New puppy barks everytime I leave!?

Question

I just got a four month old puppy and everytime I leave the house even for a second she barks. Is there a way I can train her not to do this. I don't want her to wear one of those sonic collars or whatever they are called. I have to go to work this week and I am afriad the neighbors will complain if she wakes them up barking all morning.
Please help

Answer 1

soz to say it may not have been the best idea to get a pup if u have to leave it alone..u could try what u do with kids that get "separation anxiety".. spend as much time as u can leaving for short periods of time,starting with seconds/minutes..and keep coming back..repeat it til u dream about it..and lengthen times u go for..it can help build security and reassurance that you'll always return...worth a go?

Answer 2

Dogs bark for various reasons. Sometimes we NEED them to bark, and sometimes barking is not appropriate. The trick is letting the dog know what we expect from them. We expect a bark or two when the doorbell rings, but we do not expect the dogs to go into a barking frenzy. We want dogs to bark if they hear a strange noise during the night as this may indicate an intruder or other problem that needs your immediate attention. Your dog needs to learn to stop barking when you give the command.

What you describe here is the dog not wanting to be home alone. Do not make a big deal when you leave the house. Avoid telling the dog “bye-bye” or anything along those lines. When you leave, maintain a matter-of-fact attitude, and do your best to ignore the puppy. If you make leaving the house an emotional moment, the puppy senses this and reacts to it. Make sure your little one has plenty of safe toys to occupy his time while you are gone. When you return home, reverse the process, and avoid greeting the baby in an excitable manner. We usually wait a minute or two before acknowledging their presence. We started doing this because we have eight dogs and having all of them carrying on when we leave and come home became nerve wracking. Now our departures and arrivals are more civilized. The babies get all the attention they can handle once we have taken care of what we need to do. You must establish your place as the dominant, or Alpha, leader of the puppy. Like children, puppies need to know what you expect and where their boundaries lie.

Work with your puppy at an early age to correct unwanted behavior in a calm but firm manner. Yelling or hollering only excites the dog, so maintaining a calm demeanor works best. Develop a sound that gets the attention of the puppy, but not one that excites the puppy. I like to use a “shhhhpppt” air-hiss type of sound. When I need a more forceful approach, I use the sound and I snap my fingers. Once I have their attention I lock eyes and do not look away until the dog looks away. The dog looking away is a submissive act and acknowledges that you are in control. In some cases, you may have to make physical contact with the dog, but do so in a manner that does not cause pain. A simple touch to the chest or the side of the neck usually suffices. Again, avoid showing emotion of any type when making taking corrective action.

As with training any puppy, consistency is a requirement. Be careful not to allow the behavior in some cases and then expect the dog to behave in another situation.

Good luck!

Will D
Enterprise AL
http://www.notagz.com

Answer 3

What your dog has is separation anxiety. My dog had exactly the same thing. The best thing to do is to take a week or two off work. Leave the dog on its own for a short while and walk in. Gradually extend the time you are away and eventually the dog will realise you are coming back and won't bark. Also don't give her fuss as soon as you get in, wait until she calms down then give her fuss. Whatever you do however do not shout at her cos all that does is promote the behaviour and can make her scared of you coming home (which only makes the dog more anxious). Use your patience and she should stop barking when you leave her alone.

Hope this helps
Mike G

Answer 4

no quick fix. Try just leaving her for a while at a time if you can, there are different training methods.. here are some links.
but just to say if you stress about it as you are leaving this will make the pup worse, try explaining to the neighbours you are in the process of training her/him and ask them to let you know if it gets excessive so you can gauge the success of the training, this kind of takes their power away from complaining and hopefully they will be empathic to what you are trying to do? good luck.
quote from one of the links:
EXCESSIVE BARKING & WHINING More Tips Puppy Socialisation House Training Excessive Biting Chewing Jumping up Stealing Chasing and Recall Excessive Barking


Puppies communicate vocally, visually and chemically. A bark can be an expression of distress, curiosity, play or threat. Puppies quickly learn ways to gain our attention, so try not to respond every time he barks.

One positive way of reducing barking is to train your puppy to bark and be quiet on command. Teach him to 'speak' with the expectation of a food reward and use a "quiet" command when he becomes silent. Always praise him when he responds correctly.
Clicker training is an effective, fun way to train your dog to do this. The Multi Clicker is ideal because you can vary the volume of the click and comes with a comprehensive training guide.

and another quote

The importance of training

Training is important so that your dog does not bark at just anything that moves. A well-trained dog should be able to tell between people allowed into the house and people who are intruders. Good training combined with affection and companionship should mean that your dog will not develop bad habits. Start young and start as you mean to go on.

Some simple things to try

Some dogs just don't want you to go out. Get your dog used to the idea that you are away for different periods of time at different times of the day. That way he might not be so concerned each time you leave. And don't make a fuss of your dog when you leave him.

Try putting your dog on his own in another room - at first for a few minutes, then gradually build up the time you leave your dog alone. Do not return to your dog until he is quiet for a period. When you return, praise him.

Some dogs will bark because they want to join in what's going on outside. If this is the problem, try leaving your dog so that he cannot see outside.

Some dogs will settle only if they can hear a human voice. Leaving a radio on at low volume might help. But make sure the radio is not too loud. You don't want to have complaints about that!
Try not to leave your dog for long periods. If you have to, see if there is someone who can look in during that time. Maybe that person could take your dog for a walk or let him out into the garden, if you have one.
If you have to leave your dog for long periods:
feed and exercise him before you go out and leave him some fresh water.
make sure his bed or basket is comfortable and leave him his favourite toys.
check that the room is not hot or too cold and that there is adequate ventilation.
and if you aren't coming back until after dark, leave a light on.

Answer 5

Get up a half hour earilier and take you puppy for a walk. You pup needs to burn off some energy and a long 30 minute walk is the best way. Also it is good exercise for both of you and a good time for bonding and for you to establish your dog leadership skills. If you don't understand why, watch the TV show "The Dog Whisperer". It is not only helpful, it is entertaining.
Good Luck with you pup and enjoy.

Answer 6

Best way is to acclimatise the pup to spending time alone. Don't be too much for petting and spoiling her. Let her sleep in a bed of her own and not on your bed or in your bedroom. Give her a blanket and a toy and try leaving the radio on when you leave the house.

Answer 7

its called separation anxiety. Talk to your vet.
But what you need to do is give the dog something to entertain him until he doesn't realize you have left... a treat, or a kong with peanut butter in it. Something that wll keep him busy and he won't see you walking out the door. You also need to make sure you NEVER make a big deal out of coming and going. If you do, you are validating his actions. Don't give him a ton of pets and kisses and tell him you are leaving. Just walk out the door. And don't go goo-goo-ga-ga when you get home, if you make a big deal out of it, he'll think it's important and want to bark about it!

Answer 8

You could try buying a thing called a KONG which is a rubber toy that is hollow and you can fill it with treats. The hole is actually to small for them to get the food out all at once. It is used for boredom, I know 'cos I got my dog one! Try also leaving the radio or TV on, they feel that they have company. Hope this helps.

Answer 9

Start be going out for 2 minutes, then returning & making a fuss of her. Gradually step it up by a few minutes at a time. Always make a fuss of her when you get back but not before you go.
Eventually she will realise that you are always going to come back. Make sure you leave her plenty of toys to play with so that she does not get bored.

Answer 10

Try leaving a radio on and an item of clothing. The dog is trying to take charge of the house and sees you as one of his/her children you must establish the pecking order, simple things like having your food before his/hers not letting him/her walk in front when out walking. Hope it helps.