andoria2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 My 13 month old male dog has become a problem barker at night times. He gets worked up a lot to the point that he goes crazy and is hard to control him. He has been desexed 1 week ago and i thought that he would calm down a little bit, since he has healed we has gone bezerk. Every time i go outside to see what he is barking at, majority of the time it is nothing that i can see or hear(i dont know what the hell is making him back all the time at night) . I am at a loss as what to do. His bark is an aggressive bark and sometimes he howls. I need help urgently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rysup Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Any dog like that here is not allowed to sleep outside. My noisy kids are kenneled in the garage overnight. Sounds like he is bored/scared/lonely...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Can you bring him inside the house? It's unlikely he will continue to bark if he's with you. He's probably barking to get your attention or he could be barking at possums, rodents etc., Desexing prevents him from siring puppies. It doesn't prevent barking :wink: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andoria2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 (edited) I cant bring him inside the house as i am at my parents house. I used to have my own place were i would bring him inside when he gets too noisy (that was the easy solution). The problem is that i dont know how to control his over activeness over nothing. My fiance wants to debark him with surgery, but i dont think this is the best solution. I am trying to teach my dog to bark on command, but i dont think teaching him to bark on command will fix the problem. I have tried shouting quiet, splashing water (gets him more agro) and distracting him but nothing is working, as he gets so worked up with what ever it is (or nothing) that he is barking at. I got my dog desexed for preventing more puppies and also for the fact that he likes to get at every female dog. (last time he escaped from the yard becasue all of the dogs were barking. I was told desexing would releive his frustration of wanting to mate. *shrugs* Edited October 22, 2007 by andoria2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 (edited) Crate him in the garage or laundry or something. They can work themselves up just by running around. If you restrict his movement and sensory input that should help. Edit: BTW he's very cute! My first dog of my very own, not a family dog, was an ACD. Edited October 22, 2007 by sidoney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andoria2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 I was thinking about crateing him. I read heaps of articles about the breed of cattle dog and his personality is the kind that needs alot of excersice. So when i think of crating him, im thinking that he will go even more nuts than he already is lol. How much does a crate cost and how big are they if i were to get one ? My dog is the height of 50 cm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateykateykatey Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Does he get enough exercise and other stimulation? My dog is a BC x and he has been a "problem barker" in the past (and tried it again tonight). Water never worked for him, it became a game, bark at the back door and then run really fast up to the furthermost corner of the yard so you don't get splashed". Increased stimulation during the day works, somewhat, as does (painful as this is) ignoring attention barks. Our dog used to get let in once he'd worked himself up so much that he would bark constantly, and this just perpetuated the barking cycle. You can try a kong stuffed with something really licky (peanut butter springs to mind) and even frozen for prolonged use given to him when he's quiet. The licking (according to the vet) relieves anxiety or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I was going to say the same thing...maybe give him a good long walk before bedtime. Cattles are very smart, i have a staffy x cattle who finally at 15 isnt a pain in the ass... opening fridges to steal food,opening doors to let herself in and out etc Dogs train people very well,and it seems his behaviour is working for him..you come outside when he's doing this. His training of you is in tact hahaha. Its so hard when u know they must be waking the neighbours. Can your parents comprimise and let him in the laundry or garage overnight? Maybe its time to think about crate training,and put him to bed with a bone/kong etc.The crate i bought was $150. Very cute dog BTW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOE Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Have you had his ears checked as he may be deaf, deaf dogs are known to bark and howl. either secure him or try an electronic bark collar, if you try one of these, when you remove it, the trick is to hang a u bolt on his collar about the same size as the box so the dog thinks he still has a bark collar on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Have you had his ears checked as he may be deaf, deaf dogs are known to bark and howl.either secure him or try an electronic bark collar, if you try one of these, when you remove it, the trick is to hang a u bolt on his collar about the same size as the box so the dog thinks he still has a bark collar on. Great idea!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogs4Fun Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Lots of exercise in the late evening, preferably with some mind work as well as leg work (ie a bit of obedience of problem solving games in there as well as covering some miles). Crating in a place with no likely distractions would appear a good idea: in the garage, laundry, bathroom etc. leaving him with a meaty bone or a favourite toy will help him settle in if he is worried at first. make sure you train him to be happy and comfortable in the crate before asking him to sleep in it overnight or you could end up with worse problems. If crating stops the barking but you don't like restriction him so much, perhaps building a run in a garage or shed for him to sleep in overnight may be an answer. There are good prefabricated ones available that you can move if you move out of home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateykateykatey Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 With my dog, walking two times in the day (morning and early afternoon) worked well. I found late evening walks not terribly effective, but it's a matter of experimenting and seeing what works for you. Also feeding him earlier in the evening, and I switched to feeding our dog twice a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steph & Bam Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I was thinking about crateing him. I read heaps of articles about the breed of cattle dog and his personality is the kind that needs alot of excersice. So when i think of crating him, im thinking that he will go even more nuts than he already is lol. How much does a crate cost and how big are they if i were to get one ? My dog is the height of 50 cm. I have a tall ACDx. I got him the metal crate on DealsDirect.com.au it cost me $105, but that was with a soft one too. I'd recommend more walking or if you can't do that, get him playing ball (if he doesn't retrieve properly and doesn't want to give the ball back, use a second one They always swap hehe!!) I find that a good half hour session of playing ball with Bam works wonders to wear him out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I also recommend crating at night. My Kelpie and Kelpie cross can be barkers, and sleep in crates at night. With the Kelpie, I used to think if I just gave him more exercise or training he would stop barking in the evening. What I found is if I crated him he would fall instantly asleep, so it wasn't lack of exercise, he would just get himself worked up over something (I can't see or hear anything that he barks at when he is just barking, different to his play bark). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Andoria1 Hi.. ANY effects of the desexing will not be seen/felt for some time..there are still hormones floating around in his system. Barking at night, as said by the others can be caused by all sorts of things..from possums, to just plain boredom and loneliness!! debarking may make his voice softer..but it will NOT stop him feeling frustrated/lonely/bored ... It is hard not having your own place...where you cannot bring him in. crating him needs to be done indoors/under shelter...it is , AFAIK not a 'cure' , but a tool to use in training and ,to do it effectively, you need to understand what your dog is feeling, and how being crated will affect this. All I can suggest is that the dog gets MUCH MORE exercise and mental work!! A tired dog is a good dog what obedience does he do during the day? If he has a couple of short sessions, plus a couple of long walks, and kongs/big bones to keep him occupied this may help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andoria2007 Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 ok so far tonight when he hears a cat meow he becomes pshycotic and goes bezzerk and i cant control him at all. I feel hopeless in this situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rysup Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 My dogs like to bark at cats and possums and there are both around here in abundance. This is why they are locked up overnight. I would suggest a crate - it needs to be big enough to stand up in, and lay down in comfortably (I think they say stretched out?). Put it in the garage or laundry if you are allowed. You can cover the crate with a blanket to calm him down more. Sounds like his prey drive is getting him excited when all the nocturnal animals come out to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andoria2007 Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 yeah i know it seems like he goes to sleep during the day now and builds up his energy for night time lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateykateykatey Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 He's not going to like it initially, because as far as I can tell you've taught him that if he barks, he gets let inside, now he's not getting that result he may bark more intensely. This was what happened with my dog, atleast. It's awful and upsetting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted October 25, 2007 Share Posted October 25, 2007 I agree with trying to crate train him. I've a similar problem during the day, so I've been doing ALOT of research! Lot's of exercise, physical and mental. A kong/buster cube/bone etc. You could also try giving him Rescue Remedy to calm him down and a tshirt with your smell on it. Maybe you should also look into getting an electronic anti-barking collar. Debarking is very much a last resort, and as Persephone said, it's only taking the noise away, not curing the dogs problem. BTW has the barking only started since the accident? It could possibly be related? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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