My Dog Barked All Day - Page 1

Rex barked ALL day today, which is totally out-of-character for him.   Also, he was in constant motion  -- sometimes actually "strutting around" with his tail raised.   I also noticed that he kept going to the same side of the yard and jumping up on the fence -- I sure hope he doesn't decide to jump over it.   I am thinking that there may be a female in heat close by ??  There are no dogs on either side of my yard .... but he definitely was going to only one side of the yard.    My neighbors are going to "kill me" if he doesn't stop !!    Any suggestions to stop his barking?

I have a few suggestions: Bring him inside. Or take him out for a long walk. Or go out and play fetch with him. Or teach him to be quiet. Or maybe spend some time training and interacting with him. These are the things I would do. I would also never have my dog loose in a yard with a fence I thought he could jump. But, I'm sure you already do all of these things with him all day. Hard to imagine he has the energy to bark.

I would try taking him to a park or anyplace away from the area he is showing attention.... I believe taking him for a walk in the general area would only encourage his curiousity to what he is already alerting on, making him want to get out even more.....Obviously since you heard him barking all day you must have been watching him very closely to know exactly what he was doing and where he was spending most of his time.....If you have any doubt that he might jump the fence, I would not leave him out side unattended at all...JMO

Primary reason that dogs bark is boredom...  Mine bark when left out too much at deer, at folks walking on the road, at kids across the street... rabbits... etc....  When I spend 1/2 an hour throwing the ball for them, or take them to the river to swim... walk them... even take them for a ride in the car.. they're all much calmer and Definitely quieter.  A good game of Tug is great too.  

If you don't have the time for that, or can't make the time... then it's better he doesn't spend as much time outside trying to find solutions for his own boredom...   Ikon LOVES to deliver his Kong on my keyboard while I'm typing... tonite I had to rescue the littlle ball from the computer mouse from Demi...  Bev got to take a bath with the Kong, including 2 dogs diving in to get it back... they think o' LOTS of things to amuse themselves... better for me... and in the long run better for them if I choose the activitys...

She said this is not natural for him, so obviously something on the other side of the fence has him stirred up.

If he were mine Maggie, and I was worried about him jumping the fence and annoying the neighbours, I'd bring him inside.  I like them inside, and you may be surprised how well behaved he is.  I have doggy perfume I spray on them  to make them smell perty, and they just hang out with me while I'm on the computer.

Doesn't sound love-lorn to me.  That's usually a different sound.  Was it his "alert" bark?  As in a new dog in the neighborhood or a prowler or a workman or even a cat - something different that's not usually there that was there this time.  The kind of bark will tell you.  Angry, challenging, alarmed - the raised tail and "strutting around" sound more like he was barking AT a specific something/some one.
 

Go out there and look where he's looking and figure it out.  Is he doing it again today?  And also, what slamdunc said:  Bring him inside. Or take him out for a long walk. Or go out and play fetch with him. Or teach him to be quiet.

Good luck!

I agree with Tess,  about the strutting and flag waving tail. Plus your dog is coming into his own, he will want to be King of All He Surveys. 

Inside with the Yorkie doesn't work for Maggie, or has that situation changed? Time to bump up the interaction a notch, as others have suggested.

He can never come in because of a Yorkie?  I missed that.  So put the Yorkie in a crate or another room for a while.  

He's becoming an adult and is more interested in what's going on in the neighborhood, his territory.  It could be as simple as a cat sitting on a window sill in a house.  He's probably starting to notice things that are "out of place" also.  If the neighbors put a cover on their outdoor furniture, it may have gotten his attention.  If it's nothing that you can see, that doesn't mean there's not something there.  Not a bitch in heat, more likely something he sees or perceives to be not quite right.

Drake will spot a piece of litter in the street and immediately zone in on it.  Once he realizes what it is, he relaxes.  My neighbor was working on his truck one day and left a cylinder torch in between his truck and my car.  I brought Drake out for a potty break and he alerted that something was there that shouldn't be.  I walked him down to let him investigate and once he checked it out, he was fine.

So, if I'm not mistaken, your boy is coming up on 2?  That's about the age when these things start with the males.  I'd say you either need to find out what it is that he's reacting to and take him to check it out if it's accessible or  bring him in. 

Exercise is also a very good suggestion, a tired dog is a good dog.

When I did have a fenced yard, I never allowed my dogs to bark and if they did, they were brought inside.

Excellent post, GSDTravels.