dog barking for comfort at night

how do you stop a dog from barking to get attention and sleep with you at night - particularly the amah.. the dog is still a puppy and spends most of the time with the amah.. so one it poses training issues and reinforces the barking... whats the best way to get the dog to feel confident and sleep alone?

You need to start periods of completely ignoring the puppy so that it can start getting used to isolation. If the pup demands attention walk away and ignore and when it stops trying to gain your attention, reward it by either offering a treat or simply giving it attention. Start by ignoring the pup for say 30 seconds and gradually lengthen the time of ignoring it but always reward it for not wanting attention and then you can move on to putting the pup in a room by itself.


So shut the pup in the room walk out, shutting the door behind you, then immediately walk back in so the puppy doesn't get stressed and starts barking or whining and reward it for quietness. The pup will learn that being quiet and not barking has it's rewards.


The barking must be ignored. By telling the puppy to be quiet gives it attention which the puppy is wanting so completely ignore it when it barks and the second it stops, reward it. It's imperitive that this method of training is consistent. Dogs learn through repetition and consistency. So the amah needs to ignore the pup too.


Does the pup sleep on or in the amah's bed or in her room on the floor? The pup needs to learn to be by itself and if it's constantly in the amah's company then the behaviour won't change. You may have more trouble "training" the amah than the pup! lol

Thanks Devon.. probably been too lenient.. as you say need to start training the dog and the amah..


someone said spraying the dog with water when it barks... not sure if thats a good idea..

No that's not a good idea because all the pup will learn from that is to be frightened of you.

I gave my pup a old t-shirt (I had worn it that day so it had my scent on it) to sleep with and it solved the whining problem over night, it seemed to comfort her, this might help you too