Older dog’s late-night barking keeping her owners awake

DEAR JOAN: Stella, our 14-year-old Havanese dog, has always been an easy dog to live with, but she has recently begun barking during the middle of the night.

She sleeps downstairs in the laundry room, where her bed is and where she’s fed. It doesn’t appear that she’s distressed. When we’ve tried to ignore her, she will settle down, however, sometimes she’ll start again about three hours later.

Is there something that we can do to stop this behavior? It’s beginning to be a factor in our sleep patterns.

— Denise DeLong, San Jose

DEAR DENISE: If you haven’t already, you should take Stella in for a check-up with her vet. There are a couple of health issues that could be causing the nighttime disturbances.

As an older dog, she could be developing dementia. She wakes up and either doesn’t know where she is or doesn’t know where you are. As a result, she panics and starts barking.

You should also check to see if there’s an outside source of noises that is waking her up and causing her to alert the family that something’s not right. An animal might be prowling outside and making enough noise that Stella hears it. Even the heater coming on in the middle of the night could be waking her up.

There are two schools of thought on how you should deal with a nighttime barker, but you need to know the cause to know which school to follow.

If she’s suffering cognitive decline and calling out for reassurance, then you might need to get up and comfort her. If she’s barking because it’s become a habit, then you should ignore her and not reinforce it.

A vet exam might be able to tell you whether it’s a decline or a habit, and then you’ll know how to address it.

If Stella is reaching out for comfort, you can try making her sleeping space even cozier, making sure she has a favorite stuffed toy and a blanket or item of clothing that has your scent on it. If the room where she sleeps is dark, you could add a soft nightlight to reassure her of her surroundings.

You might even need to let her sleep in your bedroom so you can reassure her more easily. Spending quality time with her before bedtime, along with more playtime to tire her out, could help her sleep through the night.

Your vet also can prescribe medication to ease the anxiety and help her sleep.

DEAR JOAN: Perhaps you could alert the public to the danger of pyracantha to birds. A much better choice for them is toyon.

— Laurie Roberts, Bay Area

DEAR LAURIE: I agree that toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is a better choice, as it’s a California native plant, and as a rule, growing natives is better for wildlife and the environment, not to mention the lack of brutal thorns. But pyracantha is not all bad.

The berries aren’t berries at all, but pomes. The main problem is if the pomes ferment, causing birds to become intoxicated and injure themselves. Toyon berries don’t have the same properties.

The Animal Life column runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at AskJoanMorris@gmail.com.