Barking At Night

24 June 2026

A dog barking at night can feel frustrating and annoying – you know they need sleep and you need it too. 

Here are some things to think about:

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Is something bothering them outside? A dog may be barking because it is hearing/seeing something outside the window such as a fox or squirrel. Window fillm could be an option here.


Is something such as another dog walking past their crate and disturbing them and they want to play, if so is there an area where there crate can go where this can’t happen? Playing white / brown noise or Radio that is mainly audio, may drown out  noises they are hearing. This is something to consider as it may be that they experienced a loud noise (that we didn’t) / saw something that worried them in the room that they are in and now they have a negative association with this room. For example, colleagues have worked with dogs that will avoid certain areas of the house, that have shiny floors, as in the past they have slipped on one and now they associate those with pain.


They may be distressed with being left for the reasons above such as a loud noise and leaving them to get over it won’t help them – it could make them more sensitive later on to other noises.


Also do they do it when they are with you at night or just alone (if just alone they may be panicking)  is it just when they are inside the crate or does it happen when they are outside too? If it only happens inside the crate it may be there is a negative association with the crate.


Are all there needs met during the day in terms of enrichment, play and exercise? Doing an audit of these can be really helpful. 


For the girls


If your dog is going into season there are different stages to this with different hormones that may affect behaviour. These are the stages in order.

Proestrus – Hormone that is produces is estrogen. This is when you see physical signs such as bloody discharge.

Estrus – Hormone increase is progesterone and decrease of estrogen.

Diestrus – Another elevation of progesterone and then reduces and then prolactin.

Anestrus – The levels of progesterone remains low.


It is thought that progesterone is an anxiolytic which promotes calm while estrogen and prolactin can make a dog more anxious. (Jahn, Katrin, 2026). Think about whether this anxiety behaviour is happening in different contexts or is something new is important.

Here are some great articles about spaying timelines written by a vet behaviourist colleague, Dr Sara Davies.


The medical and needs side


Could it be something medical such as cognitive dysfunction (sometimes pacing at night can indicate this), any possible pain, gastrointestinal challenges. Gastrointestinal challenges can include: going off food, flatulence, a hunched back, and chewing. Amber Batson did a great webinar GI heath and behaviour. This is a great stool chart that allows you to note stool behaviour.

Think about whether they may need the bathroom in the middle of the night of if potentially they have been off their food in the day but are hungry at night. If so a timed feeder in their crate could work well. Water bowls that attach to the crate avoid water going everywhere.

 

References


Jahn, Katrin, (2026) ’15 minute speed coaching with Charlotte Lewis – Hormones A Case Discussion’ . April 20th. Available at https://open.spotify.com/episode/1KDpje1HTdxteXt2mdkhMU

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