Why would a dog who settles happily at bedtime start barking and howling several times every night?
As a puppy Cockerpoo Monty would settle well in his crate at night.
Gradually he has become more and more unsettled until now, at three years old, his owners have every night interrupted three or four times by Monty who initially gives a bark as though to say ‘did anyone hear me?’.
Then he starts to howl.
If left, he may stop after a few minutes before starting again a short while later, and so it continues. They worry about their son upstairs who is studying for exams and about disturbing their closest neighbour.
So, they go down to him.
Monty did have one night in the teenage daughter’s bedroom, but he was no quieter than when left downstairs in the small room. For the last couple of nights the lady has slept downstairs on the sofa with him. This hasn’t been enough though. He still barks and howls!
Wherever he happens to be now, he howls in the night.
Possibly he wants the mum and dad to both be with him together. A clue could be out on family runs when they run off in different directions, Monty charges around in a frantic panic trying to catch up with one and then the other. Seemingly trying to keep them together.
What are the roots of this behaviour?
On looking at all aspects of Monty’s life, the roots of this behaviour seem to be in various places. The most obvious reason, in addition to pining when away from them, is that he does it because it works. If he does it for long enough, even when they think they have just ‘left him’ to cry, eventually someone does come to him.
I believe another reason for his unsettled nights is that in their quest to tire him out they are actually over-stimulating him. They run him for several miles some days. There is a saying ‘a tired dog is a good dog’, but that means healthily tired – not exhausted and highly aroused.
Highly aroused dogs are stressed. Stress causes physical changes in the body which releases certain stress hormones into the bloodstream. These stress hormones don’t just instantly dissipate. They hang around and build up.
Healthily tired
We have discussed punctuating Monty’s usually sleepy evenings with very short bouts of gentle owner-induced activity. Things like hunting, quiet training games, going outside for a few minutes on a ‘sniff’ walk and foraging for food to name a few, so he can go to bed ‘healthily tired’.
Undoubtedly the barking and howling has now become learned behaviour.
At night-time he goes happily into the small room and it’s the same routine. One person says good night and shuts the door. A little later the other opens the door, says good night and shuts the door again. They go up to bed. Then, no sooner than they lie down than they hear the first bark.
A different routine
To break the habit aspect I suggest that they change the routine and that Monty now sleeps in a totally different place – somewhere less easily heard from the bedrooms or by the neighbour. He used to love his crate and still has one in the car, so they are going to get a crate back and put it the kitchen.
The rule has now to be that nobody ever comes down to him again in that location unless he’s quiet.
The other alternative of course, but which like many people they understandably don’t want, is to have Monty sleeping in their bedroom.
Monty has some general separation issues and these will need working on. He barks or howls if a door is shut on him even when he still has someone in the room with him.
Stressors
We looked at all the other things in his day that could be wiring him up for a restless night, including boisterous play, the long walks and runs, a late meal and the barking at noises etc. that could be dealt with in a better way. They will double-check for any physical discomfort.
In their efforts to control him better they have tried everything they can think of, most recently withdrawing a lot of their attention. No longer does he get his cuddles on the sofa which makes everyone unhappy. I say bring back cuddles on the sofa!
There are several other pieces of the jigsaw that I feel will help Monty but basically the learned behaviour aspect has to be overcome. The separation aspect needs working and he needs more suitable fulfillment and less over-stimulation.
If you have a dog that howls in the night, the solutions I planned for Monty may well not be appropriate or relevant to your own situation, which is why having an experienced professional to assess and help you and your own dog is essential.
Monty is a beautiful dog with a wonderful home. Given time, consistency and perseverance all will be well in the end, I’m sure.
