Barking at foxes at night

[Yveren1]

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Hi please can you advise if you have any recommendations to help me with my dog hearing foxes outside and barking for most of the night. I keep all of the windows closed but she can still hear them running down the side of the house. I feel so tired it seems to have got worse recently. Thanks in advance

 

[Tinytom]

We have the same at certain times of the year...could you have her in the same room as you at night...I have slept downstairs with my boys ...

 

[JoanneF]

Or white noise to mask the sound maybe?

 

[arealhuman]

How about those ultrasonic things you can place in the garden to deter animals? Something like this. This is just an idea not a recommendation, I've never used them.

 

[Hemlock]

It's horrible having your sleep disturbed - as a naturally lousy sleeper I can feel for you.

If you use the ultrasonics, remember they impact negatively on your dog as well if she goes within range, so will have to be switched off apart from during the night.

I think having your dog in the bedroom with you might be worth a try. Instead of telling her off (if you do - it's hard not to) establish a new behaviour where she barks, you say softly any word that means "quiet" then reward her, you are not rewarding her for barking but for "quiet". Soon she will content herself with one bark (unless she is a very barky breed) then come for her reward, which you can phase out gradually so it causes you less disturbance. This will take time, and it may be that the foxes move on and play elsewhere by then in any case.

Alternatively, the white noise might do the trick if okay for you. So now at least you have some options! Let us know how you get on.

 

[Yveren1]

Thank you all for your help. I will try all of these suggestions and let you know. I have got used to waking up and responding but I am worried about my neighbours getting upset - it must be so annoying for them. Thank you all

 

[Feverfew]

That's a really tricky problem. The white noise is a good suggestion - I use white noise for bonfire night, and my two dogs actively seek it out. I recommend a good-quality, reliable white noise machine (for your own sake), but there's free versions on YouTube to try out first.

We have a lot of foxes here - my two don't react to them (and one of them is actively friends with them - they exchange a lot of body language signals if we encounter them on walks or in the garden). When I first moved here, I started feeding the foxes in a field opposite the house. This has encouraged the foxes to hang around the field rather than being near the houses, so that might help if you can find somewhere to put food and water down - an alleyway or verge, for instance. It also made it possible for me to treat them for mange, as so many foxes suffer from this.

Happy, well-fed, mange-free foxes is my recommendation! You could also try desensitisation with your dog, eg introduce some foxy noises and smells during the day time when your dog is calm. Just a thought anyway - good luck. I imagine the foxes wake your neighbours up anyway, so your dog probably isn't causing that, and they'll be glad of an alert if you have any human intruders - that's how I always look at it!

 

[Yveren1]

Ah thank you I never thought about the neighbours being disturbed by the foxes any way and that by myself and Kenza being up their own security guards. Thank you o think I will try the you tube white noise tonight. I love foxes so I would like her to be. A little more tolerant - let’s see thank you again