Dog Owners: How to deal with excessive barking?

[monkeyspunk79]

Hi all, this is a question that has nothing to do with SVT cars...but instead its a dog owner related question. My wife & I adopted a Treeing Walker Coonhound from a shelter about 3 months ago.

Here she is...

Her name is Mabel and she is approx. 32 months old and its a great little dog...with one exception. We have crate trained her and she stays in the crate all day. Recently my neighbor (great guy) said he can hear her howling all day. He works nights so he sleeps during the day. When we leave her in the morning she appears fine and doesn't put up a fuss. She climbs in her crate (its a nice big crate with blankets, puzzle treat toys, and plenty of other things to entertain her). But over the last couple of weekends my wife and I have been working in the yard and try to crate her and she indeed does bark and howl. Sometimes for almost an hour until she tires out...rests...and then starts again.

We have stocked her up on toys and treats, (she loves rawhides and treat balls), and since she is high-energy we do take her on a long 3 mile walk in the morning before we leave...make sure she's fed & pottied before leaving for work. We also try to exercise her at night with a walk and playtime. Its not like we're neglectful owners. We try to do what is necessary for her.

My question to all the all-knowing dog experts is: What can we do to minimize the barking & howling while we are at work?

Thanks as always,

-D

 

[divided]

From what i've read it could be separation anxiety. My upstair neighbors dog does the same thing. The minute they leave and their car is gone, she starts howling.

 

[monkeyspunk79]

Yeah, that could be it. When she is with us she is fine, and I'd love to take her to work...but the boss wouldn't allow it. She seems to have had a rough life before we got her (couple gave her up cause they couldn't afford to feed her and lost their jobs) so who knows what the backstory is. I just want to keep a good relationship with my neighbors and make sure Mabel is healthy physically and mentally. She is a great dog otherwise.

 

[divided]

Yeah, that could be it. When she is with us she is fine, and I'd love to take her to work...but the boss wouldn't allow it. She seems to have had a rough life before we got her (couple gave her up cause they couldn't afford to feed her and lost their jobs) so who knows what the backstory is. I just want to keep a good relationship with my neighbors and make sure Mabel is healthy physically and mentally. She is a great dog otherwise.

Yeah its a grey area for me. I don't want to be rude to my neighbors and 'complain' about the dog barking/howling. I cant be mad because that's just what dogs do, but it gets annoying sometimes.

 

[Fox-4]

Our dog use to howl when she was a pup. We would leave the radio on for her until we came home.

 

[Speedylifsavr]

I had a Beagle that did the exact same thing . I went to Petsmart and found an "anti -barking collar" , it emits a high pitch tone everytime they bark . I assume the tone is not pleasant to the dog so they will soon figure it out . I didnt actually place the collar on my dog because I didnt want her to stop barking all the time , only in her crate . I took the device off of the collar and clipped it to the door of her crate when she was in it . It took some time but she eventually figured it out .

 

[JasonSnake]

for a second, I thought you were my downstairs neighbor at my apt complex b/c that dog was barking/yelping for two nights straight and I couldn't sleep. I think the owner works overnight too and I've heard a few knocks on his door from other pissed off neighbors in the wee morning.

 

[EB233HWT]

How much exercise does your dog get? I have a german shepherd that gets pretty loud if he doesnt get sufficent amounts of physical activity.

 

[mblgjr]

The collars can work ok.

I've also seen a radio or TV left on at a 'normal' lower volume help as well.

You may want to look into recording your room noise as well (like when you/yours spouse cook dinner) and burn it to a CD and put it on repeat; so she just thinks ya'll are there still.

With small breeds, putting a blanket over the entire crate can help. Don't know why, I suppose it's a security thing.

Some dogs just hate being crated for extended periods. Is she trained/well behaved enough to just leave her out? Or would she destroy the place?

 

[blownfox]

Are dog did that as well. We left the TV and that seemed to work.

 

[PhLoBuS]

for our last dog who was a constant barker we got a citronella collar (spelling?) and everytime he barked it would spray it in front of the dogs face, not at it. It seemed to work fairly well but overtime he didn't care at all.

 

[LS1PUSSOUT]

maybe you should set it loose to run free

 

[white02]

Get a bark collar. It gives him a quick shock which may not be pretty to watch, but it will work guaranteed.

 

[darkhorse276]

muzzle

 

[MarauderMarc]

Get a bark collar. It gives him a quick shock which may not be pretty to watch, but it will work guaranteed.

Agreed. I have 2 BEagles and they bark when an ant farts. So finally I had it and bought 2 of them. After the second time they never barked again. They even have them with a remote button where you can zap them yourself.

It sounds cruel, but they are less intelligent. If I could strike up a conversation with them and ask them not to anymore then I would...BUT they are not. So I got the collar and it worked. Instantly. Over time you dont even have to have batteries in it. You put it on them and they shut up.

 

[nofire]

handle it the asian way and go wok the dog.

 

[monkeyspunk79]

Cool, thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will look into the bark collar and try to tire her out more before work. She is still too young IMHO to be let free in the house while we're at work. Maybe later on she could, but we just can't trust her yet. (She'd probably chew up our couch).

Ah, puppy ownership. You love them...and want to drive them out in the country and leave them for dead...all at the same time.

 

[DEFYANT]

A tired dog is a good dog. You have a dog that requires a lot of exercise and attention. Run her down in the morning before you crate her.

 

[WyoTechMSA]

32 months is too young to leave free? Our choc lab is less than 2 yrs and she is free in the house all day while I'm at work. Granted I come home from 12 to 1 to play with her and make sure she uses the bathroom. Try the tv trick while still in the crate, if she still barks try letting her out of the crate and see what happens. Try to hide the valuables for the first few times though lol

 

[DEFYANT]

Also give her a bone to chew. Chewing is a great way for a dog to burn off excess energy.