Chuffy
Posted : 1/28/2007 7:38:44 AM
I noticed no one replied.... I think you have us all stumped! But I'll try to come up with a few suggestions.... No idea if they wiould work, but might be worth a try.
First thing that springs to mind is let the dog sleep nearer to you. This may make him feel secure enough that he doesn't bark at every little thing and if it doesn't, you can shush him.
Some people will say that if a dog gets no reward for a behaviour he will stop doing it and that if you speak to him you will be rewarding him so you should ignore it. But if he's barking in part to tell the threats to "go away", it's working every time and he is getting a reward regardless - he probably thinks it's working. Plus, his barking is in part because he is telling
you there is something out there and if you ignore it he will get all the more agitated because you appear oblivious to it. Like a child saying "Mum, there's someone at the door...... Mum! There's someone at the door!! MUM!!!!!"
Lastly, your bedroom is a "sleepy place". You are sleeping nearby. It kind of.... smells and feels restful to the dog. So he is more likely to sleep through every little noise rather than be on the alert. If you don't want him in your room permanently, then a crate is useful for gradually moving him back to his permanent sleeping place once he has got into a solid habit of sleeping thru the night.
You could aid this by giving him
plenty of stimulation in the evening. I mean LOTS. I assume he already gets a walk - in addition you could also play a energetic and stimulating game with him and do some training, practise cues he knows and teach him new ones. Clicker training is tiring for dogs! Also, they are most active early morning and late evening and if he's not getting enough to do at these times then boredom or stress could be contributing to the barking problem. Giving him safe things things to chew on at night would also help with this. Hope that helps a little.
ETA....he's adorable!