My 8 month old lab use to be OK down in the kitchen at night- take her out at 930 and in the morn at 530. Recently she began barking at about 1 and then again at 430. Should I put her in crate with door locked at bedtime or any other advice would be much appreciated

Thanks John

Before caging her I would want to find out what she is barking about. There could be something outside she senses and wants to tell you that. If you have investigated when she does bark and there was someone outside, chances are her barking made that person(s) leave. She could be barking in response to an animal also, like a cat or another dog, etc.

Do you take her outside when she barks like that?

Yes I take her out- she will continue to bark - she pee's a little and comes back in and quiets down- In about 1 hr she begins to bark again

John

There is the school of thought that by ignoring the barking, the dog will learn this is unacceptable. By you responding to the barking, the dog is training you to respond. But there might be the one time you need to respond to the barking and do not.

There are anti bark collars and I do not hold much stock in them at all. They are painful and dogs can learn to move that collar enough to where their barking, while still setting the collar off, will not cause the pain as much.

Talk to your Vet. Rule out anything physical going on and then work on behavioral matters. You can search the web and find a hundred ideas. Maybe some work and maybe most do not. Trust your Vet.

I do recall having one dog that barked at night and I was told to use an empty soda can with a few pennies in it - taped the opening. When the dog barked at night, I would shake the can and he would get quiet. Yes, had to do that many times before he caught on. Still it worked and it was via the suggestion of my Vet.

Good luck to you. Hopefully both you and your pup will get back to sleeping all through the night.

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Originally Posted by jmcgee

My 8 month old lab use to be ok down in the kitchen at night- take her out at 930 and in the morn at 530. Recently she began barking at about 1 and then again at 430. Should I put her in crate with door locked at bedtime or any other advice would be much appreciated

Thanks John

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I bought a collar that gives off a beep when she barks, this is unconfortable for her, and she did stop, plus , as you can lower the volume of the beep, you can train her to stop :-) Its marvelous, and I found it on eBay :-)

I don't believe in using those electronic bark collars. Yes, it is uncomfortable for the dog because they receive a mild electric shock. You also have to be in a position to push the button on the remote and the dog has to be within a certain distance for it to work. I find the electronic shock to be a cruel and negative way to train a dog.

Jmcgee, shygrneyz has given you some good advice. In all likelihood, your dog is hearing something outside and she is just doing what comes naturally to her. Dogs bark to warn their pack leader & other members (you) that an intruder has wandered into your territory. They are also warning the intruder that the territory is claimed by others and he better stay away. Your dog might be hearing a car driving by, another animal wandering around, the wind blowing,. To a dog, noise means "intruder."

What have you done when the dog barks during the night? If you get up and pet her, walk her, give her a treat, or give her any attention, you are reinforcing the behavior. If you aren't worried about intruders during the night, I would suggest moving her crate into your bedroom or another room and yes, lock her in for the night. Ignore the barking. It might take a couple of weeks, but eventually, if you don't react, she will quiet down. Keep her crated at night for the next few months. When your puppy matures into an adult, you can start leaving the door to the crate open for her at night and test her again, if you want to. If when you do this, the barking doesn't stop or escalates, there are no-bark citronella collars that you can pick up at most pet stores. When the dog barks, it triggers the citronella spray. It doesn't physically hurt the dog. Here are a couple of links so you can read up about the effectiveness of the collar, how it works, and what it looks like:
Citronella Collars

Citronella Anti Bark and Remote Dog Training Collars