# Vizsla barking at night



## json_vizsla (Jun 22, 2015)

Hello everyone! We are complete beginners as we never had a puppy before. We got Json the vizsla on Saturday so it's all pretty new to us as well as for him. He seems like a happy doggy most of the time. He's full of energy and very enthusiastic about the world around him. He eats his meals, he drinks a lot of water and he is happy to go potty outside in the garden. However, unless we pick him up and take him to the garden, he's not always that keen to go. Only a few accidents happened indoors and as soon as we caught him, we picked him up and gone straight out to the garden. 
He's perfectly fine to eat his meals in the crate with the door closed and he's also perfectly fine to sleep there. He's really quite good at night as he falls asleep without a problem and he doesn't whine when we leave the room, but he is barking quite a lot after a few hours of sleep. Although we tried ignoring him when he barks, his barking is always getting worse and worse. We go downstairs (after a few minutes) and we only open the crate when he stops barking. Then we take him straight outside to the garden and he ALWAYS does his business. We asked the vet and they did suggest that we ignore him most of the time he barks, but we feel that our vizsla may just want to go toilet during the night. Please note that no accidents happened in his crate. 
Could we get some advice please as we are totally new to this and we are trying to get it right at the beginning. We are unsure if we should ignore him or go and let him out with no fuss? 

Thank you so much for your help and we look forward to hearing from you. 

Best, 

Cory and G


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

json_vizsla said:


> Could we get some advice please as we are totally new to this and we are trying to get it right at the beginning. We are unsure if we should ignore him or go and let him out with no fuss?


If it were me, I'd let him out to potty if he cries (although don't actually open the crate to let him out until he's quiet - even if its just for a split second between barks!). Take him outside, let him potty, but like you said, no fussing over him. No cuddles, no play, etc. Once he's pottied, just pop him back in the crate. He will probably protest for a while until he realizes it doesn't get him anywhere. 

If you don't let him out to potty, chances are he will bark because he was to go, and then bark because he's soiled his crate.


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## chilithevizsla (Apr 2, 2014)

Learn the amount of time after sleeping or specific time this happens and then let the dog out BEFORE the barking happens, set a schedule. The habit will stop much quicker if you do this rather than waiting for the barking and then waiting for it to stop as barking is a reinforcing behavior and is getting results in one way or another.


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## SuperV (Oct 18, 2011)

As a reference, my first dog slept through the night by night 3. My second dog, was probably more like a week or so. The challenge is discerning the difference between the "potty bark" and the "I want attention bark". Like Chili said...pay attention to your dog, so you can start to call his bluff. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes not. As others have mentioned, if he is barking and you think he has to go, you can take him out, see if he goes, and then back in. Don't fuss about him, don't play, or anything other than go out to potty. I didn't even talk to my pups when I was letting them out. I didn't want the experience to be anything other than "going outside to pee and right back in the crate". These dogs are smart, and will learn how to manipulate you. Its hard to see now, but by going to him every time he barks, you are really making it more difficult for yourself and prolonging the situation.

If it helps, keep track of the time he barks before he settles again, you'll quickly note a decrease in time...

Nate


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## json_vizsla (Jun 22, 2015)

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to us. We really appreciate it. Our little one has only been with us for 2 nights. We are still uncertain about potty vs attention. First night he only woke up at 4am (but he was tired from the road, new home etc) and we took him out to the garden without any fuss. Last night however, he woke up about 3-4 times. He barked A LOT and although we tried ignoring him, he got louder and louder. We took him out and he always used the garden. He doesn't bark nor whines nor anything when we put him in the crate. He goes to sleep and that's that. So we are still unsure what's the situation really. 

Today, we made a point however: when he was in his crate after sleep and started barking, we made a great deal of turning around and ensuring that no attention is being paid to him until he stops. Hopefully little by little this will ensure him that barking = zero attention. 

Thank you once again.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Wow, a Vizsla as your first puppy ever....that's jumping into the very deep end of the pool. At night. With no lights!

My thoughts, FWIW:

First, move the crate into your bedroom. Vizslas are very sensitive and like to be close to their people. He's aware he's alone in the kitchen, and he doesn't like it. Especially since he's just come into your new, strange house and struggling with the loss of his litter mates and his mom. That's a lot.

Second, my experience with V puppies is that they need to go out every 30 mins or so for the first month. If they don't, they'll whine (maybe) and go in the crate, and be utterly miserable. They typically don't bark and bark to go out, they can't hold it that long..so what you're hearing is probably his legitimate complaints of being separated from you.

Third, when its time to go out, open the crate, pick him up, and carry him to the designated potty area outside to go, reminding him with the word "Potty", and praise when he goes, using the term to reinforce the action with the word ("Good potty! Gooood boy!"). Pick him up and take him back to his crate, give him a kiss or three, and say good night. For the next 30 minutes, anyways...

Do NOT wait for him to stop barking to remove him, just don't reward him or even say anything to him until AFTER he successfully potties. And don't expect him to boldly go into the back yard all by himself, especially at night. Remember, he's new to the world, and new to you.


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