barking and howling when left alone

cardavgould · Graduate

barking and howling when left alone

bluesmumanddad · Master

Hi

Sorry to hear you are having problems with seperation anxiety I think a lot of people on the forum with sympathise with you..

Does she howl and bark during the night when left alone?

Our big male grehound Blue was terrible when we first got him. We first solved the night time problem by hiding in the living room (he used to sleep in the kitchen) and when wh started o make a noise we through something soft but heavy at the base of the kitchen door. This would stop Blue winging and make him go back to his bed. The thinking behind this is that the dog doesn't realise that the owner is the one doing the banging and thinks its some reaction from the house so they think this will happen also when you are out.

We also found that if we left a dirty item of clothing (the smellier the better

) On Blue's bed when we left him he could wallow in our sent.

Only other thing is to just compleatly confuse her. Put your coats on when sitting around the house. Keep picking you keys up and putting them down so she doesn't associate these things with your leaving and stress doesn't set in straight away.

Well good look and I hope she gets better soon

-- Edited by bluesmumanddad at 13:12, 2005-06-02

UndercoverElephant · Master

Another thing to try is to not get too excited/touchy feely when you're going out or coming back in. If she's going mental, just stand and ignore her until she calms down a bit, or, like we do, just keep saying "Bed" until she settles herself down, then give her loads of fuss. You could also try DAP, it's quite expensive, but worked a bit for us.

Hope this helps.

cardavgould · Graduate

yes, I we do ignore her as much as poss before we go out, also when we get back I ignore her and tirn my back on her if she jumps up and don't fuss her until she sits or lies down, thanks

FAJ · Enlightened One

How long have you had her? If you've not had her very long then she might not yet know for sure that you're always going to come back. Also, your pup has to be taught to be by herself. Start with a few minutes at a time and work up to longer periods (apolos if you've already tried this).You could try this in the house when you're at home - try leaving her in a room where she can see you but not get to you by using a baby/dog gate (we got our dog gate from Argos for £34.99), so she'll learn that it's okay to be by herself. A good routine can work wonders too - for example, whenever we leave our two they always, always get a Bonio biscuit in their beds. They quickly learned that us leaving meant something tasty, and that it is their cue to settle down and have a sleep till we come back.

I'd echo what Amanda and Phil have said - leaving an item of clothing with your pup is a very good idea, as is the DAP diffuser. Both of which we used for Pearly - Harry was easier, as he came into an established routine and learned from her. For max effect, the diffuser should be placed close to her bed, at bed height.

You could also try Rescue Remedy in her drinking water, to keep her calm. Or a wee squirt before go out. It's a safe, natural remedy that works.

One last wee thing, I'm not too keen on the idea of behavioural collars. If your pup is barking because she's scared or anxious, she most likely won't react favourably to the collar and I'm doubtful that you'll see any effect.

Good luck - hope all goes well for you.

Fiona

cardavgould · Graduate

heather has never slept in the kitchen, she sleeps in the hall but ususlly ends up sleeping between us!when we are in you hardly know she is here.We have thought about leaving all the doors open so she can wander about the house but she has a tendency to make confetti of any paper lying about when left, she also can reach the kitchen worktop and steals the cat food! I tell you she would make a great sniffer dog beause she can sniff out food at 300 paces!

skinnydugs · Master

Sounds like Heather needs a canine companion.

Esther

cardavgould · Graduate

she still did it when our old dog was still alive- we have 2 cats. belle had only been back for a few weeks though , she had ben at my daughter's house to give her some peace from heather constantly chewing her legs etc-the dominant thing

it also too soon we still mourning Belle

-- Edited by cardavgould at 14:30, 2005-06-02

cardavgould · Graduate

i have had her since she was 7 weeks old. I was off work at the time and therefore spent a lot of time with her but she has been left alone for short spells trying to increase the time. She doesn't bother when we are in the house, sheis in another room just now as good as gold, I have tried the buiscuit bit as well and she eats it and then howls! I have proof as we taped her on the camcorder after our neighbour complained. tried a herbal calm drops too. tried the clothing too and she chews the slippers!

I did not have this problem with my last lurcher, holly and had her also when i was off work sick but she settled down really well apart from emptying the kitchen bin and spreading it through the house if we didn't empty it1

Carol · Master

Have you tried stuffing a kong with cheese? My dog Luca had really bad SA when we got him. He chewed and scratched and howled the place down. Honestly, we stuffed a kong full of cheese and he spent his day trying to get it out.

Also, I know this will go entirely against what you're feeling as it did with me. Leave doors open and give your dog the roam of the house. I was terrified when I was told to do it, but it really does work.

Finally, why don't you email Carole Robinson? She's fantastic at giving advice on troublesome pooches and helped me to sort two of mine out (including Luca).

Her email is carole@gal.org.uk

Keep us up to date with how you get on.

cardavgould · Graduate

thanks for the advice, we have tried the kong but she prefers her hide chew, I think you are riight and we will have to leave the doors open. we may also try a DAP. we are going to the vet tomorrow for some advice also but I will also contact Carole Robinson, thanks again

carol

FAJ · Enlightened One

Yip - separation anxiety big style me thinks. We had this with Pearly for a while but she was left and left and left and left some more and eventually she settled.

We know that we'd have this with Harry (had him two months now) if it wasn't for having Pearly to keep him company. Seems to work for him - think we'd have half a house left if he was on his own. We separated the two dogs at first when we first got him by a doggy gate and he was so keen to be with Pearly he started clawing away the door frame and chewing the gate.

Good luck - sounds like you may have a bit of pain to go through first ...and lots of ignoring.

bluesmumanddad · Master

Have to say Blue improved a lot when we let him stay in the living room when we are out or at bed time. We kept him in the kitchen as we were worried his crying and howling would upset the neighbours. Have previously posted about Blue's early morning singing but last week we finally gave in and left him in the living room when we went to bed. Hey presto he now sleeps until we get up (hope he doesn't read this

) So I think that letting your wee girl roam the house could well be a good idea.

Carole is brilliant I'm sure she will give you some great advice

CAROLE ROBINSON · Old Hand

Hi - if you email me at: robinsoncarole@blueyonder.co.uk we can go through the various strategies to deal with this behaviour.

Look forward to hearing from you.