You think you have evrything nicely under control and then you start to suffer with dog barking in the night!

Sometimes things go awry and it is usually because your dog is trying to deal with a new situation a dog starting to bark in the night is a prime example.

Fig is usually quiet after his last walk of the night, we have recently had a heatwave so the routines of our neighbors have changed significantly over the last week or so. There are people out and about at 2am or 3am trying to catch some breeze and chatting in the street. Our street is normally silent after about 11pm!

This change in routine caused Fig a few problems in the first couple of days as he did not understand what was going on and perceived the unexpected noise as a threat of some kind which caused him to bark at the slightest noise. It was fairly easily resolved by reassurance and him becoming accustomed to the change in environment.

Sudden changes in routine can cause stress in dogs (and humans too) this can set them on edge which sometimes manifests itself as them forgetting some of their training or not being able to apply it to the new situation.

If you find yourself in this situation just dig out your dog training manual and go over the steps you need to take to resolve the issue. A little reapplication of your dog training techniques in this new situation will soon have the unsettled behavior under control. A little reinforcement goes a long way!