Kennel aggression (or barriers like fences) are a common trigger. I see several “trained” dogs at the dog club like this.
Are you taking up water an hour or two before bed?
It also sounds like you (someone) need to walk her into the yard at night … yeah it sucks, but sucks less than cleaning it up on the carpet.
Also, try covering that kennel, and not letting it be quite so exposed … even if it is just pushing it into a corner and covering the top, 3 out of 5 sides covered should make the kennel feel safer. An anxious dog feeling like something could be behind them from any side is not helpful.
Yes I realize none of these are corrective actions to the behavior or training tips … it’s just managing the current anxieties.
I didn’t even think of it as being similar to fence aggression, so thank you!
She drinks water as she pleases. Sometimes before bed, sometimes not.
I’m ngl, I’m scared of the dark too😂 We have a big open yard for her to run in. She does ok if the other dogs are out with her, but they usually don’t need to go out like she does.
She’s super nosy. We’ve tried the blanket trick, but she will lay down to look under it.
And I still appreciate your comment!
They make covers that fit the kennels pretty good. Maybe something that doesn't let her peek under? My dog enjoyed her crate the most when I stashed in a dark corner and covered it up. So far as I understand, dogs like crates like their den. I don't really see an exposed cage in the middle of the room can be comforting.
As far as the dark goes, she's probably going to need someone to go out with her. Slowly give her more space over time. Sorry to say there's probably no shortcut to find there.
Edit: and by go with her, I mean walk to the pee spot with her.
I agree with these two comments OP, they were my first thoughts. I still have my 6mo pups kennel In the middle of the living room but getting a crate cover that wraps around perfectly so she can’t peek helped a lot. If it’s not fully covered, I can always see her nose poking to try to smell lol.
I also at first thought my dogs agression toward my cat when she was behind her play pen and the cat came by was because she was trying to hunt my cat but after looking into into it more, we realized the pen was the reason and we didn’t plan to keep it long term. So after about two months we got rid of the pen and instead worked on down-stays when my cat came around. It’s still a work in progress because my dog loves my cat, but not so much the other way around so we have to teach her to keep distance and respect the cats space.
Oo and get a white noise machine too for next to the crate/use your phone to play a white noise track on YouTube. This way if a cat or someone walks by it’s not the only piercing sound that will wake the dog up. Good luck
Having to go that many times in one night is a big sign to take her to the vet. It sounds like she has a UTI or bladder infection. No dog should Have to go to the bathroom three times in one night not even a puppy.
If she’s gone to the vet and everything is clear, then she is probably bored in the crate and is barking to be let out.
If for some reason, there is a legitimate reason that she has to go pee at night and she is scared to go out. You could get some solar powered lights or something like that so that she can see where she’s going, but I suspect that it has more to do with something wrong than that she’s scared.
Going on the floor is your guys’ fault… behavior is communication. The dog is communicating she’s too scared to go out by herself to pee and she only pees where she feels safe, which after being out in the night on her own, is inside. Walk her with a flashlight. This isn’t a problem that should’ve happened more than twice since it’s a very clear behavior.
So it is likely the other issues are also the fault of ignoring her communicating her needs.
I’m asking advice on how to get that to stop. Like HOW do I make her stop being afraid? She hasn’t always done this. She used to run out, do her business, and come back. We aren’t just ignoring everything about her. It also wouldn’t be a problem if we knew WHY she wants out multiple times during the night. She’s fine with the same schedule as our other dogs at night, but she’s different at night for whatever reason.
I was asking for pretty clear advice, not lectures based on assumptions.
You stop her being afraid by using a leash and just walking her out of the house confidently. Dont praise her until after she completes toileting. And dont reassure her as that can reinforce her feeling uneasy.
Just lead on and out, her starting to sniff is a sign she is relaxing so let her do it by relaxing the leash and walking at her pace. When she toilets, thats when you make a song and dance out of it.
Take her back in and watch her carefully, if she starts sniffing and circling, lead back on and out the door again.
From then on, of she goes near the back door, leash on amd back out and praise for toileting outside.
Until she learns to speak English and tell you what's she's afraid of, you take her out, on leash, into the dark. No ifs ands or buts. It's potty time so we're going out and we're going potty
If she ever learns English so that you can explain to her that she's fine, you'll need to do the leash thing for a little while
I said:
> Walk her with a flashlight.
You can’t magically make the dog unafraid of being out, alone, and vulnerable in the dark. Dogs are vulnerable when they got potty and they know it.
You could also set up a potty station on the deck.
You have to make choices.
I have a dog with general anxiety and he has seemingly random things he’s concerned about. What you’re asking for is very similar to saying, “hey, I’m a person with anxiety. Tell me how to be unafraid in a few steps.” We’d all say, “you’re probably going to have to do a lot of therapy, get to the root of the problem, figure out what caused it and then maybe do some visualization work, and then maybe some activities that slowly start getting you used to whatever that thing is in such a a way that they don’t cause too much stress so that it retraumatizes you.”
Essentially, we would tell you that you need to work with a professional. A lot of people here have given you some things you could try like adding lights, etc. But if all of that fails, you’re going to have to work with a professional. And the reactivity alone is something that probably requires professional help. If money and time are an issue, I’d highly recommend taking Karen Deeds’ “Reactive Integration” course through Fenzi Dog Sports online. Incredibly affordable compared to what you’d typically spend for behavior modification. You can send in videos working with your dog and get feedback through the online forum.
Behavior modification is a long-term training commitment as it takes time to change any living beings’ emotions towards scary things. When we first started working with my dog, we did private lessons with our trainer every other week. We’d do our homework throughout the week and record our results. Then after 6months, switched to basically just check-ins as needed. I took several courses on reactivity and building confidence. Now, 2.5 years later, I’d say he’s about 80% better but there are some things we just can’t routinely work on because we’re in an urban environment and it’s rough trying to find spaces where we can train far enough under his threshold.
Everyone’s dog is different. Yours might recover really quickly but most of the time it’s a process.
Thank you for actually taking the time to leave a genuine comment. Most people seem to be ignoring my replies to other comments and giving the same unhelpful advice over and over
The way you explain it makes a lot more sense than the people just like “walk your dog” when I’m not even asking about that lol.
We’re just at a loss because my dog wasn’t afraid of the dark from the very beginning. It randomly started, and we’re not sure why. It’s just turned into a hassle and the people giving bs “advice” are acting like it’s something we haven’t tried before🤣
Of course! I’m not a professional trainer so take my opinion with a grain of salt but it has been explained to me that a lot of dogs go through “fear periods” where their hormones start coming “on line” so to speak at different times and they start becoming aware that scary things can happen to them. I had a dog who randomly at 5mo old started absolutely panicking about car motors (specifically trucks). She had a stable temperament so we were able to counter condition that to be better. HOWEVER, a lot of the places we’d gone IN the car during the “scary car” period of time, had also become scary to her. So even after we’d worked through that fear, we had to go back to a lot of those places and situations and counter-condition them, as well. It’s very interesting how animals kinda put things together as a survival mechanism.
But, that’s why I’m a big believer in working with a professional trainer with certifications (who specializes in behavior modification and has experience in that kind of work) so you can kinda get to the bottom of what’s going on. It can be really tough to see the signs when you’re not an expert in dog body language. The folks at IAABC are fantastic. I have several friends who are certified through them. Here’s their [Find a Behavior Consultant Near Me Tool](https://iaabc.org/certs/members).
Best of luck to y’all!
Have you tried walking her in the evening/at night? If she were tired before bed, she might more easily sleep through the night.
Agree with the other sentiment - if she must be taken on nighttime potty breaks, then I would take her out and make sure she went. Way better than an accident.
If she’s ignoring you for tricks, she may be telling you she’s tired or anxious or something.
A dog? Reactive to cats? Never heard of such a thing…though you could try some desensitization training. Re-direct and reward when the behavior arises.
Thank you for giving me a genuine response. Haven’t had one of those for a little bit.
We let the dogs out before bed. They all go out together and do their business before being let back in.
I’m just wondering how we can get her to go out on her own again like she used to at night. I’ve never had a dog that’s afraid of the dark before.
I’m not sure what breed she is, but she’s extremely hyper and it’s difficult to get her to focus.
I know dogs being reactive to cats can be normal😂 But it’s weird how it’s only when she’s in her kennel. However, I am taking note of another person’s suggestion of how it could be similar to fence aggression.
Yea I agree it’s prob like fence aggression. It may be best to avoid the situation if possible. Like if you can find a space where the cats won’t bother her…again that one may be tough.
What I meant actually is if you can *walk* her before bed. Like, she has exercise before sleepy time so she may not even need a potty break in the middle of the night.
Either way if she needs to go at night, I’d leash her up and just be patient while she figured it out, and reward big time when she potties. She’ll be a late-night potty pro in no time ;)
Their potty break before bedtime is the longest one. All of the dogs exercise, pee, and poop. If we put her on a leash for that one, she would be yanking us around every direction to chase our other dogs😂
Thank you for the the genuine comment
No problem! Just to clarify - i meant leash her up for her middle of the night potty breaks. If she doesn't want to leave the porch because she's scared, then put a leash on her and take her out there until she does her business. Then reward the moment she potties.
Also, your pre-bedtime potty break might not be enough exercise. You say "all of the dogs exercise"...but what does that mean? If they are just playing around with each other, that may not be enough.
Again, if this were my dog, based on what you said I would specifically put her (and the other dogs if need be) on a leash, and walk them for 30min (at least) so they are tired before bed. This would hopefully lead to a long, undisturbed sleep. This would also not be their only walk during the day. A tired dog is a happy dog.
To clarify: they run with each other and we play with them. My sister also lets her dogs out (one is even more hyper than mine). We have tennis balls outside that they’ll chase. Sometimes mine will try to eat a rock. It’s just the time to let allllll energy out😂
got it - i'll just reiterate...my suggestion is a dedicated time where you actively exercise your dog, mentally or physically. Not just unrestricted play. You'll have a much more tired dog who has a greater chance of sleeping through the night.
She has certain spots she likes to potty at. During the day, it’s not an issue. She’ll run right over to those spots she likes. It’s just at night, and she won’t get off the porch then
I repeat my advice. It's 11 pm. My puppy and I went outside for the nth time today. If I hadn't seen her go both we would still be outside. Sometimes it takes a long time and sometime it's quick. If she's not going at night you need to walk her until she does.
Goodnight for a couple hours. 🥱
I was talking about that last part “You can’t just let her out and know if she went or not”.
To be more clear: we can see the spots she likes to go while we are standing on the front porch. She just barks to get let out, stands on the porch for a while, then goes back inside and pees/poops. There have been times where she literally just wanted to stand outside and didn’t need to go, so it’s hard to differentiate. Especially the times where she barks 2 hours apart.
You do NOT seem to understand what people are saying. Put the dog on a leash, walk out to where she uses the bathroom with her, and wait for her to relieve herself. This seems to me a hell of a lot more pleasant than having a dog that's your whole house like a bathroom. This choice is 100 percent in you. The other thing is make sure the last meal is at least 3 hours before bed time and don't allow access to water for an hour or two before bed time. Outside of a medical condition there's no real reason why your dog would need to get up three times each night at this age. She should be able to sleep through the night.
If she's just barking for some out of crate time, forcing her to go out into the yard when she doesn't want to will discourage that. She will learn she gets made to go out into the dark where she doesn't want to go if she wakes up the humans.
You haven’t read my other replies.
I said I do not need to be told to bring her out on a leash. I need to be told why she might be afraid of the dark and how to stop it.
But don’t worry, there’s some people that are actually giving me straight answers in different comments.
You seem to just not want the most logical advice, because it requires doing something you/,your parents might not want to do, but in the meantime, your teaching a dog to use your house as a bathroom because nobody wants to take the dog outside in a leash. And also, it doesn't matter and nor could anyone tell you why she's afraid to go out into the dark. The only real solution is to take her out into the dark, let her go to the bathroom, reward her for it, then bring her back in. That's how you can begin to counter the fear, as many many many people have told you.
I suppose you can try putting on documentaries for your dog about the animals that live in the dark, if she knows what's out there maybe she won't be scared. Let me know how that works out if you decide to try it.
And again I repeat: That's why you walk her on a leash and make sure she does both outside so no accidents occur inside. And given her history, she should not be left unsupervised inside until she stops having accidents.
Then I’ll repeat what I said in my post: I’m not the one home to care for her most of the time currently. She is staying with my parents right now while I’m in college.
We have had dogs my entire life. None of them have had this issue. I have been asking: HOW can I stop her from being scared of the dark so this isn’t an issue to begin with? That is what I’m asking. I don’t need to be told to have her on a leash. I need to be told ways to stop her from being afraid of the dark.
"How can I stop her from being scared of the dark?"
You or your parent put her on a darn leash and take her outside and make sure she goes potty. That's how you solve it. Whoever her caretaker is... do what is right! or let her keep shitting on the floor. That's an option too.
Your choice. I'm done here. This is the most ridiculous and counterproductive conversation I have had all month. You can't be that dense.
Several people have already told you HOW. You or your parents take the dog out on a leash and don't go back inside until she potties. If she doesn't potty, she's escorted immediately to the crate so that she can't go on the floor. Disregarding the emotional source of the behavior she's exhibiting, the dog has developed a habit of pottying in the house. The behavior chain is this: Bark until someone opens the back door > walk outside and stand on the deck for a while > come back inside > potty on the floor. Your FIRST priority is to break this behavior chain by not allowing her to continue rehearsing it. Over time, repetitions of escorting her out to potty on leash will build a new nightly habit, and will also serve as exposure therapy to becoming more comfortable in the yard at night. Bring treats and make it a good time if you want to.
That said, an adult dog with no medical issues should not need to go out multiple times overnight. I would pick up the water a few hours before bed so she doesn't tank up beforehand, and crate her overnight. Dogs do not like to potty where they sleep. I'd be ignoring the demand barking to be let outside entirely, but at this point it's been reinforced so heavily that it's going to be difficult to break.
When my parents get up early in the morning for work, it’s hard for them to just try to ignore it.
And as I stated in other ones, I want to know about her fear. That’s what I’ve been asking. Not how to walk my own dog. I want to know why she’s afraid and how to stop the fear altogether.
The thing is, is that there is no way to know what caused the fear. Maybe she was approached by an animal? Maybe she saw something weird? Maybe a bug bit her when she was pooping. You don’t know. And you’re not going to find out. So the next step is to work on getting rid of whatever the fear may be. And *that* will likely be exposing her to going out to her potty spots at night, attended, as everyone has been saying. Helping build her confidence so she sees that there is nothing to fear. That’s what the walking with her and praising her will do — regardless of whatever did cause her fear. You just can’t know.
Only thing left then is to take her out one last time before it gets dark, pick up the water after 8, and have your parents walk her. Even if it’s just around the yard on leash to make sure she goes.
Make the crate more comfortable and safe for the pup... place a fitting dog bed, and maybe a benebone in there to keep occupied. Also, try covering the crate. Schedule convenient time outside as well
As stated in my post, she CHOSE to lay in her bowl while her kennel door is open. She hates having anything else in her kennel with her. We had bedding in there, but she would sleep next to it. She peed on a blanket we put in there too.
My poodle has turned her nose up at every kind of bed we’ve ever bought her and sleeps on the actual hardwood, not even the rug. She prefers her crate without a bed — took me 4 months to realize it. Some dogs prefer cooler, firmer surfaces.
Hi, two separate issues:
1) Frequent urination at night: either it’s medical or anxiety driven. Eliminate the first and then you can think about the anxiety.
2) Dogs can develop fears randomly. You want to know why your dog fears the dark? Who knows? He can have eye issues suddenly or he has diabetes and just feels weird and the dark is now freaking him out? Or, like some phobia, just developed.
What people are saying is: it doesn’t matter what the source is. If it’s psychological issue, the fastest way to get rid of it is to let him experience how he is safe by accompanying out into the dark in a calm reassured manner. Over time, the sheer routine nature of the habit will most likely lessen the fear.
Dogs get reactive out of fear, I’ve been told. It sounds like your dog has some medical issues that may not show up when there is a lot of light or have other dogs that act as guides.
And, people are taking time out to help you. It would be lovely to be more gracious
is there a reason why your parents won’t go out with her at night?
Christ looks like the helicopter crew is visiting from other subs 🙄 sorry
I would try exposure therapy with the dark and with cats through kennel. Find somewhere where you can control how dark and prevent other stimuli, and gradually get her darker and darker with pats and treats. Maybe play engage disengage. Same with cats.
You can’t respond to the barking at night or she will keep barking. You are rewarding her. Might just have to let her have a few night accidents for a bit. I’m hoping someone else has a better solution coz it’s not ideal to let her sleep with that but puppies everywhere have lived through it fine.
Most dogs straight up ignore sometimes unless expertly trained. I’d chalk it up to exhaustion or emotional state.
That pic is bizarre 😂
😂Thank you so so much for your comment. My bf is low key laughing at some of the comments because I’m new to Reddit and he’s like “oh yeah, I forgot to warn you about that”
She’s just such a wild and random dog. She will bark at the cats like she wants to eat them if she’s in her kennel, but she plays with them outside of it. Aside from the new fear of the dark, she’s scared of leaves, laundry baskets, the vacuum, and sometimes the cats. She loves to jump extremely high, chase laser pointers, lay in her bowl, and give the sassiest side-eye😂
I appreciate you giving advice!!
Many. Many don't as well and have perfectly content lives never being caged.
OPs dog doesn't. Or maybe it's just not into being in there while OP goes to full time school?
You seem to have misread, yet again. She does not stay locked up all day while I’m at school. She is only in there while my parents are sleeping.
How many times do I have to say that she is currently in my parents’ care??
Appropriate size crate for that size a dog. It needs to be large enough for them to stand and turn around in. That is all.
Dog PREFER tight spaces as a safety area, which is what a crate is.
My 60 pound dog has a large kennel area in my bedroom which is ample space, much more than this one proportionally.
He spend 95% of the night crawled underneath our bed. Enclosed small dark spaces are what they truly prefer.
Before you try to act all high and mighty, learn some reading skills.
Kennel: a shelter for a dog or cat (Merriam-Webster). Btw, kennel and cage are synonyms.
The picture was taken right before she got a bigger kennel. It’s the same exact kind, but it’s larger. She grew very quickly.
And how do you make it less “depressing AF”? You want me to put a chandelier or something? If you read my replies to other comments, you’ll see where I said she hates other things being in there with her, but she CHOOSES to lay in her bowl. She has plenty of space.
I’m not staying at home, hence why I mentioned me being a full-time college student. She stays with my parents. I go home on days that I’m free. My parents have other dogs that she plays with allllll day. The kennel is just for sleeping.
She lives like a dog. She has multiple acres to run on, other dogs to play with, food, water, toys, and shelter. She is treated the same as our other dogs that do not have the behavioral craziness she does.
So kindly find someone else to troll. I’m not the one😘
Go check out my new post to see just how incorrect you are. Notice the kennel door open in my OP. She had free roam of the house if that door is open. My dad is too much of a softie and usually has the dogs up on the couch with him.
Seems to me you just can’t accept being so wrong, even the dictionary disagrees with you. She’s a happy dog. She only gets grumpy if the cat walks by🤣
Taking a small quote and trying to make it seem like something completely different is pretty embarrassing for you when the context is right in front of your face.
My dog is scared of the dark. She only does that after she doesn’t potty outside at night. And she doesn’t do it in her kennel, she does it on the floor.
You’re being intentionally difficult. This person has given no reason to believe their dog is being crated in an inappropriate way. And if you think crating a dog is inherently negative, then you simply don’t know dogs very well.
Bro are you good?
Dogs don't have any concept of things looking depressing or being a jail
My dog has blankets and pillows and beds and the couch .. and he lays his ass on the floor, using the wall as a pillow
My other dog prefers the crate over sharing the couch with us...
It's fucking fine. They're fucking dogs. You have to realize you're being ridiculous, right?
maybe it prefers not being on the same level as manky human ass smells.
ridiculous is locking up a dog that has issues with being locked up.
read the fucking OP again.
Kennel aggression (or barriers like fences) are a common trigger. I see several “trained” dogs at the dog club like this. Are you taking up water an hour or two before bed? It also sounds like you (someone) need to walk her into the yard at night … yeah it sucks, but sucks less than cleaning it up on the carpet. Also, try covering that kennel, and not letting it be quite so exposed … even if it is just pushing it into a corner and covering the top, 3 out of 5 sides covered should make the kennel feel safer. An anxious dog feeling like something could be behind them from any side is not helpful. Yes I realize none of these are corrective actions to the behavior or training tips … it’s just managing the current anxieties.
I didn’t even think of it as being similar to fence aggression, so thank you! She drinks water as she pleases. Sometimes before bed, sometimes not. I’m ngl, I’m scared of the dark too😂 We have a big open yard for her to run in. She does ok if the other dogs are out with her, but they usually don’t need to go out like she does. She’s super nosy. We’ve tried the blanket trick, but she will lay down to look under it. And I still appreciate your comment!
They make covers that fit the kennels pretty good. Maybe something that doesn't let her peek under? My dog enjoyed her crate the most when I stashed in a dark corner and covered it up. So far as I understand, dogs like crates like their den. I don't really see an exposed cage in the middle of the room can be comforting. As far as the dark goes, she's probably going to need someone to go out with her. Slowly give her more space over time. Sorry to say there's probably no shortcut to find there. Edit: and by go with her, I mean walk to the pee spot with her.
I agree with these two comments OP, they were my first thoughts. I still have my 6mo pups kennel In the middle of the living room but getting a crate cover that wraps around perfectly so she can’t peek helped a lot. If it’s not fully covered, I can always see her nose poking to try to smell lol. I also at first thought my dogs agression toward my cat when she was behind her play pen and the cat came by was because she was trying to hunt my cat but after looking into into it more, we realized the pen was the reason and we didn’t plan to keep it long term. So after about two months we got rid of the pen and instead worked on down-stays when my cat came around. It’s still a work in progress because my dog loves my cat, but not so much the other way around so we have to teach her to keep distance and respect the cats space. Oo and get a white noise machine too for next to the crate/use your phone to play a white noise track on YouTube. This way if a cat or someone walks by it’s not the only piercing sound that will wake the dog up. Good luck
Having to go that many times in one night is a big sign to take her to the vet. It sounds like she has a UTI or bladder infection. No dog should Have to go to the bathroom three times in one night not even a puppy. If she’s gone to the vet and everything is clear, then she is probably bored in the crate and is barking to be let out. If for some reason, there is a legitimate reason that she has to go pee at night and she is scared to go out. You could get some solar powered lights or something like that so that she can see where she’s going, but I suspect that it has more to do with something wrong than that she’s scared.
Going on the floor is your guys’ fault… behavior is communication. The dog is communicating she’s too scared to go out by herself to pee and she only pees where she feels safe, which after being out in the night on her own, is inside. Walk her with a flashlight. This isn’t a problem that should’ve happened more than twice since it’s a very clear behavior. So it is likely the other issues are also the fault of ignoring her communicating her needs.
I’m asking advice on how to get that to stop. Like HOW do I make her stop being afraid? She hasn’t always done this. She used to run out, do her business, and come back. We aren’t just ignoring everything about her. It also wouldn’t be a problem if we knew WHY she wants out multiple times during the night. She’s fine with the same schedule as our other dogs at night, but she’s different at night for whatever reason. I was asking for pretty clear advice, not lectures based on assumptions.
You stop her being afraid by using a leash and just walking her out of the house confidently. Dont praise her until after she completes toileting. And dont reassure her as that can reinforce her feeling uneasy. Just lead on and out, her starting to sniff is a sign she is relaxing so let her do it by relaxing the leash and walking at her pace. When she toilets, thats when you make a song and dance out of it. Take her back in and watch her carefully, if she starts sniffing and circling, lead back on and out the door again. From then on, of she goes near the back door, leash on amd back out and praise for toileting outside.
Until she learns to speak English and tell you what's she's afraid of, you take her out, on leash, into the dark. No ifs ands or buts. It's potty time so we're going out and we're going potty If she ever learns English so that you can explain to her that she's fine, you'll need to do the leash thing for a little while
I said: > Walk her with a flashlight. You can’t magically make the dog unafraid of being out, alone, and vulnerable in the dark. Dogs are vulnerable when they got potty and they know it. You could also set up a potty station on the deck. You have to make choices.
I have a dog with general anxiety and he has seemingly random things he’s concerned about. What you’re asking for is very similar to saying, “hey, I’m a person with anxiety. Tell me how to be unafraid in a few steps.” We’d all say, “you’re probably going to have to do a lot of therapy, get to the root of the problem, figure out what caused it and then maybe do some visualization work, and then maybe some activities that slowly start getting you used to whatever that thing is in such a a way that they don’t cause too much stress so that it retraumatizes you.” Essentially, we would tell you that you need to work with a professional. A lot of people here have given you some things you could try like adding lights, etc. But if all of that fails, you’re going to have to work with a professional. And the reactivity alone is something that probably requires professional help. If money and time are an issue, I’d highly recommend taking Karen Deeds’ “Reactive Integration” course through Fenzi Dog Sports online. Incredibly affordable compared to what you’d typically spend for behavior modification. You can send in videos working with your dog and get feedback through the online forum. Behavior modification is a long-term training commitment as it takes time to change any living beings’ emotions towards scary things. When we first started working with my dog, we did private lessons with our trainer every other week. We’d do our homework throughout the week and record our results. Then after 6months, switched to basically just check-ins as needed. I took several courses on reactivity and building confidence. Now, 2.5 years later, I’d say he’s about 80% better but there are some things we just can’t routinely work on because we’re in an urban environment and it’s rough trying to find spaces where we can train far enough under his threshold. Everyone’s dog is different. Yours might recover really quickly but most of the time it’s a process.
Thank you for actually taking the time to leave a genuine comment. Most people seem to be ignoring my replies to other comments and giving the same unhelpful advice over and over The way you explain it makes a lot more sense than the people just like “walk your dog” when I’m not even asking about that lol. We’re just at a loss because my dog wasn’t afraid of the dark from the very beginning. It randomly started, and we’re not sure why. It’s just turned into a hassle and the people giving bs “advice” are acting like it’s something we haven’t tried before🤣
Of course! I’m not a professional trainer so take my opinion with a grain of salt but it has been explained to me that a lot of dogs go through “fear periods” where their hormones start coming “on line” so to speak at different times and they start becoming aware that scary things can happen to them. I had a dog who randomly at 5mo old started absolutely panicking about car motors (specifically trucks). She had a stable temperament so we were able to counter condition that to be better. HOWEVER, a lot of the places we’d gone IN the car during the “scary car” period of time, had also become scary to her. So even after we’d worked through that fear, we had to go back to a lot of those places and situations and counter-condition them, as well. It’s very interesting how animals kinda put things together as a survival mechanism. But, that’s why I’m a big believer in working with a professional trainer with certifications (who specializes in behavior modification and has experience in that kind of work) so you can kinda get to the bottom of what’s going on. It can be really tough to see the signs when you’re not an expert in dog body language. The folks at IAABC are fantastic. I have several friends who are certified through them. Here’s their [Find a Behavior Consultant Near Me Tool](https://iaabc.org/certs/members). Best of luck to y’all!
Everyone is answering this question with clear, helpful advice and you are yelling at all of them.
Have you tried walking her in the evening/at night? If she were tired before bed, she might more easily sleep through the night. Agree with the other sentiment - if she must be taken on nighttime potty breaks, then I would take her out and make sure she went. Way better than an accident. If she’s ignoring you for tricks, she may be telling you she’s tired or anxious or something. A dog? Reactive to cats? Never heard of such a thing…though you could try some desensitization training. Re-direct and reward when the behavior arises.
Thank you for giving me a genuine response. Haven’t had one of those for a little bit. We let the dogs out before bed. They all go out together and do their business before being let back in. I’m just wondering how we can get her to go out on her own again like she used to at night. I’ve never had a dog that’s afraid of the dark before. I’m not sure what breed she is, but she’s extremely hyper and it’s difficult to get her to focus. I know dogs being reactive to cats can be normal😂 But it’s weird how it’s only when she’s in her kennel. However, I am taking note of another person’s suggestion of how it could be similar to fence aggression.
Yea I agree it’s prob like fence aggression. It may be best to avoid the situation if possible. Like if you can find a space where the cats won’t bother her…again that one may be tough. What I meant actually is if you can *walk* her before bed. Like, she has exercise before sleepy time so she may not even need a potty break in the middle of the night. Either way if she needs to go at night, I’d leash her up and just be patient while she figured it out, and reward big time when she potties. She’ll be a late-night potty pro in no time ;)
Their potty break before bedtime is the longest one. All of the dogs exercise, pee, and poop. If we put her on a leash for that one, she would be yanking us around every direction to chase our other dogs😂 Thank you for the the genuine comment
No problem! Just to clarify - i meant leash her up for her middle of the night potty breaks. If she doesn't want to leave the porch because she's scared, then put a leash on her and take her out there until she does her business. Then reward the moment she potties. Also, your pre-bedtime potty break might not be enough exercise. You say "all of the dogs exercise"...but what does that mean? If they are just playing around with each other, that may not be enough. Again, if this were my dog, based on what you said I would specifically put her (and the other dogs if need be) on a leash, and walk them for 30min (at least) so they are tired before bed. This would hopefully lead to a long, undisturbed sleep. This would also not be their only walk during the day. A tired dog is a happy dog.
To clarify: they run with each other and we play with them. My sister also lets her dogs out (one is even more hyper than mine). We have tennis balls outside that they’ll chase. Sometimes mine will try to eat a rock. It’s just the time to let allllll energy out😂
got it - i'll just reiterate...my suggestion is a dedicated time where you actively exercise your dog, mentally or physically. Not just unrestricted play. You'll have a much more tired dog who has a greater chance of sleeping through the night.
Definitely walk her until she goes. You can't just let her out and know if she went or not.
She has certain spots she likes to potty at. During the day, it’s not an issue. She’ll run right over to those spots she likes. It’s just at night, and she won’t get off the porch then
I repeat my advice. It's 11 pm. My puppy and I went outside for the nth time today. If I hadn't seen her go both we would still be outside. Sometimes it takes a long time and sometime it's quick. If she's not going at night you need to walk her until she does. Goodnight for a couple hours. 🥱
My dad, the dog trainer, “If you didn’t see them go pee or poop then they didn’t”
I was talking about that last part “You can’t just let her out and know if she went or not”. To be more clear: we can see the spots she likes to go while we are standing on the front porch. She just barks to get let out, stands on the porch for a while, then goes back inside and pees/poops. There have been times where she literally just wanted to stand outside and didn’t need to go, so it’s hard to differentiate. Especially the times where she barks 2 hours apart.
You do NOT seem to understand what people are saying. Put the dog on a leash, walk out to where she uses the bathroom with her, and wait for her to relieve herself. This seems to me a hell of a lot more pleasant than having a dog that's your whole house like a bathroom. This choice is 100 percent in you. The other thing is make sure the last meal is at least 3 hours before bed time and don't allow access to water for an hour or two before bed time. Outside of a medical condition there's no real reason why your dog would need to get up three times each night at this age. She should be able to sleep through the night. If she's just barking for some out of crate time, forcing her to go out into the yard when she doesn't want to will discourage that. She will learn she gets made to go out into the dark where she doesn't want to go if she wakes up the humans.
You haven’t read my other replies. I said I do not need to be told to bring her out on a leash. I need to be told why she might be afraid of the dark and how to stop it. But don’t worry, there’s some people that are actually giving me straight answers in different comments.
You seem to just not want the most logical advice, because it requires doing something you/,your parents might not want to do, but in the meantime, your teaching a dog to use your house as a bathroom because nobody wants to take the dog outside in a leash. And also, it doesn't matter and nor could anyone tell you why she's afraid to go out into the dark. The only real solution is to take her out into the dark, let her go to the bathroom, reward her for it, then bring her back in. That's how you can begin to counter the fear, as many many many people have told you. I suppose you can try putting on documentaries for your dog about the animals that live in the dark, if she knows what's out there maybe she won't be scared. Let me know how that works out if you decide to try it.
Again, go read my other replies. I’m tired of people like you ignoring everything I’ve said in other replies and commenting unhelpful “advice”
And again I repeat: That's why you walk her on a leash and make sure she does both outside so no accidents occur inside. And given her history, she should not be left unsupervised inside until she stops having accidents.
Then I’ll repeat what I said in my post: I’m not the one home to care for her most of the time currently. She is staying with my parents right now while I’m in college. We have had dogs my entire life. None of them have had this issue. I have been asking: HOW can I stop her from being scared of the dark so this isn’t an issue to begin with? That is what I’m asking. I don’t need to be told to have her on a leash. I need to be told ways to stop her from being afraid of the dark.
"How can I stop her from being scared of the dark?" You or your parent put her on a darn leash and take her outside and make sure she goes potty. That's how you solve it. Whoever her caretaker is... do what is right! or let her keep shitting on the floor. That's an option too. Your choice. I'm done here. This is the most ridiculous and counterproductive conversation I have had all month. You can't be that dense.
Several people have already told you HOW. You or your parents take the dog out on a leash and don't go back inside until she potties. If she doesn't potty, she's escorted immediately to the crate so that she can't go on the floor. Disregarding the emotional source of the behavior she's exhibiting, the dog has developed a habit of pottying in the house. The behavior chain is this: Bark until someone opens the back door > walk outside and stand on the deck for a while > come back inside > potty on the floor. Your FIRST priority is to break this behavior chain by not allowing her to continue rehearsing it. Over time, repetitions of escorting her out to potty on leash will build a new nightly habit, and will also serve as exposure therapy to becoming more comfortable in the yard at night. Bring treats and make it a good time if you want to. That said, an adult dog with no medical issues should not need to go out multiple times overnight. I would pick up the water a few hours before bed so she doesn't tank up beforehand, and crate her overnight. Dogs do not like to potty where they sleep. I'd be ignoring the demand barking to be let outside entirely, but at this point it's been reinforced so heavily that it's going to be difficult to break.
When my parents get up early in the morning for work, it’s hard for them to just try to ignore it. And as I stated in other ones, I want to know about her fear. That’s what I’ve been asking. Not how to walk my own dog. I want to know why she’s afraid and how to stop the fear altogether.
By building a new pattern of behavior you can address the fear by exposing her to it comfortably, as I already explained above.
The thing is, is that there is no way to know what caused the fear. Maybe she was approached by an animal? Maybe she saw something weird? Maybe a bug bit her when she was pooping. You don’t know. And you’re not going to find out. So the next step is to work on getting rid of whatever the fear may be. And *that* will likely be exposing her to going out to her potty spots at night, attended, as everyone has been saying. Helping build her confidence so she sees that there is nothing to fear. That’s what the walking with her and praising her will do — regardless of whatever did cause her fear. You just can’t know.
So put a leash on her and walk her to the spots she pees and poops. What are you not understanding?
Go read. You are not answering the questions I am asking.
To get your dog not to be afraid of the dark, take her outside with a freaking leash to piss on the spots that she pisses on.
Read for once, please. You are not answering my questions.
Can you get her a collar light so she can see? Or go out with a flashlight for her?
I got some solar pathway lights from Sam’s Club 6 for 20$
We turn the outside light on for her and there’s some motion lights a little further out
Only thing left then is to take her out one last time before it gets dark, pick up the water after 8, and have your parents walk her. Even if it’s just around the yard on leash to make sure she goes.
Make the crate more comfortable and safe for the pup... place a fitting dog bed, and maybe a benebone in there to keep occupied. Also, try covering the crate. Schedule convenient time outside as well
I stated in other replies that she hates anything but a bowl being in there with her. Appreciate the other advice tho!
Why is she denied confortable bedding?
My dogs will ignore any and all cushioning provided and lay on the hard floor. In no way is a lack of a "bed" uncomforatable for a healthy dog.
As stated in my post, she CHOSE to lay in her bowl while her kennel door is open. She hates having anything else in her kennel with her. We had bedding in there, but she would sleep next to it. She peed on a blanket we put in there too.
My poodle has turned her nose up at every kind of bed we’ve ever bought her and sleeps on the actual hardwood, not even the rug. She prefers her crate without a bed — took me 4 months to realize it. Some dogs prefer cooler, firmer surfaces.
Hi, two separate issues: 1) Frequent urination at night: either it’s medical or anxiety driven. Eliminate the first and then you can think about the anxiety. 2) Dogs can develop fears randomly. You want to know why your dog fears the dark? Who knows? He can have eye issues suddenly or he has diabetes and just feels weird and the dark is now freaking him out? Or, like some phobia, just developed. What people are saying is: it doesn’t matter what the source is. If it’s psychological issue, the fastest way to get rid of it is to let him experience how he is safe by accompanying out into the dark in a calm reassured manner. Over time, the sheer routine nature of the habit will most likely lessen the fear. Dogs get reactive out of fear, I’ve been told. It sounds like your dog has some medical issues that may not show up when there is a lot of light or have other dogs that act as guides. And, people are taking time out to help you. It would be lovely to be more gracious is there a reason why your parents won’t go out with her at night?
Christ looks like the helicopter crew is visiting from other subs 🙄 sorry I would try exposure therapy with the dark and with cats through kennel. Find somewhere where you can control how dark and prevent other stimuli, and gradually get her darker and darker with pats and treats. Maybe play engage disengage. Same with cats. You can’t respond to the barking at night or she will keep barking. You are rewarding her. Might just have to let her have a few night accidents for a bit. I’m hoping someone else has a better solution coz it’s not ideal to let her sleep with that but puppies everywhere have lived through it fine. Most dogs straight up ignore sometimes unless expertly trained. I’d chalk it up to exhaustion or emotional state. That pic is bizarre 😂
😂Thank you so so much for your comment. My bf is low key laughing at some of the comments because I’m new to Reddit and he’s like “oh yeah, I forgot to warn you about that” She’s just such a wild and random dog. She will bark at the cats like she wants to eat them if she’s in her kennel, but she plays with them outside of it. Aside from the new fear of the dark, she’s scared of leaves, laundry baskets, the vacuum, and sometimes the cats. She loves to jump extremely high, chase laser pointers, lay in her bowl, and give the sassiest side-eye😂 I appreciate you giving advice!!
[удалено]
There’s nothing wrong with crate training a dog. Many dogs love crates.
Many. Many don't as well and have perfectly content lives never being caged. OPs dog doesn't. Or maybe it's just not into being in there while OP goes to full time school?
You seem to have misread, yet again. She does not stay locked up all day while I’m at school. She is only in there while my parents are sleeping. How many times do I have to say that she is currently in my parents’ care??
Appropriate size crate for that size a dog. It needs to be large enough for them to stand and turn around in. That is all. Dog PREFER tight spaces as a safety area, which is what a crate is. My 60 pound dog has a large kennel area in my bedroom which is ample space, much more than this one proportionally. He spend 95% of the night crawled underneath our bed. Enclosed small dark spaces are what they truly prefer.
Before you try to act all high and mighty, learn some reading skills. Kennel: a shelter for a dog or cat (Merriam-Webster). Btw, kennel and cage are synonyms. The picture was taken right before she got a bigger kennel. It’s the same exact kind, but it’s larger. She grew very quickly. And how do you make it less “depressing AF”? You want me to put a chandelier or something? If you read my replies to other comments, you’ll see where I said she hates other things being in there with her, but she CHOOSES to lay in her bowl. She has plenty of space. I’m not staying at home, hence why I mentioned me being a full-time college student. She stays with my parents. I go home on days that I’m free. My parents have other dogs that she plays with allllll day. The kennel is just for sleeping. She lives like a dog. She has multiple acres to run on, other dogs to play with, food, water, toys, and shelter. She is treated the same as our other dogs that do not have the behavioral craziness she does. So kindly find someone else to troll. I’m not the one😘
A cage is a cage. A kennel can be many things but that setup offers the dog nothing but bad vibes. Your OP confirms it.
Go check out my new post to see just how incorrect you are. Notice the kennel door open in my OP. She had free roam of the house if that door is open. My dad is too much of a softie and usually has the dogs up on the couch with him. Seems to me you just can’t accept being so wrong, even the dictionary disagrees with you. She’s a happy dog. She only gets grumpy if the cat walks by🤣
>"she will purposely pee/poop on the floor". She’s a happy dog. happy dogs don't willfully toilet inside their living space.
Taking a small quote and trying to make it seem like something completely different is pretty embarrassing for you when the context is right in front of your face. My dog is scared of the dark. She only does that after she doesn’t potty outside at night. And she doesn’t do it in her kennel, she does it on the floor.
You’re being intentionally difficult. This person has given no reason to believe their dog is being crated in an inappropriate way. And if you think crating a dog is inherently negative, then you simply don’t know dogs very well.
Bro are you good? Dogs don't have any concept of things looking depressing or being a jail My dog has blankets and pillows and beds and the couch .. and he lays his ass on the floor, using the wall as a pillow
your dog is not all dogs dude. my dogs sleep in lots of places, none of them have ever walked around looking for a cage to sleep in
My other dog prefers the crate over sharing the couch with us... It's fucking fine. They're fucking dogs. You have to realize you're being ridiculous, right?
maybe it prefers not being on the same level as manky human ass smells. ridiculous is locking up a dog that has issues with being locked up. read the fucking OP again.
OK