How to get a puppy to settle down indoors without barking
Puppies often become hyperactive, scream, and bark uncontrollably when confined indoors or put to bed because overstimulation, boredom, and other pets trigger endless alertness. Giving in and letting the puppy out of the pen or house stops the noise temporarily, but it prevents them from ever learning how to self-soothe.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1letting the puppy outside when she barks to get her to stop
- 2giving chews and other enrichments inside the pen
- 3keeping the puppy outside for a large portion of the day to avoid indoor accidents
- 4covering the x-pen with a sheet
- 5trying to wind down early
- 6providing mental training and slowfeeders
- 7introducing daily new experiences
- 8offering a frozen kong or a chew
- 9giving treats constantly to keep them quiet
- 10letting them out only when they are calm after a few minutes of barking
- 11using a pen and crate combination
- 12covering the crate completely during daytime naps and running a box fan for white noise
- 13leaving the house briefly so the puppy stops whining
- 14trying tips found on Google
- 15letting the puppy free supervised
- 16using a crate for naps
- 17letting the puppy sleep on the couch or floor instead
- 18putting fingers in the crate to pet and calm the puppy
- 19letting the puppy sleep on the couch
- 20doing walk in and walk out exercises
- 21feeding meals inside the crate or pen
- 22using a pet sitter
- 23putting the puppy in a walk-in closet to muffle the cries
- 24Putting the puppy into the crate for scheduled morning and afternoon naps
- 25Using treats to convince the puppy to go into the crate
- 26doing a reverse time out
- 27playing white or brown noise
- 28allowing the puppy to sleep in the bedroom
- 29tethering him for a little while at this time
- 30taking him outside again around 7 pm
- 31throwing the ball around or giving him a bone
- 32training a solid place command on a raised cot
- 33playing impulse control games like it's yer choice
- 34scattering kibble in a snuffle mat or twisted towel
- 35using enforced naps in a covered crate or pen with something frozen to lick
- 36riding it out until it fades
- 37taking the puppy out to potty
- 38using lick mats, chews, kongs, and snuffle mats
- 39putting the puppy in a dark room with a crate cover
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Our 12 week-old bichon puppy will only properly settle and sleep when he’s in his crate.”source ↗
“I feel bad that he’s spending so much time in that small space, but he literally won’t settle down if anyone in the household moves so much as a toe.”source ↗
“Just feel like we’re making no other progress with training and we’re all so tired - humans and puppy alike!”source ↗
“First few night were hell, she was inconsolable until I got the idea to put on white noise and boom.”source ↗
“We’ve gone from overtired zoomies and biting our older dogs tail to deep sleep in maybe twenty minutes.”source ↗
“Over the past few days at almost exactly the same time - 4:30ish to 6:30ish our puppy is just unable to settle like at all.”source ↗
“I'm struggling to tell if he's overtired or just going crazy with bordum.”source ↗
“During the day however, different story. He will happily leap in there for treats and stays calm if we are giving him treats. As soon as we stop with the treats he starts barking pretty non stop.”source ↗
“Now’s the time I start to struggle for some reason.”source ↗
“By 6 pm, he seems so bored out of his mind and can’t decide on what he wants to do. He starts to pant and just stares at me.”source ↗
“I’d like some advice on how to fill his time after that 4:30 pm walk.”source ↗
“During nights when it's time for the long sleep he freaks the f**k out!”source ↗
“He starts biting, hard, and barking and screaming!! *SCREAMING*, like we're hurting him, I've never heard noise like that from a dog before”source ↗
“whenever he’s in his playpen he cries and wails and barks if I’m not in it with him. I can’t even be in the same room.”source ↗
“I feel like I’m going insane.”source ↗
“Lately he wakes up and is immediately stressed and over stimulated, biting, jumping, humping, demand barking.”source ↗
“He’s never been able to properly settle himself which I understand is normal for a puppy of his age but lately he is resisting sleep more and more.”source ↗
“It’s becoming especially hard as he can’t entertain himself and I work from home so he’s constantly barking and crying and clawing at me when I’m trying to work.”source ↗
“She does not stop barking when we try to sit and relax on the couch. We will give her a chew and she will bury it in the couches and then bark in our faces.”source ↗
“My fiance and i both feel like we have absolutely zero time to ourselves. From the moment I get home at 3 to 8:30 when we go to bed the dog is at 100.”source ↗
“Whenever she sees anyone just chilling or standing around within her line of sight and she's in the pen, she barks.”source ↗
“Really whenever she's in the x-pen and is just bored she barks.”source ↗
“So when the barking goes on for a long time and we get tired of it, we often end up letting her outside because that's just the easiest way to get her to stop.”source ↗
“She doesn't reliably tell us yet, so we've mostly avoided accidents by keeping her outside for a large portion of the day.”source ↗
“Ruby basically cannot settle when Roxy is around, and Roxy will often come over and engage her in play.”source ↗
“He will go in fine at night but napping him in it in the day he alwayssss makes a fuss first. Some days are worse than other.”source ↗
“I feeel this whole heartedly. I don’t have any tips as I am in the same boat. I’ve tried everything, games, kongs, quick departures (30 seconds), no matter what she freaks out when I leave her”source ↗
“man the day/night difference is so real with these pups. my setter was the same way at that age, perfect angel at night then absolute menace when the sun was up”source ↗
“She sleeps fine at night in her crate, but daytime has been a struggling.”source ↗
“My husband will let her out the second she starts to whine 😵💫.”source ↗
“it's so hard and I just wanted to cave and let her sleep on the floor or couch.”source ↗
“She cannot settle in a closed crate or pen and will non-stop cry/whine/scream.”source ↗
“I haven’t been able to crate her at night because it gets to the point she’s biting the bars and peeing.”source ↗
“Same with the pen, she goes ballistic and screeches and I’m sure by then my neighbors might hear her.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 9How to handle puppy night potty breaks in a two story house
- 3Why does my dog pee inside right after a walk?
- 3House-trained dog won't go to the bathroom outside after moving