Walk around any neighborhood at night, and it is common to hear barking dogs. It seems that barking at night is a part of dogs’ lives, but sometimes, you might think why is my dog barking at night all of a sudden? What causes a dog to sound off at night? Why do they bark to the point of keeping you awake?
Here, you will come across a few common reasons why dogs suddenly start barking at night.
Pain
A dog may start barking suddenly at night, probably because it is experiencing pain somewhere. Look for other signs of injury, such as limping. If it is an aged dog, its joints must have become stiff and painful, and it might be barking due to pain. If that’s the case, think about taking it to a vet and getting treatment.
Hunger
Another possible reason why a dog barks at night suddenly might be because it is hungry. If your dog is not getting fed enough or if there are many gaps in between the meals, then your dog may wake up hungry in the night and start barking. If you are currently feeding your dog only in the mornings, consider giving it a meal in the evenings as well.
Lack of Exercise
Dogs need daily exercise, and they start behaving weirdly if they do not get enough of it. If you are pondering why your dog is barking at night suddenly, then probably it did not get enough exercise during the day. It’s vital to ensure that your dog gets enough exercise according to its breed and age.
Separation Anxiety
Your dog possibly feels left alone and barks due to anxiety, which is more likely to happen if you sleep in another room than your dog. Since the dog cannot sleep around you, it might be getting anxious similarly as it does when you leave the house.
Perceived Intruders
Most dogs have natural watchmen abilities, and they bark to alert you of any possible intruders. This behavior is natural, and you would even encourage it at times. Dogs also have immense healing power, due to which they can hear sounds that you can’t.
So, if your dog hears the sound of your gate or if it perceives an intruder, it may start barking all of a sudden. You would never know how many times your dog saved burglary into your house by barking and scaring away intruders.
Wildlife
Most dogs bark when they sense wild animals around them. Around your house, you might be having squirrels, rats, raccoons, or deer. Even though you can’t see these animals at night in your yard, your pet can. Your dog will bark at any sound or movement they sense at night, and wild animals might be responsible for it many times.
Group Barking
Since a dog prefers staying in packs, it becomes very reactive when it senses other dogs around it. Group barking happens when your dog hears other dogs barking and follows suit. Even if you can’t hear other dogs’ barking, your pet can because of its extraordinary hearing power. When a street dog barks at a driving car at night, your dog may hear it and want to chime in.
Physical Discomfort
The reason for sudden nighttime barking may be physical discomfort. There can be an issue in your dog’s sleeping environment. It might be too cold, too hot, too noisy, too bright, or space might be too congested to sleep comfortably. If your dog suddenly starts barking at night, try to look for such issues and fix them.
If your cause of concern is “why is my dog barking at night all of a sudden”, then check out the above-mentioned reasons and find the one that is bothering your pet. If everything seems to be adequate or you cannot figure it out, get in touch with professionals and ask them to sort it out for you.
