dog barking at night

[Guest Anonymous]

Hi! I need desperate help!! My dog is a 9 week old Shih Tzu and we just got her a few days ago. At night, she will not stop barking. For the first few nights I woke up and calmed her down and put her back to sleep and put her back in her crate. But one night I tried to ignore her and she barked for 45 minutes. I have done everything I have read to do-put her crate in my room, next to me so she can hear me breathing. EVERYTHING! PLEASE HELP ME SOLVE THIS PROBLEM!

[imported_Cassie]

First, does your Shih Tzu have access to the crate during the day? its always a good idea to leave the crate door open during the day and encourage your pup to go in and out....perhaps give your pup some treats in the crate with the door open during the day...then perhaps take some safe chew toys and encourage her to go to her crate to chew...it takes time especially for a 9 week old puppy...she was used to having litter mates and mom to sleep with, now, shes on her own....it can be lonely and a little frightening. There is also a plug in called the "comfort zone" which diffuses a substance purported to contain a pheromone similar to that released by nursing female dogs...this is supposed to relieve a dogs stress...and this may help your pup settle in her crate at night.
One last peice of advice....and I know this is hard to do...but, some times you have to ignore the pup until she settles...if you keep on going out to her and taking her out and comforting her...you are rewarding the behavior...or encouraging it. The pup soon learns that if it keeps up the barking and whining she will get your attention. Try to set up situations while your pup is in the crate and she is quite, then go over to the crate and take her out and cuddle her...you are rewarding her good behavior and it shows her she does not need to bark to get your attention. Reward the good behavior and try to ignore the bad :wink: we have alot of clients at the grooming shop who inadvertely ruin their dogs by doing things that come natural :-? pup goes in for its first groom...its frightened and the owner cuddles it and talks softly to the pup :-? the pup is then reassured that yes it does have a reason to be frightened.
Good luck with your little pup...I'm sure she will get used to sleeping in her crate in a few weeks...young pups take time. :angel:

[ferky1]

First, and not to impugn K who knows a heck of a lot more about dogs than me, saying that this (excessive barking) has something to do with having a tiny dog is just wrong. Many toy breeds, particularly the Shih Tzu, have been breed to be [i]silent[/i] partners. By their very nature, Shih Tzus are quiet dogs not prone to yappiness. I have 3 Shih Tzus in my life, one of them my own, and the only time any of them bark is when they get together and start roughhousing and getting crazy.

Unfortunately, and I don't know that it is the problem here, but one of the most common ways that bad breeding manifests itself in Shih Tzus is with excessive yappiness. I'm not saying that it can't be corrected, but it isn't natural for a Shih Tzu.

Having said all of that, it is possible that your little pup is just scared being so young and away from its mother and littermates. Maybe your little girl decided to skip crying and whining and go straight to barking!

Other than that, Cassie and K's advice is good. You have to do everything you can to comfort the little one, but it is important NOT to reinforce the barking by paying any attention to the dog when it's going on. Rewards and comfort should be given to quiet dogs, not barking ones. Think of it this way, every time you take the pup out, speak in nice loving tones or give the dog a treat while she is upset and freaking out, you are actually rewarding her for the behavior and going backwards in your training towards a well-settled puppy. Not to fault you, but I doubt that your pup would have gone on for 45 minutes if she didn't believe, as she learned the night before, that you would eventually come and "rescue" her.

Last but not least. You have a 9 week old Shih Tzu and you haven't posted pictures?!?!?! Get on that NOW! I've never met a person that didn't melt in the face of a Shih Tzu puppy.

[edited to say that the first part of my post, regarding yappiness and bad breeding, is really geared towards barking during the day, at noises, birds, strangers, the wind. . . . Whining, crying and I guess barking are not that uncommon in any breed at such a young age when spending the first few nights/weeks away from its mother]

[Peng1zrule]

i'm a bad, bad little dog mom...i would let the little one in the bed with me. However, she's probably learning how to get your attention by all this crying. I keep a spray bottle by the bed, and when they wake me up at night, I give a quick spritz. My dogs are all adults, however, and I'm not sure if this would have a negative impact on your dog's relationship to you and her crate. You could try training her to go into the crate, as a pleasurable experience. I take a box of easy to eat treats (like the little marrow bones) and open the crate door. I kneel on the floor with the dog sitting, facing the open crate door. I give one treat, let the dog see me toss one in, and say, "go home!" I'll put the dog in (guiding by the scruff so that they have to walk in by themselves) and give another treat. I let them find the first one (holding the door shut) then push yet another through the door. I add context clues--very good! you've gone home! and let the dog out. This works best with a hungry dog. After a few days of this (we practice several repititions every hour) I lead the dog into the bedroom with a bowl of his/her dinner in my hand. Go home! I say, and let them go into the crate. I put the bowl in the crate, lock it, and leave them alone while they eat. I let them out when they are done. And, of course, I give them toys in the crate...they end up hoarding them in the crates, actually. for several weeks, no treats are given unless they "go home" and at the very end, they go home whenever I tell them to.

[ferky1]

No offense taken K. My initial reaction was based on my reading of your post to mean that barking/whining/crying is based on the type of breed, as if a mature toy breed would still have this problem. I now see that we are all talking about babies. No one can ever expect a baby not to cry. They're babies, it's what they do!

[courtnek]

But this dog is barking, not crying....crying I can agree with, all puppies do it til they settle in, but this sounds like a dog taking advantage of an owner trying to sleep....Is there a lot of noise around your house at night? Maybe stuff she ignores during the day because its not so quiet in the house?
Outside noises I mean....

The ticking clock may soothe her...and give her something other than the outside noises, if they're there, to listen to. Reward her when she's quiet, and try (hard as it is) to ignore her when she is barking, after a stern command to be quiet. I feel for you, believe me...my Foxhound can hear the wind, I swear it. And at night, when the house is still, she alerts to every noise she hears....she is full grown...but new to being inside a house. I have been training her using "chill" in a stern voice, and closing my hand gently around her muzzle. When she becomes quiet, I praise her and give her big hugs..... Slowly but surely it's helping. it takes time, unfortunately....