What went wrong...Did I fail my dog? :(

[Puppy Love]

Sudden separation anxiety. This really happen overnight and I am beyond devastated?

My 9 month old Goldendoodle is barking like a mad man. Nonstop neighbors are leaving me notes and they are very angry about the noise disturbance. This is my worst nightmare, so so sad!

I love my dog and try to give him a lot of love and affection.  I am not sure if I caused this.  Did I spoil him rotten? 

It just started Tuesday, March 5 when he was sneezing. No more sneezing. But did the sneezing trigger something worse? He is still barking. We never had this problem. We have the same routine no changes. Am walk, lunch time walk, afternoon walk at least 3hrs per day.. He is crate trained and cooperates with the daily routine. But this week has been a nightmare for us both:( He is barking before I get up in the morning and when I leave to work and on my lunch time for at least 2 hours straight each time. He starts with a growl for awhile then the loudest bark possible for a long time. I am so sad...what triggered this? How do I reverse it:(

 

Tuesday-Saturday

5:20-5:35AM Outside to relieve himself

Laydown near mom on leash out of crate

6:00AM-7:00AM  Outside for walk and play

7AM Eat

7:30AM Crate

12PM-12:45PM walk and eat

1PM -5PM crate

5PM-7PM Walk and Play

7PM-8:30PM hangout with family  

Sunday-Monday-  Flexible Schedule All day with mom (some crate time for naps)

Doggie Day Care 2times per month 4 hours at PetSmart

[Gail and Bailey]

I have a friend who used the "plug-in" stuff for anxiety and it worked great for her dog!  I also do what Laurie suggested and leave the TV on and a fan too sometimes.  Try a combination of these things and see how it goes.  Good Luck!

[David]

Have you thought your dog may have claustrophobia in the crate?  It can start at anytime.  I have and have had since my Shepadoodle pup was 8 weeks old is a baby play pen that we use for him for his own space.  There's no roof on it, and my dog is large enough to easily jump out but he never does.  I have always fed him in the pen so he associates it with pleasure.  Maybe give that a try?  I wouldn't crate my dog as he would probably bark the house down!

[Sharon]

Does your dog go into the crate willingly? It may be that they now associate going into the crate with you leaving. The crate needs to be a positive experience. Maybe throwing teats in there occasionally while you are home, which will connect the crate with positive reinforcement. I also would suggest leaving a TV or soft music on while you are not home if you are not already doing so. It may help with other noises that can cause anxiety or stress. Also, can you change your schedule so your dog doesn't eat and then immediately go into the crate. Evaluate how much exercise you are giving your dog both mental and physical (this is so important). We were able to quit crating our dog at about a year and we still keep the crate in our living room. Every morning he runs in there before we leave and he gets a tiny piece of freeze dried liver and a west paw brand toy with a tiny bit of peanut butter and a crunchy treat, which is frozen the night before so it takes him time to work on it while we are gone. We hire a pet sitter who comes in everyday and exercises him for an hour while we are at work. Our dog is very high energy and we do our best to make sure we offer him physical and mental exercise. I use a long lead about 30ft on our walks so I can give him room to run when possible. I very rarely feed our dog from a dish, mostly food dispensing toys such as the kong wobbler or place his kibble in a kong with a little very low sodium chicken broth and a little water, maby a smashed piece of banana or cooked plain sweet potato and then freeze it and it takes him about 30 minutes to eat his dinner and at the same time he receives mental stimulation. I hope you get some relief as I know how much we lover our 4 legged family members and how frustrating and stressful it can be when they go through there "stages". I included many of the things we found to work with our dog in hopes that maybe they can help you as well.

 

[Christine & Shelby]

Another great kibble dispensing toy is the Buster Cube. You can sometimes find them at PetSmart, but I know for a fact that Amazon sells them too!

[Puppy Love]

Great advice. So many great suggestions. I am feeling so confident today. Can't wait to go shopping and try some new things.

[Christine & Shelby]

So sorry you are having to deal with this... And I imagine the stress is magnified since you work for the apartment complex.

I think your schedule is great... for a younger dog. It seems a bit restrictive for a 9 month old (for example on leash sitting by you in the morning). He is probably full of energy and can't get it all out with just his walks. Have you considered testing him with out of crate time while you are gone? You may also want to consider more Playcare.... My Shelby is pretty high energy and has been going to Playcare all day twice a week for about 2 and a half years.

My guess is he is wanting some independence... The ability to be a dog and look out the window, chose where he wants to lie down, play with a toy, etc. Is there somewhere you can take him to let him run and run and run. Does he like to play ball. I would try some more rigorous exercise and also consider another option other than the crate. Leaving a TV or radio on could help. Hopefully some of the suggestions here may help with the problem. Getting him checked out is great... Always have to rule out a medical issue first.

Is it possible that the one day where everything changed there was something that caused him stress.... A fire alarm in the building, construction noise, thunder storm, power outages etc?

Keep us posted!!!

[Sharon]

Another thing I learned is to not coddle them or provide reinforcement for the unwanted behavior as this will only make things worse. I recall our dog all of a sudden being afraid of things on our walks. Items like garbage cans that were at the end of peoples driveways or recycling bins. He acted like they were going to attack him. I didn't force him to sniff them; however, I would walk up to the item and touch it myself without saying a word and that was all it would take for him to realize it wasn't a big monster. 

[Puppy Love]

You have excellent points and very kindy said. I take to beach and hikes he gets a lot of exercise but at my pace. I willfind a good safe place he can run. I think my structured schedule I was I need to be of sound mind, but I will give him a little more wiggle room;)

[Colleen, Jake & Baxter]

I would definitely have some type of noise in the background especially living in an apartment complex.  I know my own doodles would be barking like crazy with every little noise they heard.  I use a sound machine and/or having the radio or tv on is good.  The sound machine is especially good to have when we travel and take the dogs to unfamiliar places.  Do you have an area that can be cornered off?  Sometimes they do better in their own  little space instead of a crate. 

In addition, staying calm is good even though it is hard to do.  I know that if you persevere you will get through this. 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Maybe you should tell the neighbors who are complaining if they would stop making so much noise your doodle would stop barking at the noise ... lol 

[Puppy Love]

Love it. Yes every time my coworkers go to inspect they say they hear a lil dog yapping. Unauthorized dog I mihht add. I don't know who's bothering who, but the yapping pup is new at leat 30 day's.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think at this age, your doodle may be needing more mental stimulation as well as exercise. One thing I noticed in his schedule is that training sessions are not mentioned. Daily training sessions (they can be as short as 10-15 minutes) are a good idea for all dogs of any age, but especially for active young dogs under three years old. It can be as simple as working on holding a down-stay for a certain period of time. A good 15 minute training session can be as tiring for a dog as 15 minutes of play time.

I also agree with some of the others that he might be crated too many hours a day. By nine months of age, a dog should be fairly trustworthy with more freedom in the house. If not, all the more reason to work on training, lol.

And of course, a physical exam sounds like a very good idea to be sure there is not a medical reason for his behavior.