Dog barking during the day

[Lindsey Holt]

Hi all,

We have an almost 14 month old Goldendoodle, Jake, that is crated in our kitchen while we are gone at work.

We recently got a notice from the city that someone had complained about him barking, "all day long, every day."

We tried a recording device, with mixed results.

It seems that he is barking some for extended lengths of time.

Does anyone have any suggestions, we let him have a Hurley toy and a nylabone in his crate.  I would try a stuffed kong but he is perhaps the LEAST food motivated dog I've ever met.

He is already inside, in a crate, with toys, I'm sorry of at a loss as to what to do now.

He rarely bags when we are home and usually only when the door bell rings.  He also stops right away.

I'm just worried that if people keep complaining they will force us to rehome him.

[Stella]

A mid day visit would give him a break from his crate. And even a short walk would allow him to potty and have a good sniff which is tiring for the brain. Breaking his day up might help him to settle while he is in his crate.

[Melissa]

Do you take Jake for walks before you leave for work?  Does Jake sleep in his crate over night as well?  I work Mon-Fri, 9am - 5pm but my husband has a rotating schedule so more often than not, he is home when I'm not.  But the days that he ends up working when I do, I'm up at 5:30am and out walking the dogs before I head off to work.  It's only a 30-40 minute walk, but it gives them a chance to do their business and burn some energy. That helps a lot and worked well when Chloe was in her crate while we were away.  She is now good to be out of the kennel, but I still restrict how much of the house the dogs can roam.  My beagle is gated into our sun room while the other two have the kitchen, dining room and living room to roam. I gate off our stairs going to the upstairs level and the basement.   I also keep a radio on or the TV to give them some background noise.  I'm in the position to be able to go home at lunch, so that hour with them helps as well.  

Also, when you put Jake into the crate, do you make a big fuss while doing so?  It's always a good idea to say 'good bye' to your pet 15 minutes before leaving the house and say absolutely nothing to them when you leave.  Making a big deal about leaving or returning can create separation anxiety. 

[Lindsey Holt]

I wish we could come home for lunch, but my husband's work feed them and they work through lunch.
I work about 20 minutes away and only have a 30 minute break.

He goes in his kennel with a "kennel" command and after that we sort of ignore him and walk out the door.

No big to do when we come home either, we just go let him out.

We got a camera with a live feed so we can watch him and see what if anything prompts the barking.

[Rose Coward]

Our camera allows us to speak through it, if yours does as well, maybe your voice telling him to be quiet might help.  Just a thought.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Lindsey, any possibility of taking him to doggy daycare? Maybe you can find one that's in someone's home, which is usually less expensive. 

[Stella]

If he's not super food motivated I'm not sure if this would help,..... but a Pet Tutor may be an idea. It has a sensor in and will reward with food for quiet behaviour. They are quite pricey though. A Treat and Train is much cheaper, but it just spits out food at random intervals, it does not have sensors in for not barking.

Do you leave the radio or tv on for him? The background noise can help mask noises outside that he may be barking at.

Depending on your neighbours, it may also be worth popping around your closest neighbours and explain that you are trying to help your dog and get to the bottom of the problem. Ask that they come to you if they hear him barking, rather than calling the city. You could even enlist their help to see if they can note when he is barking and if there is anything going on in the neighbourhood at those times - aircraft flying over, delivery / garbage trucks, sirens???

Other options, especially if you can't give him a good walk before he is left for the day, is a dog walker, or doggy daycare (if he is sociable) a couple of days a week.

[Stacy]

I had really good luck with doggy daycare when Katie was little. 

I'm also curious about the type of home you're talking about. I feel like even if one of the dogs was barking in the house it wouldn't be loud enough for my neighbors to hear or complain. In an apartment or townhome situation it might be a different thing. I wonder if maybe he was crated in a different area of the house he would get less stimulation and bark less. Maybe in the kitchen he is hearing car doors slam and the mail man and kids playing and in a back bedroom or a basement there would be less stuff to bark at. 

I also had a suggestion for a white noise machine in a post I started about barking that I thought was absolutely genius! It's really hard to train for something that is happening when you aren't there, but if you can just manage the behavior that works too...

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Years ago I read that a majority of dog "problems" can be alleviated by giving them more exercise. I really believe that it is true! Consistence exercise has a 'carry over' effect on their body and brains. In other words, hard exercise the evening before or in the morning will still be beneficial even if he isn't crated until later. My guess is that the "destructive chewing" would also be alleviated by more exercise. 

Walking is great, but my 2 really need to RUN to burn off energy. I either take them one at a time and bike them or we go out to some country roads and let them run off leash for a while. And, as others have said, Doggy Daycare is a godsend, too! After a day at Daycare, mine are "angelic" for at least 2 days afterward. :-)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I so agree with this. I firmly believe that young retrievers and retriever mixes need to spend some time running off-leash, preferably on a daily basis. It makes them so much easier to live with. With JD, 20 minutes of hard, full-out running did the trick.