Barking at Night

Murphy has just turned one. He has slept in the kitchen since we got him almost ten months ago with no problems.

We took him away for a week in May to a holiday home in the country. He slept in the kitchen while we were there but every night he would bark when we all went to bed.

We put it down to a strange house, new smells etc and weren't overly concerned.

However since we have come home he has continued the barking and it is driving us insane!!!!!

We let him out to the garden at bedtime to go to the toilet and then put him into the kitchen. As soon as we have gone to bed he starts barking and scratching the kitchen door incessently. We both end up going down to him several times to try to quieten him down. We have tried ignoring him too but we have two small children (aged 4 months and 2) and most nights he is managing to disturb them too. We have even tried putting a stair gate across the kitchen doorway so he can still see the rest of the house and he didnt feel so cut off but that didnt work either (it just meant his barking was louder!!!).

Both my husband and I are getting really cross with him (which is unfair but a reality) and some nights he has ended up being put out into the car to sleep for the night as he wont settle down.

We love the animal to bits and he is a real part of our family but this behaviour is really stressing everyone out. :bang:

We have taken him to DTI for puppy training but we are at a loss as to what we can do to stop this barking/scratching.

If anyone has any ideas I would be more than grateful!

Thanks!

Why don't you put the gate at your bedroom door?
That's what I have to do. Poebe started going crazy in the kitchen and this worked a treat. If he is crate trained then maybe he could sleep in your room? Good luck. Let us know how you get on.:xfngr:

I'm no expert and I'm sure someone will be along soon who may have a better solution, but have you tried putting Murphy in a crate at night. This at least will stop the scratching Also it might be a bit cosier for him, kinda like his 'den'. I know its hard with young children in the house but try to ignore the barking, eventually he'll get the message. I usually bring Ollie for a walk just before bedtime to run off any excess energy so he'll sleep, it may be worth a try. Hope this helps

Thanks for the replies.

We got rid of the crate when he was about 6 months old. Our house is small and with every toy a 2 year old accumulates, plus pram, highchair etc for the new baby we just dont have room for it. Up to the point where we headed off to Kerry for a week it wasnt a problem. He has his own bed etc in the kitchen and was always happy.

I dont want him having the run of the house at night for several reasons. Not least of which is the hall door is glass to the floor and he barks the house down if so much as a leaf blows past the door!!!! :shifty:

It is just so hard to ignore the barking and scratching when we are very conscious that the babies will be woken. Getting a full nights sleep in our house is difficult at the best of times without the dog getting in on the act!!!! :slp:

Oh Brid.... I think we met you down Dollymount a few months ago with your beautiful girls! You probably wont remember us but I recognise your dogs!!

I was thinking it might be you alright. If you want a loan of a crate I can get it over to you no problem.

Thanks Brid but we still have ours.... collapsed in the attic! It will really be a final resort if we have to get it back down again.... and I am not even sure he would accept it now it has been so long since he was in it.

In fairness to the poor little animal he isnt getting out for walks as much as I would like. With the weather being so miserable I am not taking the baby especially out for as many walks these days... so Murphy tends to spend a lot of time at home with us or in the garden (if its dry).

My husband tries to get him out for a walk after work each night but its not always possible.

How about if you try putting him in the crate at night in your bedroom? Maybe if he knows you're there, he'll settle down. It might take a few soothing words from you the first night, but it might be smoother after that. As an aside though, my husband kicked our dogs (all cavaliers) out of the bedroom because they snore. Now they all sleep in the laundry room together - three of them in one big crate with the door open and the puppy (who just turned one last week) still in his own crate. They all love their crates and go right into them when I say it's bedtime. Good luck
Bev, along with Oliver , Riley , Madison , and Oz

To be quite honest neither my husband nor I want him sleeping in our bedroom (or upstairs for that matter). Our bedroom is just that - "ours"!! We have just moved the baby out of our room and I have no intention of replacing her with the dog!!!! :yikes

Murphy always slept in the kitchen from day one... its just since we came home from holidays that he is very difficult to settle at night.

I am not sure either even if we could fit the crate back into the kitchen that it would stop the barking.

We both feel that moving him out of the kitchen, into our bedroom or allowing him free reign of downstairs at night is giving in to him. It is rewarding him for his behaviour rather than understanding and managing it.

He is a bossy little fellow!!!

Wow,i would hate the barking as well,he sounds unsettled.All i can say is stick to your guns,just keep at it.My new young boy sleeps in the far end of the house which is the utility room,then i shut all doors and that is upstairs as well,thats for extra sound proofing,so we can hear him but its doesnt travell around the house.I dont think putting him the car is good as you are changing the routine and it must be scarry for him,just keep at it,with the hols etc he has got himself in a mess,it will settle.

I wish I could offer more advice. If he's not getting the same walks that he's use to maybe that's causing some of the barking.

Maverick sleeping in a XXL crate in our bedroom and I use that to keep my laundry baskets on.

I wish I had better advice, but Pixie never had a problem at night because she was always in the bed with one of the kids, and they were always trying to be the last awake so they could go sneak her out of each other's beds and be the last one with her for the night. (of course, they had to compete with me icon_whistling)

I will say, it might be better to suffer the crate for a while until he learns to settle and run a loud fan in everyones room to drown out the barking until you lick the problem, or use a smaller crate that would still be comfortable for him. I feel for you with the babies. My youngest child is almost ten, but when they were all 3 under the age of 4 at the same time, I think I would have shot anything that woke them once I finally got them to sleep. Sleep was a precious and rare commodity for years at my house.

Maybe put a bone in the crate with him?

Another trick you could use is when you put the pups in crates ,cover over the crate so its dark,that seems to help.

Sorry you're having such a rough time. Perhaps you could try setting up the crate and putting treats and a Kong in there and let Murphy get used to having a nice time in it. Then, in a few days set it up where you want him to sleep and at bedtime, give him a frozen Kong and hopefully that will keep him occupied for a while and tire him out.

Yep thats a good idea as well,when i put the boys to bed,i tell them,On Your Beds,then we give them a biscuit,then i leave the room straight away,no winding them up.

Thanks once again for all the suggestions.

We have given him a treat at night time when we are leaving him for the night... but once it's gone he starts acting up!

I think when he started this barking/scratching lark either my husband and I would come down to him to see what the problem was. We would be up and down the stairs like yo-yos in an effort to keep him quiet so he wouldnt wake the babies. Of course this in effect gave him what he was looking for.... our company (notwithstanding the fact that we were giving out to him!!! )

We are now trying to ignore him when he barks/scratches and hoping against hope that he doesnt disturb the entire household.

My husband brought him out for a walk last night and he went straight to bed quietly afterwards (Murphy... not my hubby!!! :grin: )

Murphy spent most of the day outside today and was out for a long walk so fingers crossed he settles down tonight.

The crate really would have to be a last resort.... we have absolutely no spare square inch of space anymore.

Thanks once again... all suggestions welcome!!!!

I sure can commiserate, Mary Alice still howls at night sometimes.

We never did find a "cure" but I now sleep through it (most nights).. Hubby still gets woken up as do a couple of light sleeping neighbours.

With two youngsters, sleep is always at a premium.....hope things settle soon.