Hi all. Need a little advice again if I may please. Bear is now approaching 9mths and is doing really well.....but! He has been really poorly with a nasty gastrointestinal bug. All better now but wow was it awful for him and us. The problem is he’s started not settling at night in his crate. We have taken off a thick cover which helped block out the morning light as it’s getting warm and felt it was too hot and stuffy for him. He’s in a cool downstairs room and his crate is large enough to be comfy. But he’s barking now after putting him to bed. When he was younger we ignored it and he was great within a week but as he’s older, the bark is a little more deeper, louder and carries further. We are ignoring it but think he’s milking the sympathy and attention we gave him when he was ill. Your thoughts would be much appreciated please.
Ignore him...! If you have been responding to him because he was ill, then you will have been reinforcing the noise. To fix it, you will need to return to ignoring him again. However, be warned that since you've reinforced him for a while with this behaviour, he will continue it for longer now (as it has previously worked) - but the good news is that if you really do ignore him, he should stop again.
If he was sleeping near you while he was recovering, then you have made him accustomed to being there and he may now be a little anxious being further away. Try moving him back to his normal place gradually.
Thanks Jo. I will continue to ignore and am sure it will stop soon. He was brilliant before this bug hit him but have to say only went to him on 2 nights as was concerned he would poop/puke in his crate. I wasn't sure whether it was that or taking away his blanket over the crate. Possibly a combination of the two. I don't want to get to the stage of tiptoeing about in case we wake or disturb him.
Hi Angel. No, we've never had him in our bedroom, he's not even allowed upstairs. I think he's just trying his luck lol
