[Krys]

Ok well a while back i posted a thread on our issue with Sasha barking and whining while in her crate. I have officially tried everything. im at a lose now of nerves, all sleep and brain cells due to her barking at night when im attempting to sleep. this problem got a little better then all the sudden BAM it like quadrupled! you can tell she is exhausted but will continue to bark and whine. she will actually fall alseep while whining and her head will drop and wham shes awake again long enough to bakr and whine real loud and do it all over again.

I tried, putting her crate in my room but with the fact that my B/F sleeps during the day that didnt work so well cause if she is out of the crate she has this NEED to run from the living room into the bedroom and (what i call) jackhammer him:11poke: . in turn he calls me PISSED :mad1: and her back in the crate. something has to give here! :help_up_2 :help_up_2 PLEASE help anyone ALL advise is welcome, but remember i have 2 other dogs and one of which is the alpha and older (Niko my boxer)and not Sasha. i dont want fights breaking out.

 

[Gracie's_Mom]

Only let Sasha out of her cage when you is quiet don't give in to her barking or whinning. If you give in once they will always try to do it over and over again. Can you let her out of her cage during the day if the bedroom door is closed?

 

[TracyJo]

Okay you said it got better but then all of a sudden it got a million times worse. That is what is called an extinction burst. If you were in the mall and clapped your hands and someone gave you $20.00, you'd clap your hands again, right? This is what Sasha has done, she was in her crate, she barked and got out, so she barked again next time. Now say you clap your hands enough to earn you $200.00 but then all of a sudden you clap and there is no money, you'd think the guy must not have heard you the first time, so you'd clap again, much louder and with more frequency until you realized it just wasn't going to happen. That is what happened when it seemed to get better but then got way worse. She was pulling out all stops in hopes that what had worked previously would work again. This is a crucial time in training. If you give into the extinction burst, you are right back at square one, next time will be even louder and worse but you absolutely can not give into her. It takes time but once she realizes the barking will not work, she'll stop... Good luck!

 

[Krys]

Tracy i understand that but we are talking about 2 straight hours of barking last night at 12 at night........

GraciesMom-she is into everything when she isnt watched right now....she was doing so well. now its like she is hitting her "teens" early. up on the counters, into the trash(that she has NEVER done), just ugh..... im at my witts end *crying*

 

[TracyJo]

I'm not sure what kind of a reception this will get, but here goes
Petri is an insane barker. He used to get so frenzied when he was barking that he was impossible to control, especially when we had visitors. Nothing I did worked very well because he was just so worked up. I knew that if I could get control of the barking, I could get control of him and work on him around visitors. After much thought and careful consideration, I spent $100.00 on a citronella collar. This collar has quite possibly saved Petri's life The great thing about it is 1. it doesn't harm or hurt the dog, it startels the dog with a quick squirt of citronella 2. It isn't so sensitive that the dog can't make any noise at all. Petri could bark 1 or 2 times when someone came to the door and it didn't squirt him but it would squirt before he got to his frenzied screaming state. I do imagine though that it would be more sensitive on a larger dog. Personally, I would not leave it on a dog in their crate unattended. But if you were to use it as a training aid while you are at home and able to supervise, it may come in very handy.
I don't remember exactly how long I used the collar on a daily basis, but it wasn't more than a couple weeks before we started just putting it on as a reminder.
Just yesterday, a new friend came to the house, Petri barked only a couple times and then greeted her with tail wags and affection. This is something he never would have done pre-citronella.

 

[Lexus]

I really feel your pain Krys.... My husband's mix is just like that.

I would try Tracy's idea of a citronella collar tied in with completely ignoring her, and letting that do it's work. That is my next step with my mutt.

In addition, how is she with her crate? When you are home, even if she goes in her crate willingly, have her go in on command, reward, and just start by closing the door, and opening it again. Reward her when she enters the crate. Make your times longer and longer. I know, even if she is fine with going in her crate, you are essentailly retraining her to the crate. So she is being rewarded for being in there and quiet. Whatever you do, do not make a happy production of things when she is released from her crate. Unlock the door and don't even acknowledge her for a few minutes.

 

[Krys]

well as i stated in the first thread about this i tried using a zap collar i had gotten for her previously for training reasons i decided to try it for the barking......

well the problem now is if we are awake and she gets in trouble and gets put in a time out(in her crate) she doesnt bark, only when we are sleeping. i know everyone says not to use certain things for a dog while unattended and i agree but i have nothing else to do. im to the point that i just had to go to the Dr. and he perscribed me with a sleep aid because i cannot sleep at all now. It is now affecting my work.

I have thought about using that citronella collar, but the problem is is that its not just the barking. she howls and whines.....BAD!!!!! Which is just as bad as the barking

 

[TracyJo]

The citronella collar is triggered by the vibration in the dogs throat, not noise, so it will work with howling and whining too. I would not use the crate for punishment though. Right now you want the crate to be her haven, the best place in the world for her, not something she associates with punishment.
I'm with Lex in that starting over from square one and retraining her is worth a try. Just make sure that everything associated with the crate is positive and low key.

 

[animalcraker]

the citronela collar might be the way to go. I used it on my sheltie and he quickly got the message that I didnt want him to bark when he was outside. My only problems with it is that for one my sheltie was too smart for it. He would try to hide it underneath his fur so it couldn't spray him and whe that didn't work he would spin it so it was at the backside of his neck and it wouldn't work. Secondly it is extreemely sensitive and the sprayer part kept getting clogged.

I don't know if its been sugjested but you could try draping a blanket or sheet over her crate when its bedtime, simmilar to a cockatoo. it works for my cavalier, just a thought. hopefully her barking stops so you can finally get some peace and quiet.

 

[Krys]

Tracy, yeah i know what you mean about the crate not being a bad place. thing is i dont think she associates it as a bad thing, she loves her crate any other time especially feeding time as the get fed in their crates. Only at night when the house goes quiet.


Animal- she eats blankets

 

[TracyInVa]

aww hugggs to you. sounds like she has seperation anxiety. she hates ot be away from her mama. Good luck to u and i hope u get some much needed rest.

 

[Krys]

sounds like she has seperation anxiety. she hates ot be away from her mama.

see thats what i thought, because Niko had it when he was a puppy but all she does is bark. she doesnt try to get out or flip out in the crate just bark whine and howl:sadcry:

 

[Kratty]

Have you read this then if it might be SA.....?
http://www.greytdogs.com/midnite3.html#top
this might give some insight.

Here's another link for a site for good info on dog behavior...
http://www.flyingdogpress.com/artlibreg.htm

 

[Krys]

Have you read this then if it might be SA.....?
http://www.greytdogs.com/midnite3.html#top
this might give some insight.

Here's another link for a site for good info on dog behavior...
http://www.flyingdogpress.com/artlibreg.htm

Kratty that is a great article for anyone to read. now the as i read this and still see no similar behavior, she doesnt eat the blankets and flip out, we have set up a video camera ans she calmly just pulls out pieces and eats it like a treat. she doesnt spaz or any of the conditions of SA. its like she is pissed i am not paying attention to her and im trying to sleep. cause if i let her out, she will just go to the livingroom and sleep on the couch at night. its just during the day i feel she thinks that becaus she is up and ready to play so should my B/F be.


cause if we go out, she doesnt carry on or if like i said its quiet time and the 3 of them are getting too rowdy the all go in their crates with bones or treats and she is fine. the minutes either of us is sleeping is and all out opera!!! I HATE opera

 

[Kratty]

Well, thats good news, check one thing off the list. If we can't figure what is causing this, lets figure out what is not causing this and go from there. Sounds like she is bored and has still alot of energy. I believe she is still pretty young right now. Maybe having an extra play session at night to get rid of the puppy energy might help....A tired puppy is a happy owner.....

 

[Krys]

she is 10 months old now and her and my pit go at it unti its time to go to bed, sitting here thinking about it that might be why capone sleeps through the night i never thought letting them play like they do would be a good way to get them to go to sleep. the problem i see is we normally have to wake them up to go to bed so i know its a factory but i dont think its the 100 % issue yanno?