My dog Seths behaviour change

Question
Hello, I have a year old Jack Russell called Seth his behaviour has changed in the past month. The changes have been, putting him to bed at night he whines, howls and barks(not everynight)and sometimes goes to bed with no problems then wakes up at 1.30am and whines,howls and barks. I haven't worked for 7 years so I am home all day, my husband does work aand leaves every morning and theres never been a problem except in the last month Seth barks the house down until I get up, also my neighbour has told me that when my husband and I go out he barks for around an hour. this behaviour is so out of the blus I have no idea what is going on with him, I know that the whining could be attention seeking but I am worried about him waking up at night when we have never had a problem with bedtime before.
Hope you can sugeest what the problem might be.
Thanks

Pauline

Answer
Hi Pauline;
Without knowing the dog, I can only guess.
It isn't somethinmg that could be considered normal canine bahavior.
This olittle guy has an issue of some kind, whether it is just wanting more attention, or something is disturbing him.
does he sleep near your bed, or on your bed?
What does he do when you do get up?
Does he want to play, or does he exhibit some other behavior?
If he styarts to try to get you to play, then it is jusyt wanting attention, ( spoiled a bit.LOL)
If he seems disturbed about something, then you need to try and find out what it is.
Sometimes it is a siren or some other shrill sound they hear, that is too faint for you to pay attention to.
The barking when you are both gone is just wanting someonr to come and be wih him.
there may be something he is afraid of, but that could be so many things, that is is just a guessing game.
does he have toys to play with when you are gone?
It could be that since you are home all day, he feels you should be with him at all times.
Try turning on a TV or raido when you leave.
I used to have a German Shepherd that would bark and whine when we were gone, but if /i left a /tv or radio on, she felt she was not alone, apparently, and she didn't bark.
Do you have him in a crate?
I hear of this mostly with dogs that are put in a crate at night.
Reardless of hiow many people recommend those things, and say dogs really like them. I don't personally know of one dog that is content in a crate, unless it is open all the time so they can go in and out when they want.
I would need to know what he does when he barks and you do get up.
Charlotte