I have a 3-year-old German Shepherd that starts barking continuously at the window as soon as the sun goes down. The neighbors have already complained a couple of times and honestly I'm starting to have problems because of it. I've tried tiring the dog out with longer walks but nothing changes.
Does the dog hear something specific when the sun goes down, or does it bark even when there's no obvious trigger?
Because the thing is, a German Shepherd at that time could be hearing noises, animals, or even the change in light that puts it on alert. Long walks help but they don't solve it if the dog is in "guard mode." Try darkening the window it barks from - sounds silly but it often works because you remove the visual stimulus. In the meantime, before the sun sets, keep it busy with games that require concentration: I do manual work in the evening and my dog just lies next to me only if it's had something mentally tiring before, not just a walk.
The other crucial thing is not to let it associate barking with anything positive. If it barks and the neighbors complain and you run to it or pet it (even to get it to quiet down), the dog learns that barking = attention. Instead completely ignore it when it barks, and only give it rewards (food, play) when it's calm at the window. If it keeps going this intensely you might also consider consulting a dog trainer, because a German Shepherd has high mental needs and if it channels them badly it becomes exactly this kind of problem.
Don't start punishing your dog when it barks - that's the worst thing you can do because it creates anxiety and makes everything worse. A German Shepherd at that hour probably has a combo of factors going on: the light drops, the senses sharpen, maybe it's actually hearing noises you don't notice (crickets in gardens, cars coming, other things). But there's an element a lot of people underestimate: dusk destabilizes the dog because the world changes visibility, and a working breed like yours interprets this as "I need to stay alert, something could enter my territory".
Try blocking the view from the window during that critical hour with an opaque curtain or a screen - it's not a punishment, it's removing the trigger. When it can't see what sets it off, it stops having a reason to alert. In the meantime, keep it mentally occupied before the sun goes down: scent work in the house, interactive puzzles, something that makes it focus on a task. Also change the "meaning" of that time slot from "alert moment" to "playtime or reward time".
If even this doesn't work, it might be worth consulting a trainer, because sometimes there's deeper territorial anxiety or frustration tied to something happening specifically outside. But start with these steps, it's the most logical way to figure out what really triggers it.
I often notice that many people underestimate how crucial it is to identify the *actual* trigger before anything else - in your case it could be dusk, specific sounds from your neighbors, or simply separation anxiety that gets worse as the light fades. What others haven't stressed enough is that increasing exercise only helps if the problem is excess energy, but if it's territorial anxiety (very likely with a German Shepherd) you risk just reinforcing the behavior without solving it. Try first to figure out exactly what changes when the sun goes down - darkness, noises, your neighbors moving around - and then block that specific stimulus (close the curtains, put on music, keep the dog in an inside room) while at the same time working on desensitization and redirecting their attention with games and puzzle toys during that critical time of day.
Log into answer.
