My dog is howling when alone in the house. How to make her stop that? Neighbours are complaining.?

Question

She is 5 months old, german shepherd cross rotweiller. I got her last Friday. She still doesn't show, that she wants to go out and the house is a mess. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

I'm with Laean; she's lonely. And not to mention the probability of her being scared as she's only been with you less then a week. Her surroundings are new to her, she doesn't -know- who you are and no one's with her when you're gone to comfort her.

Laean's suggestion of a ticking clock is great! Usually best works for younger pups, but can work to comfort any age. It represents a heartbeat; younger pups think its their mother's.

The radio and tv are two more great suggestions. It leaves her with some noise to let her think she isn't alone.

You may also want to consider leaving a shirt or other clothing with her so that she has your scent to soothe her when you're not around. It also helps her in recognizing who you are; bringing your bond closer.


Next thing is the house being a mess. Where are you keeping her?? If she has the full run of the house; well her tearing it up is going to happen. With all the changes she's going through, she's going to exhibit her displeasure by doing what she's doing. Besides that, you're not there to correct her behavior. Think of a child left unattended who sneaks into cabinets or colors on walls.

My suggestion to help with the house and potty training would be buying her a crate. Dogs are essentially den animals, even if in the beginning they are scared of the close quarters of a crate. She'll eventually get into it (you can also coax her into it with treats, making it a "good" place and make it a refuge for her) and it'll become her "home". This will prevent your home from being trashed while you're not there. However, a dog should NOT be kept in a crate for any period longer then 4-5 hours.

Crate training a dog is actually very simple and can be such a remedy for rambunctious behavior or puppy training. Visit your local pet store and ask an associate the ins and outs to crate training. Or you can Google more information about it, too.

If crate training's not for you, you can also utilize exercize pens. These are metal pens, usually 16ft in circumference and meant as a sleep, play and for some, a potty area. Because they have a larger area, they can be left in the pen for longer periods then the crate.

She'll also need sufficient entertainment while you're away. Try to give her a variety of toy subjects; like with kids, dogs too can get bored by one thing easily.

And don't forget to reinforce good behavior by rewarding her with treats.


In anycase, give her some time to get used to her new home. And the more you interact with her, the better. Probably the best advice I could suggest would be in ringing the same sentiments as others have; have someone with her when you can't be. Dogs need that companionship, unlike the independency of cats.

Answer 2

She is still a baby and you've only had her for a few days so this is all quite predictable behaviour and you can sort these problems out...
She is messing in the house and making a noise because she is anxious. It will take her a while to settle down.
Ideally you should be with her for the next 2 weeks to set the house rules and so she can settle in but it sounds like you are already leaving her alone.
You need to start house training her as if she were a new puppy. Take her out in the garden every time she wakes up and after she has had a play, first thing in the morning, last thing at night etc. Stay with her in the garden until she goes and then reward her. She will then learn that is the place to go! Watch her in the house because she will only learn to ask to go out if she is always supervised and you pick up on her getting restless. Eventually she'll realise that when she goes to the door or barks or whines - whatever her sign is, you'll let her out and so she'll keep doing it. Constant supervision on this is the only way to properly house train her.

With regards to the howling, she needs to settle in before you can leave her alone. You need to build up the periods of time she is happy being left for. Does she follow you from room to room when you are at home? Restrict her to one room so that she can't do this. When you leave the room or the house, do so without fuss so that there isn't a huge difference between you being there and you being out. Make sure she has a few toys that she can play with or something to keep her busy like a plastic bottle stuffed with treats. As she becomes more settled you can leave her for longer periods without her becoming distressed. However, a large dog at this age is still very immature and won't be able to go for longer than 3 or 4 hours without needing to do a wee. You will have to make sure that she is let out during the day or she will keep on having accidents.

Hope things go well - its early days and don't worry, she'll learn!

Answer 3

On the howling issue she is just afraid and still a "baby". How would you react if your mother just dumped you in a room and then went away for a long period? I'd be howling the house down too. Try leaving her in a room for a couple of minutes at a time then go back to her. BUT make sure you make a fuss of her when you come back. THis should re-inforce the thought that you will ALWAYS come back to her.

Then increase the length of time you leave her and, again, make a fuss when you return and offer her a treat as a reward. Dogs are suckers for little treats. Then, over time she should recognise that when you go away you will always come back and she can expect either a lot of hugs or a treat on your return.

On the "potty training", the phrase "You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink" comes to mind. A puppy doesn't realise that it can't just P & Poo where it likes it needs to be shown. Like most babies you have to show it how to do its business.

As your pup is looking to you for guidance, like it might do to its mother if she were still around, it will do something if you show it. Take her outside and give her a "trigger" word to do what it wants. Something like "piddles" and in a friendly up beat tone. Then if it does something outside make a fuss of her and, maybe, give her a treat for doing it right. If she makes a mistake inside din't shout at her but take her outside and say the "trigger" word to her. If she catches on that outside, "piddles" and treat all go together she will sonn be tapping at the door to do her business.

This worked with both our dogs so I must have done something right. Now mine tap on the patio door when they need to go out and, if I'm not paying attention they stand in front of me and stare me out....see, now they have me trained...but I don't get any teats or hugs!!! :-(

Hope this helps sort your problems!!

Answer 4

My suggestion would be to get her used to going outside, even if she doesn't ask to, at least in the morning, noon, and night. She also may be bored and needs something to do. Our dogs (one being a German Shepard and the other an Akita) used to love raw bones from the grocery store, at the meat department (not expensive. Maybe you have to ask the deli person for a left over bone. Your dog may like peanut butter inside of the bone. The Akita didn't. They will keep the dog busy, chewing on the bone for at least the morning, it may need another one the next day or everyother day. Just finding something like that to do. I'm not an expert but its something to try.

Answer 5

you cannot get a puppy and leave it alone for hours. This is sheer mental torture to it. Dogs are by instinct pack animals. What you have done is got a pup, them committed her to solitary confinement. She is litterally going crazy. Find her another home with someone who won't leave her for hours on end as it won't get any better only worse with you having to rehome her once she has developed serious mental problems meaning nobody else will want her and after she has wrecked thousands of pounds worth of your home and the neighbours have got the council involved to prosecute you.
I am stunned and saddended by somne of the things you have been told to do to your puppy. YOU decided to get her even though your home and life is obviously not suitable, then you are supposed to give her electric shocks or chuck cold water over her. For chrissakes, she is a baby and she is very distressed at being made to live in solitary confinement. I thought I had seen and heard most cruelty which people do to animals but I can still be shocked by some people's attitudes. Anyone who uses cruel methods to punish an already distressed baby and inflict pain and fear on it, wants to be shut in a room with me for 15 minutes or prosecuted by the RSPCA.

Answer 6

She's doing it because she misses you. If you think about it logically she has been at one home for 5 months then came to you.. she obviously decided you were very nice and liked being with you over weekend and now she is left alone she is pining for you. Try some interactive toys around the house - look on ebay for them. Also a Kong - make sure u get the biggest one there is as she will be very large dog. Also leave a radio on- if she is the chewing type get a battery powered one and put it somewhere she cant reach. Leave the toys down, put the radio on ,,,and put here where ever u usually leave her...or somewhere she wont trash the house. then nip out of the front door for a couple of mins...try to return before she howls..even if you only go out for 2 mins...DONT MAKE A FUSS OF GOING OUT- TRY TO SNEAK OUT. Then when you come back in, if she has stayed quiet ..say ...good girl..give her a really big fuss and hug. Keep doing this all over this weekend..Nip out for 5 mins...just sneak out... and then come back and make a real fuss of her... Eventually she will stop howling... She may be picking up on the fact that you are saying bye to her and that starts her off.

As for toilet training..She prob does do something but it may be a very tiny indication like turning round. you need to train her to do something you want her to... Every hour take her outside.... When she goes to toilet stand near her and say something like 'clean girl good' or 'busy' etc ... you need to associate a word with her going to the loo.... also in the house have some paper near the front door... it is quite likely she has been trained at some point to go on paper ..if she does great...half the worry is over.... if she goes on paper... tell her good girl... but always try to get her outside... gradually start moving the paper outside... Also try to ignore if you find she has been in the house...i say if you find as in if you find it after she has been. IF you catch her going to the loo...say uhhhh uhhh noooooo OUTSIDE ..take her outside and say BE CLEAN OR BE BUSY or whatever word u choose to associate with it...... hope that helps... good luck
ps- take her dog training if you at all can..it will really help u plus she will be a very nig dog so u want her to 100 per cent listen to you!!!

Answer 7

your dog will be howling as she's loneley. dogs are social creatures. they also need lots of exersize and fresh air, what you think of as a cold day outside isn't for a dog. they need outside space to use up there energy and also company. when you go out your dog will feel abandond,it canno't do dog things it has to behave as a home alone child and not do any thing to upset you whilst your out.its living in a human home not an enviroment designed for a dog.may be you could get her a kennel for when your out,and or may be a friend.

Answer 8

Don't leave her on her own! She's only a puppy! Would you leave a 5 month old baby on their own? I think not... As she's just been seperated from her mother, she needs someone to be close to... If you're gonna be out all day, why have a puppy in the first place?!

Answer 9

My neighbours had police dogs and as part of their training they were kept in a shed at the bottom of the garden and had a bucket of water thrown on them every time they howled. Not sure I would want to do this, but it certainly worked, and very quickly, they had an alsation and a springer spaniel drugs dog and they were both gorgeous dogs

Answer 10

We tend to think of dog training as a series of steps for teaching particular behaviors. To teach a dog to stay in a particular position, you reward her as she remains in place for gradually longer times, at gradually greater distances, with gradually increasing degrees of distraction. Read more https://tr.im/uPp6S

Now, this is fine, training does involve teaching dogs specific behaviors with a step-by-step approach. This week, though, I’m going to discuss three mental habits that will not only enable you train more effectively but also make life pleasant for both you and your dog.