Dog barking at night

Question
Hello, Thanks for this website because I am in need of some help! I have two 12yr old daschunds  - brother/sister same litter. Issie, the girl, is definitely the leader of the two and they are both sweet as ever! About 2 months ago I had to go away for about 5 days for work. I had a pet-sitter come over a couple times day and this is the first time I had left them at this lenght of time without someone actually 'staying' over at my house with them. I hated to do this but I do not like to broad. The pet-sitter was my only choice. Pet-sitter did a great job and I have used her before on short overnight trips. When I returned we ( myself, issie and her brother, bono) were getting back to our normal routine...but Issie has been consistantly, almost every single night, since I have been back ( which is almost 2 months now) she is waking up at 2am -barking, - will not stop. I have tried ignoring her...being stern with her, she will not stop barking until I give her something to eat. I am at my wits end and needless to say have not had a good nights sleep in a long time. I have asked the vet for help and she suggested feeding smaller portions with a third small portion later in the night because her metabolism could be changing- so I am doing a normal feed at 6am, small feed at 6p and then another small feed at 11p - in hopes to stop her from waking and barking all night long. She consistantly wakes at 2am...4am and then back up at 6am.  ( 6a is the normal time that they eat) I just got her blood tested to rule out anything medically but I dont get the results until June 10th. Do you have any suggestions?
I would be very appreciative of any help. Thanks for you time. Sincerely, Amy

Answer
I normally do not suggest free-feeding, because it often leads to obese and/or food aggressive dogs, but have you tried putting out a free-feeder at bedtime so that she can get up and get a snack if she needs to during the night?


If nothing is found to be medically wrong with her, then I would suggest that she is only doing it for attention. Have you considered a no-bark collar?