troublesome dog

HouseHunter_2

I would agree with many of the suggestions on this board. In particular this dog sounds like it need some input from an animal behaviourist. Seperation anxiety can be successfully treated. I do not think leaving a dog outside all day is a good idea, much better for it to be walked at lunchtime, left with a toy that they have to throw around to get food out of (like a kong or one of those ones that screws together). These can keep them occupied for several hours. best of all would be another dog to keep company and a dog flap so they can get in and out. My dog is left every day as myself and my partner work full time. She is walked three times a day, given interesting and stimulating toys to play with and lots of attention when we are around. I defy anyone to find a more contented dog.

village_life

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Two suggestions. Firstly, change your "leaving the house" routine so you don't do exactly the same thing every time. If you normally put shoes on before you go out, the dog thinks "shoes on - he's off out then and I'll be left alone". So several times a week, put your shoes on and stay in. Eventually the dog will think "shoes on - ".

Go out "in stages". Make as if you're going out, but simply put your coat in the car then come back. At the moment the dog thinks "he's gone out of the door - I'm all alone now". Eventually he will think "out of the door - dunno, as he sometimes he comes back". Also, go out for very short periods - in fact, make out as if you've forgotton something so that you return very quickly. Again, to "confuse" your dog so he doesn't associate you going out with hours of lonliness and boredom.

You need to break your routine as the dog associates certain actions with specific consequences.

ok that advice is fine - but AS SOON as I close the door on the dog he goes nuts barking... if i am to alter my routine by "returning" without actually leaving, then surely the dog will see me as responding to his barks adn coming back to appease him - so how do i break that cycle?

researcher

by ignoring him totally

village_life

sorry but all this advice doesnt hang together... on the one hand i am told to mix up my routine etc, but whenever i do anything of my "leaving routine" the dog goes nuts.....

i can either respond to his barking (By not going out, whether intentional or not) or ignore his barking and go out ........


nice in theory, but in practice its not as simple as people are making out

bozzy_2

it might also be worth looking into a creche for dogs. I use one in Northampton where I take my dog every day. she is stimulated with 7 other dogs all day and have two long walks. my dog is never lonely.

bulchy

Great advice from debt-free-chick,(apart from the rawhide chews bit) this is how we stopped our rescued weimy from fretting when we left him. I dont like leaving my dogs alone with rawhide, as they get through it too quickly and I'm scared they might choke on it, I prefer leaving stuffed kongs, or Thunder has a toy we can put biscuits in, he has great fun throwing it around the room getting the biscuits out, and actually gets impatient for us to leave him now as he knows he gets a treat.
Sue

Becles

village_life wrote:

ok that advice is fine - but AS SOON as I close the door on the dog he goes nuts barking... if i am to alter my routine by "returning" without actually leaving, then surely the dog will see me as responding to his barks adn coming back to appease him - so how do i break that cycle?

My old collie used to do that. I used to give him a chew or a few biscuits and then sneak out while he was eating them.

Debt_Free_Chick

village_life wrote:

sorry but all this advice doesnt hang together... on the one hand i am told to mix up my routine etc, but whenever i do anything of my "leaving routine" the dog goes nuts.....

Ignore him completely - don't even look at him and definitely don't talk to him. Carry on with what you are doing.

i can either respond to his barking (By not going out, whether intentional or not) or ignore his barking and go out ........

The dog is only barking to your routine because he knows what happens next. Not going out is not a response, as such. It's meant to confuse him, so that instead of doing a, b, c and then d which is what he thinks you're going to do - you do a, g, z, f or even a, b, z, j or whatever. Eventually, when you do "a" he doens't have a clue what you might do next so it breaks the assocation he has between "a" and going out.

A response would be to make eye-contact and/or talk to him - even a verbal rebuke is a response. Never respond to a barking dog by shouting "NO!" - he simply thinks you're barking back and then it's his turn :rotfl:

There's no point in ignoring his barking and always following this with going out. You must break the routine. The easiest way to do this is firstly to drop the last stage of the routine. When he stops barking at that, then drop the penultimate stage ... and so on

nice in theory, but in practice its not as simple as people are making out

Well, it is simple really. But you need determination, patience and lots and lots of practice.

Have you ever trained a dog from a puppy? If not, then you must get professional help. Either a dog-training class or a one-to-one with a trainer.

Debt_Free_Chick

village_life wrote:

ok that advice is fine - but AS SOON as I close the door on the dog he goes nuts barking... if i am to alter my routine by "returning" without actually leaving, then surely the dog will see me as responding to his barks adn coming back to appease him - so how do i break that cycle?

But don't appease him! Completely ignore him when you enter the house/room. Don't look at him, don't talk to him, don't touch him. If he approaches you, turn your back on him.

You're right - if you appease him he will keep on barking. But the idea is that you make absolutely no contact with him to show him that barking does not get your attention and that barking when you are out does not get you to return.

Eels100

village_life wrote:

nice in theory, but in practice its not as simple as people are making out

Nobody's saying it's simple. That's why everyone's pointing you in the direction of a behaviourist - much as we can offer advice and tips, this is a specialist area and your dog is an individual with his own range of issues and problems. One-to-one sessions with a professional is what's needed.

If you have the patience, time and inclination to learn more about dog behaviour and training, then you've got half a chance of sorting this out. I think you really need to be honest with yourself - if you know in your heart you're not going to devote an extra 1-2 hours a day to this dog in terms of exercise and training, plus alter your routine to accommodate him, then don't bother with any of the excellent advice DebFreeChick has offered, because you'll set yourself up to fail and your dog will persist in being miserable.

If you really do accept the fact that dogs, while cute when in the rescue centre, are individuals with problems and fears which take time and skill to work through, then I'd recommend as a starter reading Pamela Dennison's Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training, because it explains clearly why we're wrong in thinking dogs are little people in furry coats. It also outlines exactly how what you say and do affects your dog. But please do contact the APBC on the link I provided, you need their help.

As an aside, I am horrified that the rescue home has allowed you to adopt this dog in the first place, and I'm shocked that they don't seem to have made it clear to you that they are there for support post-rehoming. It's thoughtless rehoming like this that gives all rescue dogs a bad name, and makes it more difficult for the really good rehoming services to home their dogs.