German Shepard Puppy - Constant Barking!

[prncess23]

My German Shepard Puppy (4.5 months old, male, pure bred) constantly barks at night. He has very recently started doing this (just a few days ago). He isn't sick, hungry or thirsty. Our neighbors came to us today to complain. I feel they are provoking him, cuz tonight for example, he was laying down perfectly fine, without a sound and then he runs around the background and to the wall that we both share and starts barking like crazy at the wall, he did the same exact thing about 5 minutes ago.

What should i do? We have tried bringing him inside for a few minutes and then taking him out again, but it doesnt work.

Please help. i dont want the police to take away my dog for excessive barking. i will NOT let that happen.

[Macawpower58]

I can not leave my German Shepherds outside all night either because of barking. They alert to any and all noises. You may not hear the noise, but your pup does. Some of course alert more than others, but the GSD for the most part is a breed bred to guard/alarm bark.

I bring mine in at night. They guard my home, not my yard (or they're supposed to ;)).

You may want to try a large bone (raw), stuffed kong (with peanut butter), or move him to a kenneled area at night (away from the fence), best of course is bring him inside with you if possible.

[prncess23]

bringing him inside is out of the question. i never had this problem before. i got him when he was 6 weeks old. he recently started barking yesterday or the day before....and for no reason.

[Kkye]

Is there a reason your pup cannot come inside with you? He could he having separation anxiety issues, and doesn't understand why he's been left outside on his own, away from his pack.

[squashynose]

I doubt it's SA if he's been outside all along, and this has only just started. It could be something really simple, like he's seen a mouse or something run under the wall, and now he's trying to catch it. Every noise he hears, to him it's that mouse, and he's gonna get it! ;)

[Wiztherewoz]

We have tried bringing him inside for a few minutes and then taking him out again, but it doesnt work.

Of course he's going to keep barking, if he's figured out that barking is a way to come inside and spend some time with you guys for a while.

Why is keeping him inside out of the question? I'm just wondering, because you said yourself you brought him inside for a little while to quiet him down, why not just let him stay? Does he only spend the night out there or does he live out there 24/7?

If you have absolutely no intention of letting him stay in the house for any more than a few minutes, I don't think you should be bringing him in and sending him back again. Go out with him and stay outside with him for a little while if you need to calm him down. Play with him, distract him from the wall. Make more of an effort to go out and give him some attention when he's quiet, but ignore him when he's barking. (This is the only way he'll learn that he gets nothing from barking. Unless of course he's one of these dogs that simply loves the sound of his own voice, in which case an intervention is necessary.)

If your neighbours are winding him up, this is a very unfair situation for your poor puppy. He needs to feel safe in his own home, not constantly on edge. He'll grow up neurotic, and that's the last thing you want. If you could somehow close off that area of the yard so that he cannot reach that wall, maybe you could keep him from getting wound up too much.

I'm assuming that you're ensuring he has plenty of social interaction and walks during the day?