# Barking at night after moving house



## BobbyC (Jan 12, 2010)

We moved house last week and our 10 year old JRT has started barking at night. During the night he is put in the kitchen and constantly barks. If someone starts moving upstairs he stops for about 10 mins before starting again. Since getting him at just under 2 years of age we have moved 3 times (this is number 4) and he has never done this.

He has also started to become very clingy with me. If i go out to feed the rabbits or go upstairs he whines constantly. He also keeps jumping up on the sofa but he knows that hes only allowed up when we tell him. And when we do leave him at night/when we go out he has accidents.

So far we have tried the following
Making his last walk of the day extra long.
Leaving the radio and a light on.
Snugglesafe heatpad.
Playing with him an hour just before bed.
DAP spray (am waiting for a plugin in the post).

If we go down when hes barking he will stand at the kitchen door wagging his tail with his ears back and desperately try to get though the door. Should we be going down and putting him in his bed or just ignore him? I did go down last night and told him to get in his bed but he just wouldnt listen so I picked him up to put him in his bed and he tried to bite me.

We dont know what to try next as we have never had this problem. Will he just settle in time?


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

BobbyC said:


> We moved house last week and our 10 year old JRT has started barking at night. During the night he is put in the kitchen and constantly barks. If someone starts moving upstairs he stops for about 10 mins before starting again. Since getting him at just under 2 years of age we have moved 3 times (this is number 4) and he has never done this.
> 
> He has also started to become very clingy with me. If i go out to feed the rabbits or go upstairs he whines constantly. He also keeps jumping up on the sofa but he knows that hes only allowed up when we tell him. And when we do leave him at night/when we go out he has accidents.
> 
> ...


Have you moved from a quieter area to a more built up area, or to a different type of house from a detached to a terrace, if it is a nosier environment and also a new place that doesnt even smell the same then maybe noises and the strange new surrounding that dont even smell the same are unerving him. Did the previous owners have dogs too, if their scent is in there that may be unerving him as well. He does sound very stressed and anxious in general. Stressed anxious dogs can be more reactive too hence maybe the biting episode. Soiling when left is also a sign of anxiety often too.

I know you said that he has been OK with moves before but as a 10 year old he may not be finding it so easy to cope. Older dogs can also suffer from something called cognitive dysfunction syndrome too. In his own familar surrounding he knew and was confortable with you may not have noticed things but now he is in unfamiliar territory he may now be showing it.
Signs of CDS can be either being more uresponsive to their name, owners and commands or they can go the other way clingy and anxious. The often loose house training and have accidents, become more vocal and bark at seemingly nothing. They can also do things like wanting to go out and then wonder why they are out there, get stuck in corners and cant figure out how to get out again, and just get generally confused standing and staring at seemingly nothing.

If it should be CDS starting there are things to help. Aktivait is a neutracuetical that helps with optimum brain function and is natural, its helped a lot in dogs with CDS often better then veterinary type medicine.
Should it be that and you want to read more
http://www.vetplus.co.uk/PDF/LEAF/aktivait_leaflet.pdf You can get it from vets but also from vet pharmacies Online Vet | Get Cheap Pet Medicine and Treatments Online From Vet-Medic - Vet-Medic is one realiable one I use but shop around its deffinately cheaper then the vets usually.
There are other veterinary medicines like vivitonin and newer ones but that is from vets only or with a prescription. Aktivait has worked on some dogs though where others have failed.

One thing that may help too if it is just the upheaval causing stress and anxiety is Zylkene thats based on casein a milk protein and has had good effects in dogs with anxiety so that may be worth a try. That again you can get from vet pharmacies and on the link given above. If you want to read more on that too
Zylkène - For life&#39;s ups and downs You can get them in as little as packs of 10 so can do a trial first rather then buying loads. There are other natural calmatives to help anyway.

It may also be an idea to leave in his bed an old t-shirt or jumper you have worn as having your smell when alone can often re-assure them. Making a Den by putting his bed under a table if you have one in the kitchen may even help and putting a throw or blaket over it so it has one opening he may feel safer if he has a safe Den. Also if you are closing a solid door on him, often they do better with a baby or dog control gate (the dog control gate works like a baby gate but is taller and more robust) often with just that on the door they dont feel so isolated and shut off either but at the same time are still confined. Might also be an idea to leave him with something like a stuffed Kong or a chew when his left chewing is a destresser for dogs and also a kong may keep him busy.

Recipes - Kong
https://www.antlerdogchews.co.uk/easy-antler-dog-chew-medium


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