Please Help!

[Erin]

I am writing this with weary fingers this morning. My 8 yr. old chocolate lab Jazz, will NOT sleep through the night. And by not sleeping, I don't mean that the poor baby's tired during the day, I mean that if *she* can't sleep, NOBODY can!!! :new_shocked: She's 8 yrs old for goodness sakes! it's not like she's a puppy! What is this, a mid- life crisis!?

She barks, and barks and BARKS all night long. Get up and let her out? yeah, we've done that. and what does she do? come back in a bark bark bark!!! We've tried and untried everything! We've taken her for long walks before bed, we've tried leaving a light on, leaving lights off, letting her out, not letting her out.... we tried to ignore her last night so she might get the idea that we don't condone this behavior, and that maybe she's just bark herself out, but no! She actually did what I thought was impossible! she actually barked ALL NIGHT LONG! I'm talking NON STOP! I thought of giving her a toy, but as she's a lab, shes a BIG chewer... she's destroyed the "undestructable" toys in a matter of minutes, so I don't want her choking on bits when we aren't there to watch her.

This actually a fairly recent developpement... We thought that becuse we had changed her food a few weeks earlier, perhaps it was making her... hyperactive? so we switched it back a few weeks ago... no change.

Please. My family's at our wits ends. We are desperate. We haven't had a good night's sleep in ages! I can tell you that conversation at the breakfast table is not pretty. If you have ANY ideas, please, please, let me know!

I love Jazz to bits, but she is driving me bonkers!!!

Thanks in advance,

Erin

oh! BTW... I am home sick from school today (non insomniac dog related) and guess what she is doing right this second???

she's sleeping on the leather couch LIKE A BABY!

:

 

[Ashley]

Let her sleep with you or where ever she is comfortable at night. However, if she is that persistant I would be takeing a look around outside at night. Dogs are not dumb.

 

[AppyLover2]

First thing I'd do is get her OFF that couch. No sleeping during the day while you're there watching her.

Also, I know they have "no barking" training collars out there. Don't know about them, but something to think about if she doesn't get better soon. And I agree with Ashley; could very well be there's some critter around at night that she just isn't happy about.

 

[Reble]

Mine have started the same, I think it is the change of weather, here, not being out enough because so cold.

Good Luck, Hubby brought ear plugs from work Ha Ha.

 

[minimama]

Put her in a crate and use a no bark collar on her.

But, you might try asking Bonnie to do a reading on her first and see what she thinks is going on that she needs to bark at.

 

[Davie]

Labs have very sensitive and accute hearing and smell. She is hearing something that is above your range of hearing and is trying to tell you something is amiss. It might even be something as small as a mouse rummaging through a wall or attic.

My Min Pin puppy started acting nuts and barking the other night and I could not understand why--he never barks when I'm home. He was actually looking at the 3 cats that were fast asleep on the couch. He was hearing something. Well the next night he did the same thing and I immediately went to the door and there was a opposum eating the outside cat's left overs. Usually I can hear anything that steps on the deck-no matter how small but I did not hear this guy.

Next night he starts growling under the covers and I thought he was upset that one of the cats had jumped up on the bed but he kept it up and then as I laid very quietly and made him quit growling I heard something gnawing on the outside of the house near the front of the garage and my bedroom is all the way at the back of the house. Next morning as I was leaving for work--there were fresh claw marks by the garage door (my house is cedar sided)--probably a dog looking for something.

I would suggest that you ask your vet about this behavior if you can't find a source of her irritation--she is trying to protect you from something that is only happening at night. The suggestion of having Bonnie talk with her may also give you some clue.

How may times have our companions become heros because they are alerting us to some unkown or unseeable danger. I know of a dog that saved her owner life. She was hearing the electrical short in the wall days before the house caught on fire. She was able to arouse her owner and they both got out alive. It was determined by the fire department that is was indeed an electrical short within an interior wall that started the blaze.

This dog is trying to tell you something, and it is only occurring during night time hours.

 

[lilfoot]

Hi Erin!

Funny thing is I am having the same trouble with one of my Aussies.

She seems abit neurotic with the nightly non-stop barking but I know

something isn't right...whether it be her need to pee, drink, check out the

backyard....or our horses are creating a disturbance...Aussies have keen

senses too & I'm sure to find out the situation....some day!

Hope you & your family can hang in there...it takes some investigating

but we'll all be sleeping well soon. I find the crate works best for now.

btw...How are you & Andrea? Busy with basketball I bet!

 

[Miniv]

I suspect her days and nights are mixed up. She sleeps during the day, right?

As for her barking -- you may want to have Bonnie "talk" with her. Of if not, the bark collar as a last resort.

MA

 

[lilminiluver]

I have to agree with Davie....something's up, you just need to figure out what....if she was a pup, I could understand her not knowing 'we sleep when it's dark', but at 8 years old, no, it's something else that occurs only at night. She's not afraid of the dark is she? :new_shocked:

My 'earthquake gauge' are dogs in the neighborhood...when they all get barking, there's some ground action. And so it goes...

I'm against bark collars, it's their only way of communicating. Whether we understand them or not, that's for us to figure out!

Is there a street lamp/yard lamp that comes on at night that might be making a high-pitched sound?

Take a sleeping pill before you fall over! Good luck!

Hugs!

 

[mininik]

What kind of barking is the dog doing? There are many different types of barking (ie. alert, frightened, frantic, protective, barking for attention). If it just seems like your dog wants to go in and out to potty, it's possible she has a UTI or other serious health issue. I would seriously consider getting her in for a check-up just to be sure it's nothing medical. Otherwise, there may have been or might still be some critter or other mystery at work at night that's making her bark or she might just think she has your number now that the whole family will respond to her whims when she barks.

Otherwise, DO give your dog something to do! The fact that she chews up "indestructable" dog toys is no excuse. Get her some strong, meaty bones (like those sold by Merrick) that she CAN chew up and that should keep her entertained for hours, if not a day or so, each. Give her one before bedtime and see how she does. Also, do keep her active during the day. A walk before bedtime is not nearly enough to tire a Lab. Does she like to play fetch? A tired dog is a happy dog! Also, what kibble is she eating and what did you switch to before switching back? I doubt it has anything to do with the situation, but a poorer quality kibble high in corn or other "sweets" may very well be adding to her energy level.

Whatever you do, I would never recommend following the advice given to "Put her in a crate and use a no bark collar on her." If you choose to do either/or, fine, but NEVER put your dog in their crate as punishment and/or punish your dog in their crate. A crate is intended to be a safe haven, not a torchure chamber... and a shock collar should absolutely only be look at as a LAST RESORT to "solving" (read: putting a band-aid over) this situation.

 

[ForMyACDs]

lol......i think our dog read this thread and thought "hmmmmm, sounds like a good idea" because two nights in a row now she's barked. not alarm barking, but a regular "pay attention to me" bark. that's fine, but not at 1am.

maybe it's a dog conspiracy.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Add my pups to the list of those joining the conspiracy. It is 4 am and I just gave up and started to do some work and go online. They have figured out how to jump over the little make shift door i put on the pen so mom can jump in and out however they are to old to lock her in with them they make her nuts so after a few escapes and the rest screaming cause there brother or sister was out playing here i sit like a fool on the plus side though at least mine only stay up for about 30 min at a time LOL

 

[runamuk]

I am writing this with weary fingers this morning. My 8 yr. old chocolate lab Jazz, will NOT sleep through the night. And by not sleeping, I don't mean that the poor baby's tired during the day, I mean that if *she* can't sleep, NOBODY can!!! :new_shocked: She's 8 yrs old for goodness sakes! it's not like she's a puppy! What is this, a mid- life crisis!?

She barks, and barks and BARKS all night long. Get up and let her out? yeah, we've done that. and what does she do? come back in a bark bark bark!!! We've tried and untried everything! We've taken her for long walks before bed, we've tried leaving a light on, leaving lights off, letting her out, not letting her out.... we tried to ignore her last night so she might get the idea that we don't condone this behavior, and that maybe she's just bark herself out, but no! She actually did what I thought was impossible! she actually barked ALL NIGHT LONG! I'm talking NON STOP! I thought of giving her a toy, but as she's a lab, shes a BIG chewer... she's destroyed the "undestructable" toys in a matter of minutes, so I don't want her choking on bits when we aren't there to watch her.

This actually a fairly recent developpement... We thought that becuse we had changed her food a few weeks earlier, perhaps it was making her... hyperactive? so we switched it back a few weeks ago... no change.

Please. My family's at our wits ends. We are desperate. We haven't had a good night's sleep in ages! I can tell you that conversation at the breakfast table is not pretty. If you have ANY ideas, please, please, let me know!

I love Jazz to bits, but she is driving me bonkers!!!

Thanks in advance,

Erin

oh! BTW... I am home sick from school today (non insomniac dog related) and guess what she is doing right this second???

she's sleeping on the leather couch LIKE A BABY!

:

haven't read the other suggestions but get her ears and eyes checked out....................I've had two dogs do this and both times it was either eyes or ears ....going deaf or blind can really throw a dog off especially at night.

 

[Sonya]

I think something is wrong with her...perhaps she is in pain. My lab, who is now 12, did this about a year ago. He would go to sleep and about an hour or two later just be standing at the bottom of my bed staring at me barking and crying. He was in pain. We uped his arthritis meds and it stopped.

Labs have the most annoying bark in the world, good luck...I feel for you.

 

[minimama]

Do not put words into my mouth! I never never never said to use a crate as a form of punishment. Crate training a dog is not a form of punishment. A crate gives a dog a place of their own if used properly. It can be a real comfort to a dog. Putting a dog in a crate at night to go to sleep is not punishment. And no bark collars are subjective, some like them soem don't. I feel, like any other form of equipment, they have their place. Dogs that bark at inappropriate times can be helped to learn that by a no bark collar. I am not saying let them live in it.

I do however agree that you should take the dog to the vet first and have the ears and eyes checked.