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Why does my dog bark all night and how can I get her to sleep?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | unspayed | 5 months and 19 days old

Aki barks non-stop and it's late at night here. She won't sleep and I don't know what to do. I played music for dogs to sleep but she just keep on barking on it. How do I get her to sleep?

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on January 30th, 2018

What you can do: First and foremost, figure out WHY your dog is barking Use the list above as a reference to understand the source of the bark, because this will further determine what type of treatment you would want to use. If the bark is directed at a particular object or situation: Avoidance For example: If your dog is afraid of the vacuum cleaner, they will consistently bark until the vacuuming is done. To avoid this situation, ask a family member to take the dog on a walk while you vacuum the house. If the stimulus is unavoidable: Leadership exercises Before you can begin treatment, your dog must be able to have basic obedience training. Teach your dog to work for everything in life such as treats, attention, toys, and affection. For example: Make your dog sit or perform a behavior to earn every treat. All rewards can be given as long as the dog performs the behavior FIRST. This is a way to establish leadership and consistency in your dog’s life. Desensitization and counterconditioning Desensitization is a process where you SLOWLY have your dog become used to the stimulus to the point where they won’t react. Counterconditioning is process where you focus your dog’s attention into performing a command instead of focusing on the stimulus. For example: Dog barks in the presence of unfamiliar dogs. You and your dog should stand far away enough from the other dog where your dog does not react anxiously or aggressively. Ask your dog to perform a command and then give it a treat. This method allows the dog to focus his attention on performing a command that you ask for, instead of focusing on the other dog. SLOWLY move closer and closer to the other dog while giving it treats. This technique should be practiced in short intervals, no longer than a few minutes, but as often as possible throughout the day. Remember that this may take a long time to change the behavior, as the behavior took a long time to develop. Please refer to your veterinarian for assistance with this technique. What should not be done: Do NOT verbally or physically punish your dog when it is barking. Do NOT emotionally react when your dog barks because your dog will feed off of your heightened emotional state. Try to remain as calm as possible. Do NOT give your dog attention or treats to make them stop. This is especially important if the main reason your dog is barking is for your attention. Do NOT use a bark collar (citronella, electronic) in fearful or anxious dogs because it will further enhance the fear and anxiety and potentially cause other problems. Please contact your veterinarian for a consultation before attempting any behavior modifications, or if you have other questions.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Hello sorry to hear about Aki. Here is some further information about barking and how to manage this. Hope this helps and best of luck. Your dog barks for many different reasons, and it can become problematic for owners and neighbors. The behavior becomes a serious issue when the severity, tone and duration of the barking behavior escalates. The most important aspect of dealing with barking behavior is to first and foremost find out why your dog is barking. Some general causes are breed predisposition, learned behavior, or an underlying motivation to bark. After we identify why your dog is barking, we can proceed to change and shape the unwanted behavior. Although barking is a normal behavior for dogs it can involve harsh legal ramifications for dog owners. Therefore identification and correction of the behavior is vital. Reasons dogs bark: Territorial Barking: Many dogs spend most of their time in a specific territory, such as their house or yard. These areas are frequently approached by unfamiliar people and animals. Dogs will often bark in response to potential intruders to communicate their territorial boundaries. If an unfamiliar person, such as a mail carrier, approaches the home and the person retreats, the barking behavior is reinforced. These aggressive barks tend to be harsher, are of a lower frequency, and have short interbark intervals. Anxiety, fear or stress: Dogs may vocalize in response to stressful situations such as being isolated. Examples of such situations are being left home alone (separation anxiety), being put in a foreign environment, being frightened of specific noises, or being exposed to unfamiliar people and sounds. To have needs met: Our companions rely heavily on us for daily needs such as food, access to outdoor spaces, and entertainment. Dogs may bark to alert their owners of their needs. Attention-seeking: Barking may intentionally or unintentionally be reinforced by the actions of the person the vocalization is directed to. Additionally, some dogs may vocalize to gain the attention of the owner, whether the attention it receives is positive or not. Even if the dog is being scolded because if its vocalization, it is still being focused on by the owner which may be sufficient for that animal. Play or Social Barking: Dogs may also bark during play or to communicate with other dogs. These friendly or play barks are slower and more high pitched.

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    Answered By Jeffrey Milner

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 7th, 2017

    Barking in the middle of night is usually due to boredom, loneliness, or response to repeated stimuli. I am going to operate under the assumption that your dog is inside the house at night (if not, the best solution is to bring him inside). In order to address things like boredom or loneliness, the best things you can do are try to exercise Skylar right before bedtime - a tired dog is a happy dog! Next, you can try to leave a white noise machine, the radio, or the television on for her to see if this makes a difference. This works two fold because not only does it provide your dog something to listen to, but it also drowns out other possible stimuli causing Skylar to bark. Lastly, if this doesn't work, you can consider the use of an anti-bark device. There are several different types. The most innocuous type which I have seen a lot of success with on smaller dogs are the citronella collars. Basically, these collars spray out a small amount of liquid with a bad odor (to your dog at least) every time they perform the unwanted behavior. Here's a link to what I am talking about: https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Gentle-Citronella-Anti-Bark-Resistant/dp/B0002D31QU Of course there are also shock collars and things of this nature, but I strongly advise against using these until you exhausted any and all other options. The side effects of these collars can often outweigh the benefits. Hope this helps and that you resolve the issue soon!

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