One question that I’m asked with each litter is “How to stop night time barking?”.
When our Winston first joined us in the house, I followed the advice I’ve been doling out for years and crate training was a breeze (post about crate training). Of course the puppy needed to “potty” in the middle of the night for a short period – once I moved his “evening” meal to 3:30pm the 2am treks became a thing of the past. Life was good.
Then, after weeks of uninterrupted slumber, Mr. Winston decided that he didn’t want to stay in his crate until 5am, he thought 4:30 was long enough – each morning he’d wake up a little earlier until we were back at 3am wake-up howls. Once again it was time to follow a little of my own advice. Winston likes to sleep in the early evenings, I shook up his routine and kept him awake with “games” in the den. Not high energy, but enough to keep him moving and active for at least an hour. I brush him, have him fetch a stuffed toy, or roll a ball for him to chase. After one last “potty” break at 10pm, he goes to his bed in his crate, he has something to chew on, and I cover the crate with a dark towel. I leave the side next to the wall open and close to the a/c vent when it’s hot. Typically, he will keep quiet all night long.
Did you notice I said “typically” – well he is a stubborn little guy. Because I occasionally have him stay in the kennel, we do need a refresher course from time to time. When he’s being particularly stubborn – I put his crate in a location where I won’t hear his persistent barking. We’ve had families that have put their puppy, at my advice, in the garage because sometimes they just need to bark it out. Of course, they should never be kept in a location that is too cold or too hot and I would never ignore a puppy that has a true need to potty. If I give in, I NEVER let him see me until he stops barking – giving him attention while he’s barking reinforces his bad behavior.
Winston has awakened me, I take him outside – nothing. He simply wanted out of the crate – you too will experience this, it’s up to you to not let it happen twice.
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