how to stop this dog from barking all night

[cat9841]

I am dog sitting for my daughter for 2 more weeks,, and the damn thing barks all night. He is fine during the day time but all night long he is barking. short of a toxic hot dog, (just kidding, I'd never hurt my grandkids like that) but how do I shut him up and get some sleep. its hard to think rationally when your tired.
CAT

[cat9841]

thanks for the comments, actually things aren't as bad now as they were with the dog. he has a sort of routine. when he comes in at night, he kind of barks a bit till we settle down turn the lights and tv off and go to sleep. I saw one evening one of my cats looking at him through a glass door and that was one reason he was barking at her. see, that door was HER in and out door and now there is a dog out there and she is upset and he is barking at the cat-perfectally natural, huh? well anyhow, I think we will make it. only 8 more days and I am leaving and my daughter is coming here. she will take care of all the fur babies, and I think everyone will finally settle down when we are all moved to our own places. I hope she keeps the dog where he is at least till I get my cats out of here.
CAT

[kimpton]

have you considered putting the dog in a kennel until you're ready to move and your daughter is settled?  it sounds like no-one is happy.  there are plenty of nice doggie daycares out there where he'll get enough attention so he doesn't feel abandoned.  i know that my dogs stress when i move.  they know things are changing and some handle it better than others.

& when i hear a dog bark for long stretches of time- i think anxiety.  dogs need to be left in small increments at first, building up to long periods of time.  otherwise, they kind of freak out- especially a rescue dog.  and, shelties are barkers.  

[Ghilly]

Of all the breeds there are, Shelties are probably one of the barkiest ANYWAY, but it sounds to me like he is suffering from some type of separation anxiety and doesn't like being outside by himself at night.  Shelties will bark at anything that moves, they're herding dogs so it's how they communicate to each other and to the animals they are herding, so even though he doesn't have to worry about moving a flock of hseep or anything like that, his instincts are telling him that he needs to bark.  If you talk to ten people who have Shelties, probably eight of them will tell you that their dogs bark all the time at seemingly nothing.

Is there nowhere he can be that is actually inside the house with the humans until your daughter gets there?  He's going to need training and interaction before he'll stop this, but shelties being the barky creatures they are ANYWAY, you have to keep on them to break them of it, but having him with people instead of out on the patio area will probably help the situation a good bit for right now.  But unfortunately, with ANY dog, there is no quick fix for this situation, but with the dog being a Sheltie, it's going to require even more time, hard work, and perseverance.

Ghilly

[Red931]

Okay.....I will defer to Ghilly on this one.

[cat9841]

no, he was just adopted and she cannot have him where she is, and she is moving into my house and we are moving to washington state, so he is here about 2 weeks ahead of when I told here she could bring a dog in the first place. she rescued him from a shelter, he is a shelty , about a year old. we have a half acre lot and he has the run of the lot all day and at night he is in a patio area so he won't bark at our cats who stay in-doors. our cats are use to using that area he is in as their in and out spot and they are upset because everything is in upheavel around here. all their hiding places to sleep are gone, boxes everywhere, strange people in and out, and now a dog. if we could just take our cats and go it wouldn't be our problem anymore but thats a 2 weeks away for me and a month for my husband. my daughter should not have adopted him before I said she could and now the dog was dumpted on me. its just another thing I have to deal with while moving which is already stressfull enough.
as you can tell, I am a cat person, not a dog person at all! but we will do anything for our kids and grandkids
CAT

[Red931]

He is probably barking because he misses your daughter. Once you answer Ghilly's questions I am sure a simple solution is at hand.

[Ghilly]

Where are you keeping the dog while you're sleeping?  Is he indoors or outdoors?  Is he in the room with you or in a different part of the house?  What kind of dog is it?  What type of house do you have?  

I know I'm asking tons of questions and not giving any answers, but I need some more information before I can try to come up with a solution other than a toxic hot dog.  (very big grin!)

Ghilly