Things You'll Need
- Your pregnant dog
- A nice, quiet room
- A place of her own to give birth
- love and kindness
Instructions
Understanding the Behavior
Explore your dog's environment. When your pregnant dog is barking at things that aren't there, the first step to fixing the problem is to understand what is going on. She's probably getting neurotic as it gets closer to the time when she'll be giving birth. Most likely, she is stressed and tired as well. So, first, you should explore her environment and see if there are problems with it. Is it a good temperature, and is it comfortable enough for her? If the room is too hot or too cold, or if something about the area doesn't make her comfortable, make those changes.
Remove any other animals, including birds and fish, that are in the room. Even if she isn't barking at those things, they might be stressing her out enough to think that she has to bark. She is probably trying to protect her unborn litter by making sure that nothing comes near her, so if she is barking at something that isn't there, make sure that there is nothing in the room to make her anxious.
Stay with her whenever you can. If you can make room for her where you work or in your bedroom at night, do so. She will be much more calm and much more likely to relax when she is near you. In fact, her barking at imaginary objects might be her way of telling you that she is lonely, so be sure that you are near her.
Eliminate boredom. Her barking might also be a sign that she's bored. Remember, although she's pregnant, she's still a dog. Give her plenty of toys to play with and things to chew on. She'll be more likely to bark at those things than things that don't exist.
Make sure she's had enough to eat. She might be less likely to bark if she's full. If she is hungry, that's not good for the puppies she's carrying. Hunger might cause her to overreact and bark at things that no one can see.
Remember that dogs can hear noises no one else can. It might be that she is actually barking at something. Try turning off or unplugging appliances that might be ringing at a pitch that is too high for you to hear. She might be bothered by a radio or something else so experiment by turning off appliances until she stops barking.