases, they wake up suddenly, startled, nervous and will begin barking uncontrollably. This is usually temporary, but giving attention to the dog when it barks in the middle of the night would be an encouragement to his behavior. And this can lead to habitual barking for attention.
Insufficient Physical Activity
Dogs have way too much energy stored in them. When they do not get a positive means to release their energy in physical or mental activity, they begin growling. They need to have the means to utilize their power daily, and just running around the yard doesn't suffice.
This is more common in breeds like Husky, Jack Russell, or The Spruce. The energy build-up makes them restless, and they use barking to let go of that pent-up energy. Hence, destroying your sleep.
How to Stop Dog Barking at Night?
We've looked at the reasons why your dog might be barking in the middle of the night, but now what can you do to stop it? The one thing you are not supposed to do when your dog barks is, respond.
Not that you don't need to look into the matter if your dog is behaving unusually. There are stories upon stories of dogs saving their owners from fire or invasion by barking. But you don’t want to impose the idea that barking could be their way of catching your attention.
Go to them when they become silent, usually a couple of seconds between their barks, and give treats to let them know that you encourage their behavior when they are quiet.
This will indicate that you appreciate them being silent, and they will then maintain silence more frequently. Possibly for getting your attention or for getting the treats. But there's more to it.
Let's see some solutions to stop your dog barking at night as follows:
Provide Proper Meal
If you think that hunger is the reason your dog goes on barking at night, increase their feed. Make sure that your dog is consuming enough amount of food per day. As per a standard, dogs are fed twice daily with a gap of 6-10 hours. If you're at home with them, offer them treats or light snacks between their meals or train them to have treats occasionally if you have long working hours.
If your pooch is lazy, you can ask a friend to check up on them every few hours and feed them some snack. It is energy-consuming, but it will save you a sound night sleep.
Make Playtime Interesting
Ensure that you spend sufficient time with your dog every night and help release its physical and mental energy stored inside. Try to make things around the dog more interesting, like buying plush toys, adding new items to its crate, changing its sleeping place, or bringing new games.
Playing tug and fetch and going on long morning walks once or twice a week can also help significantly. If you still think this isn't working, you can hire a dog trainer to train the dog and engage it in exercises to help release the pent-up energy. This should help stop their barking at night.
Give Them Time or Find Them a Fellow Canine
To push away loneliness, you need to cuddle your dog every day and spend as much time with them as you can. Some dogs are just not trained to sleep alone or outside. Keep the dog with you in your bedroom at night to lift away their feeling of loneliness.
If you're uncomfortable with them sleeping on your bed, make them sleep in their crate and place it somewhere right beside you. Make sure the crate feels safe and home-like to them. If your dog is not accustomed to sleeping in the crate, introduce it to them gradually and fill it with toys.
You can try getting them a fellow dog to fade away the loneliness if you cannot give them the required time. This will keep them company, make them happy and stop them from barking at night.
Ensure Their Comfort
For your dog to stop barking at night, you need to ensure they are comfortable in their sleeping place, be it their crate or any other surface. Try adding more paddings, changing their crate, or getting them a dog bed if they feel cold, increasing the central temperature, and covering them with a blanket.
If they are in pain, try finding out the reason by checking that they are moving fine and there's no bleeding or swollen body parts. In case of anything unusual, treat it as soon as possible and provide treats to your dog when they remain silent. This should help calm their howling down, but if it doesn't help, you might need to see a veterinarian at the earliest.
Train Your Dog
If your dog is acquainted with barking on the intrusion of someone, you need to train them to feel at ease when someone passes by, especially if you live in an area where there is no threat of burglary or robbery.
You can do this by offering them huge treats like chicken, or bones etc. when they become silent, it could be a moment between their barking. Increase the quantity of treats as they remain quiet for long periods. This way, they will learn to connect reward with their silence and remain silent on most occasions. You must give them time to pick and understand their new behavior.
Work on Their Behavior
When dogs bark at night to get attention, you must not offer it to them. Instead, you need to train them in a manner that makes them realize that barking will not get them what they want. That's because your initial response can make them think that their behavior is justified, and it can be pretty tricky, if not impossible, to get them back to their normal behavior.
If this is the case, then to put a stop at the howling, you will need to follow a strict discipline code from just now. You can use certain words or phrases repeatedly to let them know what you want them to do. It will take longer, but the end result will stop your dog from barking at night.
Create Boundaries
Pet dogs are made to stay within the houses and not outside. If your dog is habitual of being outdoors and barks in the middle of the night to get fresh air, you will have to create some limits for its recreation.
The dog must only be allowed to go outside the house once or twice a day, leashed, and with the owner. Keep it away from stray dogs at all costs. Give treats upon reaching home and when it wants to go out but is not allowed to. This will encourage him to stay indoors.
Also, if possible, try making his bed inside your bedroom so you can keep an eye on the dog. This way, it will have company and will also not want to leave its cozy hooman.
Change the Room
If your dog wakes up at night and barks due to noise in the environment, try changing its room. Choose a place where there are soundproof walls and curtains. This way, your dog won't hear unnecessary noise and will sleep peacefully.
Other times, if it's indicating something unusual in the house, try locating the source. Finishing it off can also help calm down the barking of your dog. That's because just like dogs tend to alert their owners of any intrusion, they also have the instinct to warn their owners against any unusual activity in the house.
It may be a new mice party that might have shifted to your house, and since dogs have higher sound frequency, your pooch must have heard it before you did. Hence, causing it to bark at night. Removing the mice from the house should solve the problem.
Increase Their Daily Exercise
To stop your dog from barking at night, you need to ensure it finds a means to release its energy. This will not only let it rest peacefully but will also ensure your sound sleep. If you have dogs of breeds like bulldogs or greyhounds, you don't even need to go too far. One game should suffice their boredom.
Try taking it for a walk early in the morning and playing vigorous games that involve a lot of running, jumping, finding, and other mental activities. This will utilize the dog's energy better, and the tiredness will make it sleep at night with no energy left to bark.
Also, give them treats when they behave well, the next day or before sleeping. If you cannot provide the dog with proper time or take it for playtime, you can ask a friend or someone knowledgeable about dogs to take it out.
Products To Calm Down Your Dog
Alongside these solutions, you can use some good dog products to help it control its nerves; these include calming aids, dog bow ties, hard toys, blankets, walk sets, padding for crates, etc. Below is a list of things you can get for your dog to soothe it. Let's review them in detail.
Dog Beds
As discussed above, one of the many reasons why your dog might be barking at night could be its restlessness due to physical discomfort. This problem can be solved by choosing a new sleeping place for your pooch because just like you need a comfortable bed to sleep your night in, your dog needs the same.
The new Multi-Function Folding Dog Bed is your best bet to ensure a good night's sleep. This helps them relax even when you're not at home because they have a cozy little corner all to themselves now. Moreover, these beds are a great relief for older dogs as they are way more prone to diseases like arthritis, joint pains, other problems, etc., in contrast to younger dogs.
The dog bed provides warmth and support to their joints compared to sleeping on the floor. It ensures the perfect night's sleep leading to increased brain performance. A study shows that peaceful sleep can improve the brain cells significantly, can help dog respond to commands in a better way, and are more energetic throughout the day.
You can get one for your dog from Iron Pooch, which offers premium quality dog beds and is affordable. The fabric is a soft material, is washable, and provides easy hair removal. It can be folded into three different styles depending upon the mood of your dog and offer a variety of colors.
Bow Ties
Bow ties play an important role in forming a dog's identity. Darius Brown says that making dog ties for shelter dogs increased their sale substantially, and the dogs were happier than before. That's because dogs with ties seem instantly charming to the eyes of people who come to adopt them.
Additionally, dogs love the bow ties; they add glimmer to their look. It makes them feel important and noticed. A study shows that dogs with bow ties are more playful than the ones without them. It works perfectly for all occasions making the dog look its best ready.
Iron Pooch offers an array of beautifully sewn bow ties with versatility of colors and designs. It comes in different sizes for different breeds of dogs and is made of lightweight, smooth, premium quality polyester fabric. The bow tie even comes with a double-sided Velcro that can easily be installed in the dog collar.
You can tailor their size as per your choice, either through size measurements of the dog or by simply telling the breed. This feature is exclusive to Iron Pooch as of yet.
Walk Sets
Walking a dog once a day is more important than you might think. It not only improves its digestive system, physical and mental health but also increases chances of interaction and training time. Additionally, it strengthens the bond between your dog and you.
Dogs like to be socially connected. Just like you cannot keep your child confined to the house, your dog also gets bored and lonely and develops negative behavior, an unsociable personality, and extra pounds by sitting at home all day long.
Walking your dog on a leash is not an easy task since they don’t have it in them naturally to be tied to something. You will have to train them, and you can even use commands like stop, sit, run, etc., to get a hold of them. This works especially great if you use treats along the way to encourage them.
You need to have a leash to take your dog on a regular walk, and a leash trains them. You can get them from Iron Pooch online. They offer a whole walk set that includes a collar, bow tie, leash, and a poop bag holder. And all this at a very affordable price. The walk set comes in an abundant variety of colors, designs, patterns, and fabrics.
The collar comes with a D-shaped, durable, and premium metal ring attached to the soft, long-length fabric. The leash is a double-sided warm and soft belt-like. It uses a strong swivel hook that attaches to the collar. It also comes with a heavy-duty, contemporary metal D-ring used to safely lock the poop bag holder.
The poop bag holder is easily attached to the leash through the side grommet and the fabric feels soft to the touch and works perfect for the bag. The bow tie uses two Velcros on the back, has a silky touch, and is easily washable.
Conclusion
Your dog could be barking because of any possible reason. It could be because it's cold or hungry, in pain, scared, restless, or any other problem. You must thoroughly check your pooch to find out the issue before deciding what steps you can take to deal with it.
Most of the time, dogs bark because either they feel lonely or are trying to alert the family of intrusion. In such cases, you must calm your dog down and tell it that everything is normal. You can also give them treats, which should help deal with the problem.
That brings us to the end of this post. Now you know how to stop dogs barking at night and save your neighbors and yourself a sound sleep. So the next time you find any friend or relative stuck in the same problem, you can help them too. Happy Petting!