Q:  My dog likes to bark at night frequently. We live in a corner house, and there are a couple of cats that walk around. My dog will bark for a minute or two, and then relax for half hour or so and then bark again. I think it's the cats walking around that make him bark and it is not such a big deal. However my wife thinks it's a problem and that the neighbors are getting angry. What should I do, if anything?

A:  Your dog might well be barking at the cats, or for that matter at raccoons, opossums, or other nocturnal wildlife. Many people notice that their dog is more "reactive" after dark: a dog who barks and lunges at other dogs may do so more intensely at night, or a dog who's suspicious of strangers or sudden movement may blow up when it is dark out at sights that only produced alert body language during the daytime. Similarly, maybe your dog would more or less ignore a cat crossing the lawn during the daytime — but at night, it's a whole other story.

Whatever sets your dog off barking, though, you can probably improve the situation with a little training.

I'm guessing, since you don't mention your sleep being interrupted, that your dog settles down by the time the household goes to bed. (Count your lucky stars!) Since it sounds as if your dog barks relatively briefly, and as if he's able to relax for the night, you'll probably be able to teach him to stop barking on cue. If your dog doesn't go straight from zero to 60 but shows through increasingly alert body language that he is about to bark, you may even be able to preempt the barking entirely.

Have a supply of tiny, tasty treats at hand in the evening. When your dog starts to bark (or when you notice him acting in a way that tells you he's about to bark), interrupt him. One great way to do this is to whisper "Shhhhh." This sound is unusual enough to draw many dogs' attention, and we humans can use it as a natural cue for "Please be quiet now." If a hushing sound doesn't work, you can try ringing a bell, or maybe clapping. The idea is to distract your dog, at least briefly, without startling or frightening him.

If your dog turns to you even for a nanosecond, immediately scatter several treats on the ground right in front of him. If you're lucky, the time spent foraging will be long enough to make him forget about whatever alerted him. You can always toss a second batch of treats to keep the quiet going.

If you can't distract your dog, try practicing at other times, when he's not barking: just say "Shhh" and toss treats on the floor. In this way your dog can learn during a calm time that your "Shhh" means it's a great idea to orient to you, because treats are on the way. Then he'll be more primed to orient to you even when he's excited.

Practice your interruption plus treat tossing every evening for a few days. If you're having good success, you can begin holding out, little by little, for ever longer intervals of quiet before you toss those treats. You can also begin using fewer treats. When your dog has had several dozen practice sessions, he may be ready to get only an occasional treat for responding to your "Shhhh." How long it takes to that point will depend on a combination of factors — how excitable your dog is, how many barking episodes there are on any given night, and how quick your reflexes are. The earlier in the barking sequence you can interrupt your dog, the better.

And, by the way, if those roaming cats belong to a neighbor, maybe she or he should know that cat care experts generally recommend cats be kept indoors. Outdoor cats have far shorter lifespans than indoor cats, thanks to cars and predators. Roaming cats also take a significant toll on songbird populations. Songbirds are already under great pressure from habitat loss, so it makes good environmental sense to protect them from our domestic pets.

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