help

[diddelyo]

how do i stop my 8 month old dog ,red setter, from barking at night when i put him out to bed

[woofgang]

you say put him out to bed? is he outside? Don't you think he might be cold??????

[louise jones]

Put his bed somewhere warm - like in the kitchen - you wouldnt like to sleep outside would you?

[spaced]

Do you know what RSPCA means?

[Goofy]

I'd assume he's going in a kennel, and don't see anything wrong with that. Lots of animals live outside and it doesn't do them any harm Although he's obviously not keen.
Has he always barked/
Do you put him i the kennel during the day at all?
Try putting him in for a short time, and then praising him when you let him out if he's been quiet. Then leave him for slightly longer intervals.

[gessoo]

If a dog is a working dog and spends the day outside in a run or working, and is sleeping in a kennel at night, I would think the dog is hardy enough to cope with being left out at night.

If a dog is inside during the day and then is put out to sleep I think it is cruel, even if the kennel is weatherproof and reasonably warm. The dog will be lonely as well as cold.

[drgnrdr]

The domestic dog is a social animal which thrives on mental and physical stimulation. He requires the company of his pack in order to have a fulfilled life.

So the answer is simple, give him a place inside. He's only 8 months old. If he's inside with you all the time then you banish him to outside he doesn't understand what happened. Plus if he doesn't get enough exercise, he's not tired, and so gets bored and barks which I am sure you tell him to shut up and then he gets his attention. Neighbors will put up with allot but not a barking dog, so like I said bring him in, as suggested by a couple of others.

[spaced]

drgnrdr, well said mate! 3 stars for you!

[noxlumos]

Nothing wrong with keeping dogs outside it is NOT cruel and as someone involved with animals all my life I resent the implication as some of my dogs live outside and some do not, but none of them are cruelly treated (my wife runs an ex-race horse rescue and we have regular contact with the RSPCA because of that and a dog sleeping outside is not considered cruel by them either as long as it is treated properly and has suitable shelter).

He does need to be happy and secure where he sleeps however, and the way I get a young dog used to sleeping somewhere other than the house is to feed him in his kennel, make sure he has a nice bed that is warm and comfortable and to put him in his kennel for a short time several times per day.Let him hear your voice whilst he's in there and then gradually leave him alone for a slightly longer period and he'll soon realise he's not being abandoned.Be very glad to see him when you let him out, make a real fuss of him. The key is to get him to consider his kennel as a nice place that is his, he must enjoy his home and not view it as a punishment you are giving him by putting him out.To that effect choose a special toy that he's only allowed initially in the kennel and give him treats unique to that place and he'll soon consider it home and won't bark or be unhappy at all.

Please don't let people make you feel guilty about him sleeping outside, it's perfectly acceptable and not at all unkind.

[gessoo]

Noxlumos. With respect, you state that some of your dogs live outside. This is just fine as I said in my earlier post. But do you really agree that a dog that lives inside with the family should be put outside to sleep.

Also, as long as an animal has shelter food and water , the RSPCA will not intervene as it does not come into their remit as 'being cruel'. However, RSPCA inspectors themselves are often upset that they can't do anything when a dog just has these basic standards and no quality of life.

I remain convinced that it's fine for working dogs to remain outside day and night with the correct provision of shelter, but not for an indoor family pet to be put outside to sleep.

[Eels]

I know of people who have 'indoor family pets' which bark if they don't get out to their kennel at night! As noxlumos has said, if the dog is trained for the kennel (much as a puppy might be crate-trained) then there will be no problems.

Incidentally, the kind of kennels I am talking about are usually big runs with access to an indoor heated shed with straw or Vetbed.

On the subject of dogs which bark, this dog is obviously receiving some sort of reward for barking. Mine barks in the car when I slow down, because once in a while slowing down means we are stopping to get out for a walk. The variable reinforcement that car journeys in town provide have turned him into a serial barker! If I never stopped the car after slowing down, he'd be over it within days!

[noxlumos]

Perhaps I should clarify, when I said that some of our dogs live out and some live in, I mean that all of my dogs have the free run of our house and grounds during the daytime and that some sleep in the house at night and some sleep in their kennels, so we have semi-house dogs if you like. These have never sufered in any way. It is of the utmost importance to me that all of our animals are happy and have a good quality of life and putting a dog out to sleep in his kennel at night does him no harm as long as he is suitably introduced to it and sees it as a positive place to be.

It really narks me that people start spouting about cruelty etc when they clearly have either no experience of what is being discussed ( semi-kenneled dogs) or think that all dogs should live the life of Reilley sploshed a nice comfy cushion in front of the fire, and that anything different to the way they would treat their animals is wrong and some sort of cruel torture.

There are many ways of keeping a dog correctly, and a lot of it depends on the individual human and dog involved, their lifestyles and the manner in which a person trains their dogs and any dog will live in and out happily if acclimatized correctly.

[gessoo]

Fair points noxlumos. However, I would point out that I do have experience of dog ownership and dog handling and am also a dog rehomer. Living where I do in a very rural area with dogs that are working dogs/pets as well, I am aware that kenneled dogs can be happy dogs. My own dogs are pet dogs but are certainly not cossetted.

OK, if a kennel is heated and in a proper run, I concede that it is probably OK for a dog who has been inside in the warm during the day to go to it's kennel at night - but only if the kennel is heated, insulated and with the required suitable bedding. I personally would not want that for my pet dogs though.

Perhaps 'cruel' was too strong a word to use, but it would certainly be thoughtless to but a pet dog out at night into a less than suitable kennel.

Apologies diddelyo if I have assumed wrongly.

[gessoo]

By 'dog rehomer' I mean I visit homes to assess suitability prior to rescued dogs being rehomed.

[clairey-s]

for the love of god ppl, ur not reli giving this guy any advice!!

noone said the dog sleeps outside (out to bed could mean out in the extension or w/e after all)

noone said he is inside all day

i have 1 (small) dog inside and two (larger) dogs outside - the big 1s hate sleeping inside, even in the middle of winter, and the small one loves bieng in the house!

diddelyo - how was your dog brought up? our 2 have always slept outside, so they dont mind. but if he was brought up sleeping inside untill you got him, i would reconsider his sleeping arrangements... hope this helps

xXx

[drgnrdr]

Since there was not enough info in this post to accurately help you, try to read this and see if any of it applies to you, or can give you some answers for your particular situation.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1551&articleid=153