Barking while we are away
Well, we've had TWO messages from a neighbor saying that poor Roxy is barking "hysterically" while we are gone, telling us it is cruel to the dog, and offering us a crate. Roxy was crate trained by the breeder but the family who adopted her let that go and she isn't now. And a crate would be about as big as our house; she is an 80 pound dog. We haven't been aware of her barking while we are away at all My guess is that she started this after we put up the second gate. She was pretty spoiled generally. How can we control this? She doesn't go nuts right when we are leaving but apparently some time later. If we return to deal with it, then we have returned and she would be fine. My own feeling is that the neighbor needs to mind her own business--at most Roxy is alone for an hour or two. Or we can give up the gate and let her roam the house. What to do about the dog? How to deal with the nosy neighbor? help! |
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| Hi and welcome! Do you have toys and maybe a kong in there with her so that she is kept busy when she is alone? We leave Mopsey have free reign of the house when we are gone. She is very good as far as we know. It could be an option. Leaving a radio or a TV on also helps, so that she doens't feel alone and afraid. I am sure more people are gonna chime in on this, but so far this is all I got! LOL Still new at this, raising puppy thing! But loving every moment of it! |
| Hi John and welcome to the forum. I think Marley is on to something on the toys and kongs, that might keep her busy for the couple of hours you are away. .
I have neighbors around me that ALL have an opinion of our animals. A lot of the younger kids are afraid of animals, so the parents are more stand-offish. It seems you have a nosy neighbor that seems to have an interest in your pup, which can be good in a way....maybe you can tell them that since they are so worried about her for those 2 hours they could come over and walk her or play with her while you are away. LOL I wouldn't give up the gate and let her roam until she is potty trained and trust worthy. If you give her freedom too soon, you could set her back on training. JMO, 
I can't wait to see pics of Roxy. Congrats on rescuing her. I hope to hear more about her soon. Stormi and co. |
| Thanks for the advice. She has in her room a kong, one of those hard plastic bones, a ball, a rope etc. Plenty of toys. I would post a picture but I can't figure out how!
John C |
| John,
Congrats on your new addition! She's experiencing seperation anxiety. It may have been something she's always had - or it could be something that's developed due to her being given up. One thing you should do is be sure to build her confidence and reassure her that you are coming back! You can also try some Rescue Remedy to relax her / settle her down. They also sell some contraption that releases a scent to relax dogs that have seperation anxiety - but I'm not sure where you can get them. I think they plug into a socket - similar to a Air Freshener - but they release a pheromone (? sp). Lastly, if necessary - you may have to resort to a Bark Collar - not everyone likes using them - but in some cases where the dog is causing a problem with neighbors and could be deemed a "nuisance" - it may be necessary. When the dog barks - it gives them a little zap (similar to how the electric fence works - when they go over the edge - it gives them a zap). If that doesn't work - you could always get her a friend!
Best of Luck! Kristen |
| Welcome to the Forum! Is your avatar your new sheepie? It's nice!
What you describe here seems to be a case of separation anxiety. Lennon developed it when he was a puppy and Sofi after we adopted her. The pups go crazy when they are left alone and they do not calm down until you come back, then they are overly exited and may even pee of exitment. Then they calm down as soon as they see you. Sounds familiar? Your dog needs to understand that when you leave, it's not forever. Use a weekend for this. Leave the house and make not fuss at all, then return 5 minutes later and do not pay attention to your dog until she calms down, then praise her and give her a treat. Continue doing it for the day, slowly lengthening the time you are away and in a couple of days she'll get the idea. Leaving the radio or TV on helps a lot, since they do not feel very lonely.. Our guys sometimes even lay down to watch the TV 
Probably you just have a nosy neighbor, but keep in mind that the OES bark is very loud and can be annoying someone if it goes all the way to their house. Some people is very close minded when it comes to pets since tye regard them as property and not a living being. If you feel comfortable with free roaming around the house, then it's OK. Lennon and Sofi usually are left inside if the weather is cloudy and they behave OK. The worst thing they do is get the garbage out if you forrget to close the lid but that's it. Just make shure she is potty trained and that she shows respect for your property and can be trusted inside, leave her lots of toys and fun stuff to do. You wouldn't want to come back to find out she decided to redesign your sofa! |
With Bella we are having to crate train her. I put toys and stuff to keep her busy and I leave the TV on Disney. I warned the neighbors (well the ones on one side that i like anyway  ) and after a few days she has been good. If i give her free range of the house she gets out. She can open EVERY window in this house.
Neville I had to use the bark collar. The neighbor (that i like) and i talked and told me that he was barking all day while i was gone. Even with Erised in the yard too. After about a week with the collar he stopped. If you decide to use the bark collar let me know. You can have Nev's we haven't needed it since.
cher |
I had to use a bark collar on Mickey too, for exactly the same reason. 
It sort of worked, but she was a smart dog, and learned quickly that is she barked when the collar was on, it would zap her, but if the collar was off she knew she could bark. One day my ex was playing around and the prongs of the collar hit my thigh, I was wearing shorts, so it hit bare skin. It HURT. A LOT. I will NEVER use one of those things ever again. I do understand that sometimes extreme measures are necessary, but in my opinion it should be a last resort. And, I recommend trying it on yourself before you put it on your dog. Just whack it against your leg. It may make you think twice... |
| I was searching for some information about my dog and ran across this post. NOSY NEIGHBORS? There is no reason they should have to put up with your barking dog. You actually have good neighbors who let you know what happens in your absence. A bad neighbor would just call the cops and register a complaint. Feel lucky! and stop being selfish! |
| First off, I apologize for "not a member's" attitude. Not a normal thing on this forum.
You might consider calling your neighbor and talking with her. If she's offering a crate, it doesn't sound like she's too hostile. Although, I don't see what differance she sees in a laundry room or a crate. Its still confinement. 
My neighbor informed me about my dogs, but I'd asked her to let me know how they do, that I can't correct something if I'm not here to know its happening. She let me know that they weren't bothering her, but that they always knew when I left. The 5 - 7 of them would howl for a bit and then settle down and that was it until I got home, then they would BARK. Everyone in the neighborhood knew when I got home.
One thing you might try with the gate is covering it on the outside. I had a child gate at my kitchen door. My Shadow would push it over unless I threw a towel or something over the front to make it look like a solid wall. Good luck. |
| I agree that it is not fair to have your neighbor have to listen to your dog bark constantly (I know you aren't gone for long periods of time, but still...) Obviously if you've had 2 messages from them it bothers them (they might be too sensitive, but it's their neighborhood too).
I would want to know if my dog had been barking because that means that he was not happy while we were gone. We tried the crate with Barney, but that made his separation anxiety even worse, so we just keep him gated off in the kitchen now. And he does fine. It sounds like maybe your dog gets bored after you've been gone for a while, but since you already have treats and toys with her, I don't know what else would occupy her time. How long has this been happening? Maybe it will just work itself out once Roxy realizes it is okay that you leave, and you can just tell your neighbor that you are aware of the situation and are working on various solutions... |
| I have the same problem..Our puppy will not stop barking. We were looking at the no bark collars as a last resort and then we found this noise machine. It is a super high tone that goes off with each bark. Ben hated the noise so much that after a couple days we didn't have that problem anymore. We got it from Mejier for like $30.I was so relieved I didn't have to get the shock collar for him. You may want to give it a shot..It worked for us! |
| Oh! Roxy is beautiful! Hopefully someone here can help you find a solution to this challenge.
We have our share of barkers and also a rescue sheepie with separation anxiety... I think hers is a fear of being left in a crate. She would wet in her crate if left in it overnight or when we left for a short time. When she was given free run of the house, she would get destructive (Ya know that automatic starter that hadn't yet been installed in the car? Gotta buy another one!) So now when we leave, she and one of our alphas stay in the kitchen that has 2 Dutch doors. So... while I'm not a dog trainer, I think the thing to consider is keeping her occupied while your gone, build her trust that you'll return and possibly a Citronella collar. The Citronella Gentle Spray collar gives them a poof of spray under their chin each time they bark loud (a softer "boof" won't trip the sensor). It works for us as long as they actually wear the collars and it's filled with citronella. It did not work on a Doberman-mix with a local rescue so they are not fool proof. You need to be sure that there is nothing that Roxy could get hung up on that would cause a choking hazard (as with any collar). As for the Kong... you can stuff it tight with food or smear the inside with peanut butter, cheese, etc. If you pack a kong real tight, it can give a food-crazy dog a long period of entertainment. You should try this while your home first to see how it goes and make sure she understands what's inside and how to get it out. As for the separation anxiety, it's from feeling isolated or being without her "pack". You might try leaving for very short times and coming back so she will understand that you always return. Don't announce you're leaving or make a big deal about getting home... keep it low key. One final thing... you might want to take her out to run and play before you leave. A tired sheepie with a full Kong and a citronella collar may be a quite sheepie. Just some things to think about. Please let us know how things go with you & Roxy (and your neighbor ) |
Just wanted to point out that this is an old post (Oct 2004).  |
Okay... who started it?  Maybe the archive will prove beneficial to someone in need! Thanks for pointing this out to us.
Wonder what happened with Roxy... |
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