Does your dog bark in the middle of the night and while you are trying to get him to quiet down, he continues with this behavior. You know that any potential intruder will be scared away by the barking, but if it is your own dog, you know that it can worsen the situation when someone actually trips and falls on the dog while they are making their evening activities.
There are a number of reasons why dogs engage in this type of behavior. For most dogs, it is a form of communication and they are trying to let you know that something is going on in their world. You are likely to find that the more you hang onto this behavior, the more aggressive they will become when people visit or when you take them out in the park, which puts them at risk for becoming aggressive themselves. A good way to initiate positive communication and to help them begin to understand that you are the pack leader is by establishing a routine that they can expect.
In order to get them to understand that there are times when they can expect to be quiet and at other times that they can be noisy, you are going to need to repeat this process every night for a week so that they become accustomed to these routines. When they become familiar with these routines, they will learn to hold their bladder and bowels for longer periods of time. They will also learn to hold their urine and have smaller bladders so they can hold it.
You should set aside a bedtime and a desirable after party time that they can expect to be alone. During this time, you will tell them that it is quiet time and reward them with a favorite treat and a lot of praise. They will soon learn that these behaviors are acceptable and that they should engage in them on a consistent basis.
If your dog is barking and making a lot of noise, you can simply use a bean bag to confine them to a smaller space and place a blanket or dog bed in the corner of the space. They will begin to think of this as their space and will not want to soil it. The dog will also not feel so alone and will begin to enjoy the time that it has to spend alone.
There are many ways that you can enforce positive communication and train your dog to act in certain ways. You are the pack leader and you should spend a lot of time with your dog. Use positive reinforcement when they behave and punish negative behaviors when they happen. Many people think that punishing their dog is cruel, but they are actually teaching their dog to behave.
Although it may take some time and effort, your once barking dog can be quiet and well behaved.
