Help! My dog barks constantly when he is left alone

moneysavingmonkey85

3 weeks ago, with very little notice, I took on a 3yr old springer spaniel from a family friend who couldnt keep him due to a flat move. He is lovely, and responding to some training. He is very timid and often shakes when scared. He is very strong and pulling on the lead (as at 3 has rarely been on a lead!) but we are persevering and he is beginning to improve.

However, the main problem occurs when I leave the house. He barks constantly even if its only less than an hour on his own. He has warm comfy bed, in a crate, with plenty of toys including a filled kong, we shut the curtains and put on the radio to stop outside distractions. We have even tried an ultrasonic collar that beeps when he barks, but it has had no effect. I have had springers before, but they were comfortable being left.

We are getting daily complaints from the neighbours and I don't know what to do. I understand you can get in trouble from the council if they complain, and its only rented so I wouldnt want to risk upsetting the landlord. I feel like I cant leave the house without him, and we don't drive.

Would you give him up or could anyone suggest how to calm him down while we are out? Thanks so much

Raksha

There are two reasons why a dog barks:

a) he's bored (some dogs depend on their humans so much for entertainment, they can't cope when they have to amuse themselves)

b) he's missing you (seperation anxiety)

You need to know *why* he's barking before you can start to stop it. If a dog is bored, he tends to explore all other activities before he starts to bark, so it often starts a while after the owner has left (and they may well be other signs - destruction). If a dog is suffering with seperation anxiety, the barking will often start as soon as the owner leaves the room, let alone the house.

moneysavingmonkey85

well he has destroyed some things like his bed, and we are practising having him in a different room while we are still in, and he can stand about 20 minutes before he starts to scratch the door and whine. He has lots of toys and the radio, so if he is bored, what else keeps them occupied? I'm only working part time, so we never leave for more than 3 hours at a time. Many thanks for your reply

cyberbob

This dog has only just been moved from what was his home to live with you. So he is probably confused and maybe even worried. So it may take a wee while for him to settle in. I know this doesn't stop the barking problem. You may have to slowly build up the amount of time he is left.

CockersSpan

I should imagine he's settling in - was he left before with his previous owner?

Our cocker can be a right little yapper - usually when she wants to play or is moaning at us :rolleyes: We had an anti bark collar (air spray one) to start with when we weren't sure what to do and it didnt enforce anything. Tilly learnt to bark, growl and whimper at the right pitch not to set it off..... v sneaky little pup!

We stopped using it in the end as it wasnt working and she did grow out of her constant yapping.

We used to leave the radio on when we went out but soon realised she barked more at the radio being on than if it was quiet, i think she was singing along (!) so stopped the radio and the daytime barking stopped too.

moneysavingmonkey85

as i understand it, the old owners were quite negligent and he had the run of the house all the time, and the back door to the garden was left open all day even when they were out.

When with us, he never ever barks, not hungry, playing or even at night, if we are in the house he is quiet as a mouse, so we never hear it, but the neighbours say its more than a yap- one says he can not hear his tv on max volume! I have explained to 2 of them, one is still livid and threatened us, and the other is elderly and needs to sleep in the afternoons. Maybe I will try the radio off, it was a last resort anyway. I'm sick with worry that we'll get taken to court or in trouble with the landlord. I'd love to keep him. but I don't know how long the neighbours will put up with it.
thanks for your replies

Fire_Fox

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1556

shopaholic232

hi all im looking for some advice as my dog never stops barking when out in the garden, its driving me mad barking non stop as i write this! I live in a built up area and im sure the neighbours are getting annoyed with it. what can i do its just constant from she goes outside until she comes in

Kimberley

Have you tried a bark control collar? It doesn't work for all dogs mind and ensure you do not get an electric one because that gives out a shock and I have heard dogs yelp with them. I have to fit the spray collar on our JRT pup sometimes and it works on her.

You can't really tell a dog to shut up to be honest because they don't listen.

foreign_correspondent

When she needs to go out, why not go outside with her, and then you can see what is setting her off, and work on distracting her from barking and praising her for being quiet? She may even be barking becasue she wants to come back in, or because there is another dog barking in a nearby garden, or because she is guarding your garden... without knowing why she is barking it is hard to solve the problem.

Punishing the dog for a natural behaviour as a first resort seems rather extreme and unfair to me and could lead to other problems.

My dog never barks in the house - presumably she has been trained not to at some point - I wish she would TBH, with my old dog I knew if anyone came onto the garden or up the path!

ETA - you can train a dog to understand 'quiet' or 'shut up' - it just takes a little patience and a lot of consistency!

Sequeena

If she barks bring her in. Once she's calmed down let her out. Continue the cycle.

It can be tiresome but I have trained 2 of my dogs this way and they soon caught on that barking all the time = being brought back in.

Can I ask how much exercise your dog gets a day and if you do any training? A lot of the time a dog is barking out of boredom.