Dogs Barking at Night

by Sara
(CA)

I have 2 dog's. . .a Shep/Rottie mix, and a Lab mix. Both are pretty good. The bark now and again, normally at people that are too close to the house. My neighbor has been calling the police saying our dogs are barking all night long. Now no one would like that. . .but there are no less than 15 dog's in a 2 block area.

My dogs may call out for a few moments, 10-15 sec. Then are either quiet on their own, or with a quick correction from one of the adults in the home. This may happen up to 4 times each night. It often takes 2-4 hours before the police show up at the door, setting the dogs off again. We are now looking at fines and or losing our animals. She has made 20+ complaints in about 2 months, both to the local SPCA and the police dept. Both the animal control and the police have parked across the street, down the block, etc before coming up to the door. Testing to find out what type of barking they will do. It isn't until they are right at the door that the dogs really bark, and when they are across the street, they may give out a short 2-3 bark warning to us and or the officers. This seems to me to be normal behavior. I'm being told that she say's that it is consistent that they don't stop. (Not what SPCA/Police have experienced.) What should I do? We know she has thrown things at out shared fence, and screamed profanities at them, even with our children in the yard. I have been out side when she has done this, on several occasions. I don't want to do anti-bark, because it doesn't seem to be problem barking, just normal dog behavior. They ignore the small yappy dogs that bark for an hour or longer every night, and the big Danes that howl for 20-30 min after siren's??? So now what? HELP us!

Editor Suggestion to Dog Barking Problem

Barking at sounds or people is normal, however, it is important to make it clear to your dog that it is unacceptable behavior. One approach is to put dog training leads on each dog and leave them on at night. After barking, praise your dog and then say "stop it". If you dog doesn't stop barking then you need to make it clear that it isn't an acceptable behavior by stepping to the side, allowing slack in the lead, and then snapping it downward. Don't do this with the lead taught.

Praise your dogs if they stop barking. Another approach is to put your dog through an obedience drill every time they bark. Simply run through a series of firm commands while holding the leads, such as down, sit etc. This will associate the unwanted behavior with an unpleasant experience.

It may pay to use a professional trainer to help address this issue.

You may find some success by also using a natural remedy designed to relax dogs that show more aggressive behavior. It is called Aggression Formula.

Another type addresses destructive dog behavior and temperament and is called Problem Pet Solution. Ingredients are selected to help support a positive response to dog training commands.


Best of luck with this difficult issue. Please let us know if you were able to solve the problem.