Barking for no apparent reason?

[REAGAN'S MOM]

My 10 mos. old Boxer has gotten into a terrible habit of barking at bedtime. I can't for the life of me figure out what she wants. I take her out right before bedtime, so I know that isn't it. She isn't hungry. She sleeps with me, but for whatever reason, just when I'm about to fall asleep, she'll come up to the side of my bed and just start barking uncontrollably. Talk about frustrating! Sometimes I think she's just fighting going to sleep, but at other times I think she's just being hard-headed. Anyone else have this problem or any advice?

 

[sashamom]

Gosh, i don't have a clue!! Maybe she is worried because your eyes are closed that something is wrong....then again maybe she is just trying to say she is not ready to go to sleep!! Poor Reagan...she is such a cutie!!

 

[mancin]

Maybe she can hear something outside that you can't? A neighbor coming home, etc? Just a thought.

 

[Evie&Adam]

maybe she wants to play!!!! Evie & Adam will bark at us if they want to play - like at bed time or when we want to watch a movie. Just be firm in telling her to go to bed, then hard as it is - ignore her.

 

[gmacleod]

Possibly she wants to play, but it certainly sounds like an attention-seeking behaviour of some description. Rather difficult to ignore too, I would think LOL But ignoring her is what you're going to have to do if you want it to stop.

Have you thought about crating her beside you at night, just until you can break that habit? If that's not your preference, then I'd suggest getting her settled in with you at an early stage. And earplugs

 

[emma'sdad]

Our routine with is a bit different, because Emma has her own room. but she use to do the same thing, she would have already eaten and drank, have been walked, and when I shut her bedroom door she'd start to bark.
i found the only way to brake this behavior is to give her no attention at all, if you saying thing to her at all she is still getting attention, negative attention but it's still attention.

you'll have to be patient and strong but if you just do nothing at all act as if she is not there, and in a few day she should stop the negative behavior

LeRay

 

[ssleighter]

We referred to that phase with Hammer as his ghost phase. We figured he saw 'em, and we didn't. He would do the same thing when he was younger.

Ignoring her is the only way to get her to stop, at least it was with Hammer.

 

[REAGAN'S MOM]

Thanks for the suggestions...I believe you all are right...I think she really does just want to play and I've just got to learn to ignore her. Which isn't the easiest thing to do when you're sleepy - I tend to just want to throw things at her! LOL! Of course a lot of good that does...then she thinks we are playing fetch! UUUUUGGGH! Thanks again, I'm just glad to know that others have had similar problems.

 

[MyGirlHeidi]

We have a 5 month old Shih Tzu who is a barker. He's really smart and he's learned that when I say "shhhhh" he supposed to stop barking. He was real bad about barking at bedtime..he wanted to play and didn't understand that wasn't the right time. He still gets wild around 9-10pm at night but as long as we are up its no problem..he cracks us up. However, trying to sleep with a barking dog is quite bothersome and I hope you can also find a solution to quiet your boxer up.

 

[Laila63139]

snoring?

just when I'm about to fall asleep, she'll come up to the side of my bed and just start barking uncontrollably.

It's a weird question, but do you know if you snore? My puppy can be woken out of a dead sleep if she hears a "strange" noise, especially when it comes from me! We nap together on the couch alot and Laila does the same thing. My bf says it's when I snore that she does it. :-P