Rescue dog barking constantly at night

Heiser

We rescued a dog on Saturday and since then he has not stopped barking every night. I know it's early days and he's only settling but I want to do everything I can to make him comfortable and relax so he can rest and so can I and the neighbours.

He sleeps in the kitchen on a warm bed. He has water. His toys. He goes on a good walk before bed. Right before bed I let him out the back to go toilet. There are no other dogs or cats around that are triggering his barking. He's been jumping up on the counters and barking and crying non stop all night.

Is there anything that can be done to help him settle? He's 7 months old and this is his first time away from other dogs at night. I got up last night around 3am and ignored him but let him out the back to go toilet. But as soon as he came in and I left the barking started again.

Should I sleep in the living room with him for the next couple of nights or stick with it and hope he stops barking soon?

Any advice would be appreciated as I'm going mad from sleep deprivation and I'm sure the neighbours and the dog aren't happy either

Graces7

Heiser wrote: »

We rescued a dog on Saturday and since then he has not stopped barking every night. I know it's early days and he's only settling but I want to do everything I can to make him comfortable and relax so he can rest and so can I and the neighbours.

He sleeps in the kitchen on a warm bed. He has water. His toys. He goes on a good walk before bed. Right before bed I let him out the back to go toilet. There are no other dogs or cats around that are triggering his barking. He's been jumping up on the counters and barking and crying non stop all night.

Is there anything that can be done to help him settle? He's 7 months old and this is his first time away from other dogs at night. I got up last night around 3am and ignored him but let him out the back to go toilet. But as soon as he came in and I left the barking started again.

Should I sleep in the living room with him for the next couple of nights or stick with it and hope he stops barking soon?

Any advice would be appreciated as I'm going mad from sleep deprivation and I'm sure the neighbours and the dog aren't happy either

He is lonely. As simple as that. He needs your physical presence, for you to be e within sight and sound and smell.
He is still so young and as you say, now away from other dogs.
Could he not sleep near you?

Heiser

Graces7 wrote: »

He is lonely. As simple as that. He needs your physical presence, for you to be e within sight and sound and smell.
He is still so young and as you say, now away from other dogs.
Could he not sleep near you?

No, I'm not having him sleeping in my bedroom. He'll have to learn that he can't be with me 24/7. I was going to let him sleep on my landing but he continued to bark so I had to put him back downstairs

Bells21

Try leaving a piece of clothing with your smell on it in the dogs bed. Also try some classical music in the room where the dog sleeps. Get a good routine going for before bed. Is it just happening at night or is it also happening when the dog is left alone during the day?

FixitFelix

Heiser wrote: »

No, I'm not having him sleeping in my bedroom. He'll have to learn that he can't be with me 24/7. I was going to let him sleep on my landing but he continued to bark so I had to put him back downstairs

If you're not willing to have him sleeping in your room you will just have to put up with the barking, he's lonely that's all. Had the same with my rescue dog, he was getting stressed when left down stairs, I let him sleep at foot of bed, not a peep and doesn't move for the night.

Cheshire Cat

+1 on the clothing in the dog bed and some music/ radio playing.
You could also try an Adaptil collar or plug-in to make the dog feel more relaxed.

Best of luck!

harr

What worked for us was to use a cage in kitchen. Like op didn’t want him in bedroom. The first few nights I slept with dog in sitting room with cage open and a night with cage closed, followed by one night with him in hallway while I slept in sitting room.
After that he had no problem settling in cage on his own..he uses cage now as his bed even during the day with door open.
Gets a walk every night then small treat and he goes into cage of his own accord..

Choc Chip

I practically wrote your message a few years ago OP! Except mine was a german shepherd who was tearing the door down so no chance of leaving her there...

I had in my head that I had to start as I meant to go on... but I got some good advice here and (as well as trying a thundershirt and adaptil diffuser) I let her sleep close to me and slowly worked on moving her bed back towards the kitchen. We started right beside the bed and moved it bit by bit over about a month out to the landing, downstairs, through the hall and into the kitchen.

She's fine to be left now, she was just scared and alone and needed reassurance that she hadn't been abandoned again. In my completely non-professional opinion, if you help him feel safe and happy first, then he's more likely to be happy in your absence.

I've had a few foster dogs since with the same issue and repeated the same process. The ones I had rarely needed more than a few nights beside the bed before I could start moving the bed a little bit further away.

DBB

Choc chip says everything I wanted to... It has worked for new pups, new adult dogs, and the plethora of foster dogs I've cared for over the years.
Asking a dog who's not used to being alone, to be alone all of a sudden, is too big an ask for many dogs op... Using a crate, and allowing him into your bedroom (or sleeping downstairs for a number of nights), with a view to gradually increasing the distance between the dog and yourself, is your key to success here. Best of luck!

em_cat

First night our rescue was with us he snuck up into the bed, dug under the duvet, up my night shirt and planted himself there the entire night. It was very weird to say the least. Now he is in his own bed under the dressing table but in the same room with us because he had health issues that may need attention during the night.

Heiser

em_cat wrote: »

First night our rescue was with us he snuck up into the bed, dug under the duvet, up my night shirt and planted himself there the entire night. It was very weird to say the least. Now he is in his own bed under the dressing table but in the same room with us because he had health issues that may need attention during the night.

So last night I put some relaxing music on, left a couple of my t-shirts in his bed, sat with him in his bed at various stages of the evening before going to bed and left a door open into the hallway so he wouldn't feel so locked into the kitchen. He slept for most of the night! He barked and howled a little at the start but nothing like previous nights.

Fingers crossed he keeps this up

sillysmiles

Be patient and bear in mind that this is all very new for him. He has no idea if you are going to abandon him. It's very much early days for him.