barking in the kennel

Question
Hi Henry,

Thank you for volunteering! I have two mini Dachshunds, 7 years old, male and female. They sleep in a crate in our office, adjacent to the bedroom. Lila is a very vocal dog who likes to "talk" to us a lot and express her opinions. Lately she has taken to barking or yipping in a high-pitched tone in the early morning hours (not continuously, but once every 15 minutes or so). She doesn't need to go out; I make sure of that. She's just bored and ready to get out.

I have been handling this by either ignoring it, or getting up and telling her to be quiet (which works for about an hour, and then she starts up again). There must be a better way to handle this. What do you suggest?

Thanks,

Cindy

Answer
As you recognize the dog is bored and wants attention. First we want to make sure the cause is not a medical problem. Inform your vet and he may want to do an exam after you discuss the issue with them. There are some conditions that can cause discomfort or restlessness and behavioral change is one sign that must be interpreted hands on. You state they sleep in a crate. Does that means both are in 1 crate or does it mean each sleeps in its own crate? If they are in two crates it may work to bed them together. If they are already in one crate, try some of the following:  Change the bedding to new blankets or beds. At the very least make sure they get laundered regularly. In our kennel bedding gets laundered daily with a bleach included animal safe soap. This prevents any parasites and germs. Check the coat with a fine tooth comb to be sure there are no parasites, ear mites, ticks etc. Check the teeth. Dogs and cats need good dental care as much as any other animal, often more because they are not gnawing on hard bones to keep the teeth clean. Teeth should be clean, white and breath odor weak or none. If there is yellow, black or other stain colors on the teeth, "doggy breath" or chipped broken teeth the dog needs a dental. Different vets will suggest different intervals between teeth cleaning. The easiest is when the vaccinations are done be sure the teeth, ears, anal glands are checked. Base cleaning on the exam results. Older dogs also get arthritis and stiff joints. If bedding is not comfy it can cause restlessness. Observe the "action dog" and compare it to what the dog did a couple years ago. Aging is a very gradual process and some changes are hard to see on a daily basis but over year(s) changes can be noted easily. You can pull out old videos if you have them to compare. Is the dogs sitting posture changed?

Now if the dog is just bored, hungry for (food, attention) it might be solved with a chew toy, small kibble dish (about 2 tablespoons at night) access to water [in the crate].  In the kennel the dogs always have access to water and some kibble at night. Not a regular feeding, the equivelent of a half dog cookie (based on the size of the dog). In some cases it is a dog cookie bed time snack. We have the radio on 24/7 with soothing music. We recently added a 300 disk CD player and programmed it to play from about 100 CD's of sothing music. I cut a CD with my own and staff voices that simply says in a quiet voice, good dog, nice dog, shhhh quiet now. This gets played 2-3 times per hour between music selections. Its a robotic reassuring voice "nanny" that keeps the dogs and cats from feeling alone and without human companionship.

Since you indicate that your intervention (voice) keeps the dog quiet for an hour, I'd first try music/radio.  At 7 years old they are also getting very mature, and less independent. As dogs age they tend to get less active, more social (more companionship oriented). So you may need to increase the daytime interaction levels to satisfy this psychological need.

Regards,
Henry Ruhwiedel
Westwind Kennels LLC
www.Dogkennel.org.