Wondering if any of you experienced dog owners have any tips or ideas that could help me. My 18 year old son lives with me, working FT and taking classes at night. He frequently comes home after I am in bed, at around 11 or 12 PM, which is totally fine. He also gets up fairly early (5 or 5:30 AM) several days a week to go to the gym, which is before I get up. Whenever he comes in late at night or gets up early in the morning and leaves his bedroom, which is next to mine, my dog (who sleeps in my room) gets up and starts barking, runs out of the room to confront him, etc., which wakes me up. She is driving me crazy with all of the sleep interruptions!
Any idea why she would react to him like he's an intruder? She doesn't react when my younger sons or I get up, no matter how early it is - if one of them gets sick in the middle of the night or comes into my room, she sleeps right through it. When my ex and I lived together, we would come and go at all hours of the day and night and she wouldn't notice. She's 10 years old and we've had her since she was a puppy, so my son isn't someone new in her life, and he takes good care of her - he'll walk her if I need to, pets and plays with her, etc.
This has been going on since we moved into a new house 6 months ago. The house that I'm renting is adjacent to the owner's house, but the houses are offset from each other and connected only by a connecting breezeway so we don't share walls. The dog also sometimes barks at the male owner (but not his wife) and their young adult son (but not their teenage daughter or younger son) as they come and go from their house.
Any insight on what's going on and more importantly, how to stop this? Thanks for any thoughts or experiences you can share!
Thanks for the good suggestions, keep them coming! Rae, she is a rat terrier. She starts barking when she hears him approach or enter the house (sometimes when he's still outside and just walking to the door). Not sure why she does that to him, yet when any of the rest of us come home, she either doesn't get up at all or at most, might come to the door wagging her tail. When he's leaving in the morning, she barks as soon as he opens his bedroom door.
My sister's dog was an incessant barker. They bought a collar which had a citronella dispenser on it. Here's one random item I found:
https://www.amazon.com/Collar-Citronella-Spray-Anti-Bark-...
It worked well with dear little Daisy. You might find it helpful.
What breed do you have? I'm just curious.. mine is a German Shepherd.. he is very protective, loyal, and alert. Almost to a fault. He picks up on words we say at times and will start barking. He almost always barks when my husband comes home-mainly to alert me that he is home and it's out of excitability . All I say is " I know" or " it's ok" and he stops.
I like the advice someone else said in that keeping the dog in the son's room may help. does he run to the door barking or when the son enters and goes to room does the dog start barking..
Almost always in a new environment it will take animals time to adjust to smells and noises..
I would ask your vet about it to be honest. It may be a medical or psychological reason as to why the change. Older dogs at times will change behaviors. That may be your best bet at figuring out a solution.
I remember seeing a show on something like this. Your dog may feel that your son is a threat but needs to recognize that he comes before dog in your household. Have him feed your dog. I think that's what they did on the show.
Hmm. I would try having my son work with the dog doing some training in order to teach the dog that he is alpha in the pack. Have your son do some dog training with him one on one each day. Have your son feed the dog each day. You son should make the dog sit and stay before he is allowed to eat. Give him a release command like "ok". When taking the dog out on a walk, your son goes in and out the door first. Your son can also do other dominant things such as he eats dinner first before you dog does...then he feeds the dog. He moves the dog off the dog bed and sits there for a bit. These are all the kinds of things that lets the dog know that he in in the pack and that the dog is submissive to him. Good luck!
Citronella collar is the easiest and quickest. We used it on our dog for a bit. Totally painless.
Your dog is in new surroundings and doing his job in protecting you.
You will need to shown how to behave. If that means a no-bark collar or a shock collar to re-train? That will have to be the road to take. You need to be FIRM and tell her NO BARK.
Please, please, please do not punish him with an angry tone, special collars, etc. He thinks he is doing his job by protecting those he feels are the "vulnerable" ones in the family during those dark strange hours of the day/night. And yes, he is a little out of sorts in his new home.
I love the idea of him sleeping in son's room. When son goes to bed, have him lure the dog to his room with a couple of treats every night. When son comes home at night and dog barks I would kind of acknowledge the dog's bark. Get up, yes, get up and look out the window and say in a matter of fact tone, "Thanks buddy. It's ok, it's just junior." And then in a more excited high voice say, "go say hi to junior!!" And, until he gets used to junior coming home at those strange hours, bring him out to the front door to greet junior and have junior hand him a treat as soon as he gets in the door. Keep repeating "juniors home! Juniors home" Until he learns son's name.
When dog barks and it is something bark-worthy, look out the window and say good boy! When dog barks and it is not a threat just say it's ok buddy it's just our neighbor Joe, etc. and tell him a firm shush if he keeps up the barking.
For what it's worth? My logic behind this is to let the dog know you appreciate his help when you need it, but you got this and he doesn't have to have the stress of being in charge. And with your son, it is to have the dog look forward to and excited about seeing your son rather than perceiving him as a threat at night. And if he sleeps with him, he will know his morning routine and won't wake you.
This might be something to be addressed by a animal behavioralist. It started when you moved. I would change something up. Have her sleep in your 18 year old's room. Move her bed in there and whenever he's home, he is the "caretaker" 100%. I think this will help ALOT. Regarding the neighbors, the owner and his adult son might be considered a threat to your safety?? My Dad had a German Shepherd that would flip out at all males and never the females or young kids and I came to believe it was because he considered older males a threat to my dad. Near the end of one of my dog's lives, she got a little senile so maybe this could be it? She'd wake up, in the middle of the night and bark at NOTHING...every night. Let us know how this ends up. I'm curious.
I think I'd get on to the dog each and every time and tell them NO! So they know barking isn't allowed. But on the off chance a burgler comes in they won't bark at them either.
JB,
Has this been going on since you moved to your new place? Or did it start before you moved?
has your son changed? does he smell different? Dogs are VERY sensitive to smells. I would wonder what has changed about your son.
There is a bark collar https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Basic-Bark-Control-Collar/...
that might help. I'd talk with your son to see what has changed...he smells different and your dog notices it.
Have any other things changed? Our GSD is very aware of aspects we don't think to notice. She has always barked at men more than women, and that includes teen boys and not teen girls. All boy kiddos are cool, but once their voice deepens and they get taller, she is more cautious around them. She also HEARS things and alerts to those sounds. She can identify if my son's car pulls up in the driveway (without seeing it) or if a stranger's does. Or my husband's when he comes home at odd hours. Eventually she even learned the neighbors vehicles, and it takes a few days whenever our newspaper delivery person changes...
But, she ALWAYS barks at the trash/recycle trucks. They are big, noisy, and threatening. We've been here 11 years... she still barks at those people who take our things. LOL
She also has started to sometimes bark at "normal" things. She is getting old, and I suspect diminished vision and hearing are the cause. She'll be 13 next month. Certain sound ranges she can't hear as well now, I do know that. Maybe your dog has had a change in health status that is minor enough you wouldn't notice, but it affects her identification of normal sounds to some degree?
And if you're in a new home, there are likely a lot of new sounds to adjust to and learn. I think the idea of having her sleep with your son (or in his room) is a good one. If the dog will do it. Do you sleep with your bedroom door shut at night? If so, perhaps leaving it open or cracked so she can explore the sound without going nuts? Have your son offer her a treat first thing in the morning when he comes out, so she is happy and looking for him, rather than startled by his sudden appearance?
Mostly, routine is going to be the key. If your son's schedules is just chaotic with no rhyme or reason, it's not going to be easy to solve. I assume she stops her barking when she realizes who it is? (by then the damage is done, I get it).
As for the owner and his family, familiarity over time will help. Introduce him to the owner and the son, and encourage some gentle, calm interactions. Of course, if the dog gets a bad vibe from either of them, that may not go away ever.
