Barking Weimaraner. Need help.
 

So, Sophie is a 7 or 8 year old Weim. We rescued her about 5 years ago. She was crate trained. Since we've had her she's been in her crate at night. For the past couple weeks she will start barking around 2 or 3 am. I let her outside and she goes but if I put her back in her crate she'll eventually start barking. I feel like if I let her out she will think that if I bark I can get out....rewarding her for barking. My wife is a very light sleeper so she can't sleep in our room. She's pretty noisy. I don't want her to bark at night because her room is beside my 4 year old's room and will wake him up.

I could take her crate down to the basement, where she could bark to her heart's content, but don't really want to do that. Maybe she's getting older and doesn't like the crate anymore? Since she's crate trained I don't want to leave her out because I'm pretty sure she's not potty trained. She's always been in her crate at night. She's a good dog and I've been told that she's the calmest Weimaraner my vet has ever seen.

Does anyone have some brilliant ideas for me to try? Any information that I'm missing that may help? Let me know.

Thanks again,

blast her with a major dose of exercise right before bed time?

maybe a KONG loaded with peanut butter as a treat afterwards,,in the crate?

Worst case- perhaps separation anxiety is coming back- they are famous for that. They are awfully attached to people. Mine will follow every family member anywhere especially my Mother at any given moment. He's crate trained too and SOMETIMES he cries in the crate if he's alone.

Or could be something as simple as his sleep cycle is messed up. Mine will go through small cycles where he'd get up a few days in a row early and want to party or whatever then he'll be normal for months..http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296681530.jpg

Mine is technically a rescue and this perhaps the most behaved dog in the universe. He's 3 years old and lazy and quiet and quite affectionate.

rjp

Crate trained but not house broken?

Tend to doubt that.

How many hours a day does the dog spend in the crate?

Thats the first thing that comes to mind as well. Do you spend alot of time with your dog?
We had two Weimaraners. Great dogs! The only way they woke us up at night was their gas. :eek: You would wake up to the quite "Sssssssssssss" and you just knew you only had a few seconds to get the pillow over your head. Those dogs could clear a room.

We had nearly the same experience with a Lab. He used to nudge me with his nose in the middle of the night.

My vet said to set off some sort of an alarm (I used a kitchen timer) ASAP when nudged. I tried this and it worked! I don't know if the sounds corrected the issue, or maybe the two sounds became associated in the dog's mind because afterwards, every time the timer was used...here came the dog! Kinda like clicker training.

how big is the crate. can the dog lie on its side comfortably?
being a big dog and @8 maybe there is a age/physical reason? have a vet check things out. could be joints or something else that comes on with age. couldn't hurt to be sure it isn't serious.

cant believe a crate trained dog isn't potty trained. does it pee in the house when its not in the crate. how long is the dog in the crate during the day?

If the dog starts messing with you and all other boxes (i.e. bladder weakness, exercise, crate comfort) are checked, I would get a bark collar. It will only discomfort the dog for a couple of times. They'll catch up quick.

George

duck tape/baseball bat/and (4) lil doggie handcuffs for "MR. SNUGGLES" did the trick for me!


seriously "mr snuggles" is so damn big now he sleeps and farts anywhere he wants cuz he can, and he has his own pillow upstairs in my sons room and in our room.


its down to a drill. just before i go to bed i let him out to go numba 1-2-3, and back in he goes when its cold out. he roams around for awhile checking for boogar men, and then settles upstairs or down for the night.


when he has to go i get a wet schnozz in my face and a whimper, and i get up and let him out. with my crazy ass hours he makes it thru the night and 1st thing at 430am i let him out.



screw that crate crap, how would YOU like to be crammed into a skinny azz crate all night. has he broken any dawggie laws? is he a political prisoner? is he a terrorist? is he a psycho axe murr-durr-er(red-rummer)?


man talk about making him into a psycho axe murr-derr-er! i'd want to axe yer azz in the early am if i was crammed into a stoo-pid azz lil itty bitty crate and then i'd want to chew up yer slippers, pee in yer coffee maker and poo in yer oatmeal! and pee on yer fuchs when i had a chance.



FREE THE WEI-MER-WEINER from his lonely miserable caged life in a crate. let him become family. set up a chair for breakfast lunch and dinner at the dining table, get him his own utensils and napkin. get him his own slippers and newspaper and reading glasses and pretty soon he will be fetching you beers, scratching you behind the ears, and guarding your house like all WEI-MER-WEINERS should do.



WEI-MER-WEINERS are PEOPLE TOO!



heed these words or "mr snuggles" will come over and kick yer azz!



have always been a lab person, until this goofier than poo weimereiner/wolf mix. best damn goofy azzd dawg i have ever owned bar none!



every damn time a fire truck or cop car goes by with their sirens on, he starts howling at the moon. puts the coyotes to shame!

he is POSSESSED just like mine is! you can tell by the eyes every single time!

Hello. I have two Weim's as well and our female is a rescue. Neither are crate trained but both like to bark, especially at the mailman, UPS driver etc. We use a bark collar and as George stated above it only gives them a little jolt. They still bark if they feel it's worth it as the collar won't continue to buzz them. They are great dogs and mine are calm as well. That is mostly due to the fact that my wife runs with them daily, usually 5-8 miles per run.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296697380.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1296697500.jpg

Chris

once again...................its in the eyes. they ARE POSSESSED! LOL! gawd they are great dawgs.

I think you should have the dog checked at the vet. She's aging, and that presents a host of issue, just like in humans. Make sure she is comfortable in her crate. Might have bladder issue, they can be medicated for that.

That was my thought.



That was my wife's thought.

Our Weimeraner experience is only a few months old, though, so take it with a grain of salt. It's unusual that your dog was "fine" for many years, and only now is developing this habit. Anything different in your life? Our rescue dog:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...g/DSC_0042.jpg

a tired dog..is a good dog..
these dogs need & must have exercise..
and that is more than go pee & a quick scheisse..
mine... 2 X daily for several miles each time..
that includes 8 degree weather this AM..
Mr Snuggles does a before bedtime perimeter check..
and all is good..
quit locking him up..
take the top of the crate..
he will still use it..but feel connected to the pack..
don't know your yard set-up..
I have a dog-door..

Rika

"mr. snuggles" got his azz thrown out at 6am and its 24 degrees. mean? cruel? hell no! he loves it.

chases the grackle birds/dove/pigeons(flying rats),lizards and barks to beat the band at yotes and java-leaners(javelina-peccary), thn he finds the sun(his outside pillow) and takes a nap until the next dum-azz bird attempts to eat his food..............and then its BOOM BOOM OUT GO DA LIGHTS for that bird and i get bird bones and feathers/guts for a treat when i get home.



hes a "HUNTING DAWWWWWW-G!"

mine went into the pool afterwards...
the colder it gets..
the more they run & chase..
expecting some snow tonight..
it's going to be a blast...

Rika

the ONLY reason i DONT take "mr. snuggles" hunting with me, is he is his own dawg. damn dawg is FEARLESS! he knows the rattlesnake drill very well and is smart about that. but my fears are five fold in the woods. badgers/mtn lions/bob kittys/skunks-been der doned dat w/another dawg/and wolves.


on the wolf angle cuz his daddy was wolf, he would split forever and live out his life howling at the moon completely feeking up the gene pool for future wolfy generations, and the u.s fish and wildlife dept would put a WANTED POSTER out on him!



for the other kritters.................man no matter what he would be in their face tearing limb from limb if need be. saw him one day hop the fence and give chase to a coyote pissing on the property. SOB didnt come back for 2 hrs, completely full of cholla cactus chasing that damn coyote. hours later with a comb and needle nose he was no worse for wear and tear and was ready to chase another down!

My Weim is a weenie. I nicknamed him Weimarweenie.

He loses to cats consistently, runs from loud noises and is a momma's dog- as evidenced by him brown-nosing my mother.

But I love him anyhow. He sleeps next to me at night.

rjp

An 8 yo dog should be house trained by now, especially if crate trained. She should not need to be in a crate at night. I believe in crate training only to house train a dog. For a dog to spend every night there is cruel, IMHO.