Hiya,

I have had my 12 week old Lhasa Apso puppy for just over a week now. He is really well behaved in the day and does exactly as you ask. Yet at night he hates going to bed and will bark for 5-10 minutes whilst we stand there and tell him to be quiet till he calms down. In the morning he starts barking between 5 and 6, we take him out to the garden and then bring him back to his crate. He then barks every 15-20 minutes until we get up at 7.30. At the moment we just tell him to be quiet and go to bed. He settles after a couple of minutes but then starts again. Are we doing the right thing? Will he grow out of this?

Thanks, Abbi

Ignore him. Telling him to be quiet is reinforcing his behaviour, as he is getting what he wants, which is attention.

If he is barking to go out to the toilet, take him out, but dont fuss him or even talk to him. Of course praise him for going to the toilet, but apart from that, no attention at all.

He will grow out of it, aslong as you are firm and dont give into his cries. He needs to learn that barking and whining get him nowhere.

Is he clean overnight?

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Yeah he is perfectly clean, does nothing.

The problem I have with leavng him to bark is that we live in a terraced house so I dont want to disturb the neighbours. He is happily laid in his crate now but if I was to shut the door he would start whining straight away.

Thanks

Could you have a word with your neighbours? Just explain to them that in the long term letting him cry now while you ignore him, will mean he will be much quieter in the future.

You could try practicing shutting him in his crate during the day. Maybe feed him in there, so he associates it with good things. If he goes quiet, then immediately reward him, then if he makes noise, then ignore him. He'll soon cotton on.

I know its really tempting to tell them off, sometimes their cries are really frustrating, but ignoring him really is the best thing you can do. Even eye contact can be a reward.

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K will definitely give it a try. Thanks, fingers crossed!

It is hard. My first puppy Oscar used to scream, and it dorve me up the wall. I gave my neighbours soem flowers and apologised profusely. Took a few weeks before he was 100% quiet, but he soon learnt that he would get nothing out of it.
I couldnt even look at him. If i did he would cry even louder.

Its really worth getting on top if it though. I have 2 dogs now, and both are really quiet, even when left.

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I tried leaving him last night and ignored him completely as suggested. He barked when we put him to bed on and off for about an hour and a half then he woke up at 5.30 so my fiancee took him out, he did nothing, he then barked basically non stop till half 7 when we got up. He has never weed or pooed in his crate, yet this morning he had done both.

Does this sound normal? As he seems very aggitated this morning.

If you have tried this method before with your puppy, how long has it taken for him to start settling? I dont mind the noise its just my neighbours that I do not want to annoy.

It can take a few days to a week or so. It really depends on the individual dog.

Have a chat to your neighbours. Many people are ok aslong as you inform them and explain matters to them.

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