PLEASE HELP!! my puppy doesnt stop barking when i am away!?

Question

I have a 4.5 month shih tzu puppy...I've had him for about 2 months and its time i start school so i need to start leaving him alone at home. Ive been trying to get him used to it but everytime I leave he barks and crys (very loud) until i come back. One time I left him for 5 hours and when I came back he was still barking!! Its a big problem because I live in an apartment and everybody has beenn complaining lately! So now everytime I need to go somewhere I have to have someone watch me (its not that he has to be with me, he just doesnt want to be alone). Ive tried everything, toys, leaving the tv on, going away in small amounts and making them longer each time
does anyone know what I should do?

Answer 1

Your dog is suffering from separation anxiety. This can take on many forms - from being destructive, to incessant barking, like your dog.

The site I referenced below discusses a few things you can do. You can also talk to your vet - he/she may have medicines to help calm him.

Answer 2

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/epOKw

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 3

What do you do when you leave/come back? One thing we read was to never make a big deal out of it either time. Don't lavish the dog with goodbyes when you go, and don't wig out when you return. I usually walk in and totally ignore our dog until she's settled down.

We got our dog to settle down at night (she's 6 months now) by covering her crate with a blanket. She sleeps quite soundly in it now, even when we're away.

Worst case scenario might be to get a bark collar. Or ask a professional trainer, but those cost lots of money.

Answer 4

some dogs just dont like to be left alone - some dogs suffer from seperation anxiety.
He is only a baby,so I would try a dog sitter and if you cant do that,,then just keep doing what your doing because he will eventually get used to it - hes a baby - just like a human baby they cry to when mom and dad leave - thats what your pup is doing.
He will probably grow out of it. Since your neighbors are complaing,,,,try a sitter till he is a bit older,but still keep testing the seperation thing..

Answer 5

My dogs had that difficulty and we bought an anti bark collar which labored a handle. it relatively works via spraying a danger unfastened spray while they bark so in time discourages the dogs from barking. some human beings do in comparison to this technique so yet another element you are able to desire to attempt is to make a noisy noise to distract the dogs each time it barks.

Answer 6

we had the same problem with our 2 Pomeranian so the vet said to get a cage and put them in it a small Carrier not to small but not to big were they will go potty in it it seams to work great. but make sure when your puppy is bad that you also put her in it. and when you get home give her a treat for being in there all day, also give her one when shes good. some people don't realize that a lot of people cant afford to get a dog sitter i mean come on. also it is not cruel or the vet would not say to do it good luck i hope this helped

Answer 7

Get a tape that has ur pic and voice on the tv and make it like 5 hours by making it repeat ove and ove( call his name over and over) he will be looking at the tv the whole time! I have a 1 year ols shih tzu, and she never was a barker

Answer 8

Dogs are pack animals and need company. This especially applies to puppies.

I think it's cruel to leave a puppy alone when he's so obviously upset by it.

You need either to have someone to sit with him when you're out, or rehome him to a family where someone is home all day.

Answer 9

leaving the TV and radio on are OK but what about the environment and all that lost electricity?

this is very simple. wear an old tee shirt or sweatshirt and make sure you sweat in it. if he smells you there he won't miss you. old sneakers or slippers might work also. play with him a little while you are wearing these old things. leave it for your puppy in his play area. you might have to wear the item again when your scent wears off.

Answer 10

You could get a second dog,they tend to keep each other company,or a dog sitter or doggy day care.In an emergancy you can kennel him,some Vets have this for about $5.00 a day,although I don't recomend it every day.Good Luck.