Barking 0300 hours

[User00026]

One of my labs is turning 10 and has clear canine dementia onset. Stares into space, barks into think air, scared of things, very spaced-out, eyes look pretty lost at times,,,barking at an open door to get through..barking in his sleep.

Given the age, I’ll hazard a guess it’s exactly that. Dogs with dementia need a lot of reassurance, you may do better letting it sleep inside where it feels safer.
Mine slept in the kitchen always, as soon as dementia hit, he sleeps next to the bed.

 

[Rasputin]

One of my labs is turning 10 and has clear canine dementia onset. Stares into space, barks into think air, scared of things, very spaced-out, eyes look pretty lost at times,,,barking at an open door to get through..barking in his sleep.

Given the age, I’ll hazard a guess it’s exactly that. Dogs with dementia need a lot of reassurance, you may do better letting it sleep inside where it feels safer.
Mine slept in the kitchen always, as soon as dementia hit, he sleeps next to the bed.

My last border had this was just bark at the wall.

He didn’t really bark at night though apart from the times Charlie was in the back garden.

 

[Twodogs]

Have you eliminated any potential medical issues? a trip to the vets may yield answers.

 

[Fosbery Holster]

I went to extraordinary lengths to prepare a kennel in the garden of our first house for the two dogs we had at the time.

Nice warm and comfortable shed raised off the ground with internal sleeping compartment and bench, the run was completely flagged with fall in the levels to a newly installed drainage system to keep the run clean and dry, I’d gone to extreme lengths to house our beloved working partners, l have to admit that l had surpassed myself with this palatial offering, no expense spared, even the dogs had helped in their own way.

First night in their new residence everything going to plan my wife and myself retired to bed ……..only to be rudely awakened about 3am by the Police knocking on the front door with increasing severity, on answering the door he explained that he’d had complaints from the neighbours about dogs barking at an unruly hour, l thanked the officer then released our hairy prisoners back into the house………kennel…….never used it again !

 

[Twodogs]

A couple of avenues to consider:

Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD). This Alzheimer’s-like condition typically appears in dogs as several behavioral changes including barking, house soiling, and changes to interactions with people and other pets in the household.

Sensory limitations. Elderly dogs often experience at least partial hearing or vision loss. This causes them to startle more easily or to feel more concern about their environment in general. Some dogs may bark more as an expression of this concern.

Aging brain. Even dogs who are not showing signs of true canine cognitive dysfunction may experience changes in the way their brain processes information and the way he copes in his environment, causing more barking. As the brain ages just the nature of the ageing brain makes that dog less able to cope with its environment. It may have been that things triggered barking behaviors when they were younger which were either trained out or [the owner was] able to cope with it, so it wasn’t as noticeable.”

Separation anxiety. A loss of cognitive function can lead to geriatric separation anxiety in older dogs. This anxiety doubles during the night: your dog becomes stressed because of separation from you and starts barking in an attempt to be reunited.

 

[Stalker62]

A couple of avenues to consider:..

Lots of fancy words (no offence) just means (and I know) that she is getting old and her time draws nigh.

God, don't you just hate getting old.

 

[Keith Edmunds]

This is an entirely unhelpful post - and coincidently, replicates exactly what Mrs S62 said.

Point of fact; she went further.

"If you had had children, they would have been fat".

Harsh.



True story.

Just a process of elimination. Hope you sort it.

 

[Foxyboy43]

I'm not sure I can provide any meaningful advice on the dog issue, but might I suggest that sartorially the smoking jacket would be perfectly complemented by your wearing a Fez whilst out on your nocturnal perambulations?

And a 12 inch cigarette lighter plus a balloon of brandy. Err, that might make it two “balloons” out there…..

 

[Stalker62]

I'm not sure I can provide any meaningful advice on the dog issue, but might I suggest that sartorially the smoking jacket would be perfectly complemented by your wearing a Fez whilst out on your nocturnal perambulations?

Do you know; you might be onto something there...

 

[VSS]

Whatever caused it to start in the first place, you have now taught it that barking at 3.00am means extra walkies and is therefore a good thing to do. Basically, you've rewarded it for barking. I would break that routine if I were you.
However, that doesn't alter the fact that there may be some underlying issue that's triggered it off.
My advice would be to try letting the dog out for a walk and widdle just before the barking starts. So, if you say it's happening at 3.00am, get up at 2.00am and go for a decent walk. After a week or so, move it forward to 1.00am. I wouldn't mind betting that if you do that although the dog may still bark a little bit at 3.00am it'll just be a minor thing that you can (and should) ignore. Eventually I reckon it would stop altogether. After a while bring the walk forward to midnight, and so on.

 

[TomDeer]

Do you know; you might be onto something there...


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Not many men could carry that look off but I have every confidence in you

 

[bfltd0]

Do you know; you might be onto something there...


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A heady mixture of Tommy Cooper and Liberace.

All power to you!

 

[Ade8mm]

CCTV covers all the plot, and no trace of any humans.

Quite what my neighbours' CCTV is picking up from my 0300 hour jaunts, is however, another matter entirely....

Anyone who has two or three dogs that they value needs their head looking at if the leave them in a kennel overnight. A dog theft waiting to happen. Even cctv is of no use as no-one will follow it up. Cctv does not deter anything, it records it. It may help catch a perpetrator ( W Couzens is an example .. well the exception actually because that was followed - up)
Keep the hounds close at night and you and them may both be able to protect each other.