Here is an update to my previous question - how to stop a dog howling.?

Question

I have 5 months old puppy + 2 cats. They are getting on very well. I used to have a dog before and no cats. He was alone and didn't make such a noise. I don't leave the house for hours (I work from home), but sometimes you have to go somewhere and you just cannot take the dog with you. At the end of the day, this is just an animal and has to learn, as I am the one to set the rules, not the other way. If I could teach my kids how to deal with the basics - I can to the same with the dog. I'm not asking how to get rid of the dog, I'm asking how to teach her to get results.

Answer 1

You can get a bark collar. I had to do that with my beagle because there was no way as a mere human I could overcome his instinct to howl.
Some people say it is mean but I have tried it by being shocked by it and it was no worse than a static electricity shock. It was more of a startle than anything even close to pain.
Here are some links below:

Answer 2

Being at home that often will mean that it won't take long to sort this problem out. Infact you are in an ideal position. I did post to your earlier question but with these additional details I would emphasise the following advice:

1. do not allow her to follow you around from room to room. Ideally work somewhere else in the house for most of the day and then when you take breaks and initially every 20 mins- half an hour, go and spend a bit of time with her and let her out to go toilet. Do you have any child gates that you can restrict her to a room with? That way she can still see around and hear you move about in the house.
2. When you reenter the room she is in, don't pay any attention to her until she calms down. Also, dont leave the room again until she is calm - if you leave her in an excitable state that will transfer into anxiety.
3. When you leave the room make sure that she has had an opportunity to go wee. If she has then you know that she is messing indoors because of anxiety and this will improve as you build up the time that you leave her for.
4. As she becomes more comfortable with being left for a short period in a room, you can build up the time she is left for. Extend your working sessions elsewhere in the house to one hour, etc.

This method will build her confidence in being left alone and she will know that you'll be back and won't worry.

Answer 3

Your dog has separation anxiety. Watch It's me or the dog, running on tv at the moment. Victoria Stillwell has brilliant results. She recommends that you repeatedly do what you would normally do when you are about to leave the house. Such as getting keys, putting jackets on etc. The first time you leave the house for a second. You then come back in, take off your jacket etc and sit down, completely ignoring the dog. You repeat this process several times leaving the house for longer each time. It is very important that you ignore the dog when you come back in. But do pay attention to how she behaves. At first she will be very excited to see you. After a while she will get bored and that's when you know youv'e cracked it. Good luck and do try it cos it works!

Answer 4

Firstly, if you do embark on electic shock collars, which is unadvisable, please do not leave the dog unattended with it on, can be fatal. How you greet your dog on your return is a key factor....you need to ignore the dog when you walk thru the door, until it is calm, then fuss him....my dogs aren't left alone for longer than 1hour at the very most and you would think they hadn't seen us for a bloody year the way they go...I have found that if I don't make a fuss on leaving and returning to the house, they just veg out ....Plenty of exercise prior to you going out is a good idea too.

Answer 5

Must apologise for my reply to your first posting of this question. You didn't go into as much detail, but now i understand.

Try leaving one of your old jumpers, or anything with your scent on with her. Leave a radio or tv on too, this gives the dog the impression someone's still in the house. Try this, if she's still howling i'll post some more suggestions...

Answer 6

my friend had this problem & got another dog which stopped the problem straight away. The other dog was a chewer though and chewed her furniture but at least the neighbours didn't complain about that!

I think the shock things are very cruel but hey each to thier own.

Steve.

Answer 7

My pup is 3 months old and she is exactly the same. The person who gave advise about coming and going without a fuss is right. Also don't carry your pup around to much, that way they are babied and can't be independent.