Seperation Anxiety-Barking?!?

[Tara aka Harry & Wally's Mom]

Our 12 week old puppy crys/whines/barks when we leave the room. He is crated and anytime we leave the house with him in the crate he barks. I have been told by my neighbor that he crys the entire time we are gone, and this is not long intervals. I tried to leave him in crate in small intervals while we are home and he goes crazy. The only way he will sleep in crate at night is if he is ready for bed, otherwise he will bark and bark, we tried leaving him in crate and letting him bark until he stops but he does not stop! I mean he has barked up to 45 minutes then we have taken him out because we also live in a building and have to take our neighbors into consideration.

Any advice on getting him used to being alone and to stop barking?

He also barks at us if we are not paying attention to him?!?

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

I know I am going against popular belief and modern dog-rearing theory but crate training is not for every dog in my honest opinion.. Some dogs wont accept being caged. After all they arent hamsters or guppies! With my 4 dogs during my life, I have had to use different approaches. 2 accepted the crate, 2 would have nothing to do with it. The 2 that tolerated it - I never left them in there more than a couple of hours maximum during day time. The 2 that didnt tolerate it only slept in the crate made soft and comfy with blankets and cushions, beside my bed at night. If I had to leave the house I contained them in a blocked off area where accidents/chewing etc... could be kept to a restricted area. But not in the crate. It was torture for the 2 crate-haters. Serious torture. So I didnt do it.

[Ali]

Try this before using a bark collar that sprays or shocks them.

http://www.petco.com/product/14558/Ergo-Systems-No-Bark-Trainer.asp...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

My doodle accepted the crate so easily I was shocked. My English Springer Spaniel could not be crated - ever. We tried and tried and ended up putting him on the foot of the bed. He also had/has separation anxiety. We contained him in an area with a tile floor when he was little, however he destroyed and chewed whenever we were gone. He has gotten better and is fine when we leave him, but when we return he is so excited that he can't contain himself. He is a wonderful dog and I am so glad that we pushed through this. We consulted a trainer but got NO help. I have learned so much since joining doodlekisses. I would handle the separation very differently now.

[Adina P]

I'm a HUUUUUGE supporter of crates and would try my HARDEST to make it work for most dogs.
But I agree with "LuvLittleAbby" above that sometimes it isn't the solution for some dogs.

How long have you had Harry? If you just got him, it might just be a little adjustment period.
If you've had him for 4 weeks with no success...then maybe we can modify the crate a bit.

You might have success if you put an exercise pen AROUND the crate and leave the crate door open so he feels a little less confined. I would do it only in a room that is SAFE so that if he climbed out of the exercise pen he could do no damage to himself or your belongings. The key is still that the room must be safe...nothing wooden to chew on, no cords to destroy, no shoes, remote controls, etc.

You might have success if you cover the crate with a sheet and turn on the tv or radio and lights when you leave.

You might have success if you ONLY feed him in his crate out of Kong toys so he has something to keep him occupied and considers the crate a pleasant place.

You might have success if you work your booty off when you're home playing crate games with him so he starts to go in on command and is able to sit calmly in there with the door open for short periods while he gets treats from you...little by little.

You might have success if he's super tired before you crate him...lots of play outside, maybe doggy daycare or a training class.

When we got our oldest doodle she was 11 MONTHS old and supposedly 'crate trained' but she was incredibly anxious left in a crate. Even with us in the room she'd cry and whimper and bark and whine...it was excruciating. We ended up giving up on it and losing some things that she chewed up. But over time we still worked with her on it and at least kept a crate open. Now, although she does NOT need to be crated, she will use her crate for nap time on her own...she likes having a little space to crawl into and rest.

[Carol Kidd]

After looking at 2 of your posts about this dog, it sounds to me as though you have some dominance issues going on. I am a fan of the dog whisperer as I already mentioned to you. dogs respond very well to knowing their place in their pack. That is what they understand. You can't reason with a dog. You might want to watch a few episodes and begin to assert yourself and practice the simple, but very important details like making the dog wait to go through doorways until your have gone through first, walking next to or behind you while on walks, waiting to eat until you tell him it is okay to, things like that.
If he knows that you are the boss, he will go in a crate if you want him to.

[Sally]

He started to like the crate around 9 months?! That give me hope!!!! Duncan is now 6 months and goes crazy when crated (during the day only whether i am home or leave the house....bed time crate is not a problem). I work daily at it and hopefully he'll also push through this.

[Tara aka Harry & Wally's Mom]

Did you have trouble with crating at night? He wakes up at least twice a night and barks incessantly until we take him out and iþ is not because he has to use the bathroom he just wants out. He is usually up for at least an hour before going back to sleep.

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

This is what my Vet recommends on using ....

D.A.P, or Dog Appeasing Pheromone is being hailed as a "miracle cure" by some people who have found that it is extremely effective in treating separation anxiety in dogs. I would not go quite as far as calling it a miracle cure, it may be a very useful aid in helping your dog deal with separation anxiety.

DAP is a synthetic formulation of a pheromone that a mother dog releases when she has puppies. This pheromone makes the puppies relax and feel safe around her. Scientists have managed to recreate this pheromone and put it in a spray form, a diffuser form, and even a collar form.

D.A.P can be particularly effective in treating seperation anxiety as it triggers memories of the safety and security of puppyhood in the dog's brain and, in many cases, calms it down. D.A.P can be equally as effective with adult dogs or puppies, and has a range of uses beyond simply treating seperation anxiety. It is also quite effective in calming down a generally anxious dog, in introducing a new puppy to your home, or in taking a dog that gets car sick on car trips.

Using D.A.P

The form of D.A.P you use will depend greatly on your lifestyle and needs. The spray is very good for using in cars or kennels, in places where there is no electricity. The problem with the spray tends to be that it needs to be reapplied on a regular basis (every one to two hours.) If you are indoors, then a diffuser plugged into the wall can treat a room with a steady stream of D.A.P, which saves the trouble of having to respray all the time. A D.A.P collar is once again, useful for times when you are out of the house, or out of the D.A.P treated room. If you don't want to purchase a D.A.P collar, spraying D.A.P. on a bandanna and tying it around your dog's neck also makes for a good short term pseudo D.A.P collar.

D.A.P Or Training?

I must point out that D.A.P is not a substitute for the gentle training that your dog will need in order to overcome separation anxiety entirely, but it may be enough to take that edge of wild panic from your dog's reaction, and allow him or her to absorb the lessons which you are trying to teach it. The classic treatment for seperation anxiety is to leave the dog alone for a short period of time, and then return, until the dog learns that you will always come back when you leave. Once the dog is calm for a minute or two, you can start lengthening how long you are away gradually until your dog becomes comfortable with being alone for long periods of time.

Please check with your Vet and see if this is what he/she may recommend. I know several people who have used this and it has helped them.