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.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

At 14 months, can you not trust him to be loose in the house? How many hours is he in the crate? 

[Lindsey Holt]

I'm not sure if we could trust him or not, I'm a little concerned he would chew up stuff because when he's really wound up he tends to be a destructive chewer.

He is crated for about 7 hours.

When we are home he is the picture of dog obedience.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I really think 7+ hours a day in a crate every day is too long. Could you get a dog walker to come in mid day? 

[Lindsey Holt]

Perhaps, but probably not everyday.

I just don't know what to do about the barking because it seems like it is of and on all day.  I don't know of a dog walker would help all that much considering he is barking all day.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think he may be barking out of boredom. Maybe some exercise and little company for half an hour would help.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am sorry your are having this problem, but from your neighbor's standpoint, non-stop barking is really annoying. Our neighbor has a golden retriever who gets no attention (why they ever got him I have NO idea).  This dog is outside and barks all day and all evening every day almost non-stop.  The only reason we haven't formally complained about is that we have three dogs and I know they bark some especially our youngest. When we leave we sometimes resort to a bark collar on one of ours because once he is triggered to bark he continues way past whatever triggered him. Wearing it seems to calm him down.  He might run outside to bark but he stops after a couple woofs. I would not recommend an e-collar for such a young dog though. 

I wonder if your dog is lonely. What about one of those snuggle puppies?  I have no idea if it would comfort him.

What if you gave him a huge bout of exercise and really tired him out before you crated him? 

What if you put him in an ex-pen rather than a crate?

Do you think he needs to go potty and begins his barking trying to alert you that he needs to go out?

Could you and your husband take turns coming home for lunch to let him out and run wild in the back yard for a few minutes?  We did this before we retired.

Once you have ruled out serious reasons for the barking, you might try research whether bark collars that spray something when the dog barks might be an appropriate intervention.

[Lindsey Holt]

I have thought about a snuggle puppy, but I'm a little concerned he would destroy it, he is a destructive chewer.
We work very opposite schedules and I leave at 5 am, my husband's stays home and gets the kids ready for school, they leave at 715 or so. I come home and pick up the kids we get home about 230. I could get up at 4 and wall him but I'm not sure that would help since he doesn't go into the crate until 715 or so.
He doesn't sleep in his crate, he sleeps in our room with us.

[Melissa]

I wouldn't put a soft toy into the crate with him if he is a destroyer.....don't want him to choke on any of the pieces. 

Walking a few hours before still will help.  I walk at 5:30 - 6am and Chloe wasn't put into the cage until 8:30am. It still helped.   4am is an early wake up though :- /   

Is your crate a wire crate or one of the travel / airline approved plastic crates?

Our first crate for Chloe was one of the plastic ones...more closed in, only small windows on the side and the door she could see out of.  She absolutely hated not being able to see well. She cried and barked the whole time she was in it.  I went and bought a wire crate and she took to it right away

[Lindsey Holt]

It's a wire crate.

I'm just sick over this.

[Melissa]

:(  Well you are doing what you can. Don't give up, there are options.  Can you find an in-home sitter? Doggie Day care? 

[Lindsey Holt]

He can't go to doggie daycare because he had a vaccine reaction and couldn't complete the vaccine series.

It's hard to because it's getting so hot here in Phoenix that you can really only play out side or walk before Dawn or after dark so I don't know that a mid-day visit would help a lot with the temp nearing 100 outside.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

It wouldn't!