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Old April 9th, 2004, 01:27 PM
claudianbr claudianbr is offline
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Unhappy Help my dog wont stop barking!

Hi:

I know this is a behavioral problem but as my dog been under medical vet proven stressed before ..I wonder if this could be associated with it.
We just moved to a new home 4 months ago : an apartment and Sparkie our schnauzer wont stop barking when he is all alone at home.We lived before in a house were he never barked before.My father his owner and pal been sick with cancer and vasculitis for around 2 years now..and really everyone been stressed and busy around the house and this finally affected our pets .One of the cats was loosing hair ,other weight and our dog sparkie was quite stressed -jumpy as well.Our vet advised us about the situation and recommended as a priority lots of TLC and some kind of natural calm herb in their water called valeriana here in Peru.Which glady works wonders for all as they got better .But after we move Sparkie s new behavior about barking when its alone at home wont stop...
neighbors had started complaining and we are really looking for a
solution.

Ill really appreciated any help about this matter.,or from anyone who had beat this bad dog habit

Thanks,Claudia :-)
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  #2  
Old April 9th, 2004, 02:00 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Sorry to hear about your troubles.

One problem is that Schnauzers are very good watchdogs AND they are a breed that is prone to barking. Does the apartment building have a hall in front of your door where people pass often?
Living in an apartment, Sparkie nows hears people approaching the front door. He didn't have this happen in his old home.

He barks and they go away. He thinks "Wow - I'm good! They all leave when I bark!"
This is often a problem with having dogs like this in apts. The fact that this dog has had a lot of changes and stress don't help either.

Here is an article you may find helpful.


Barking when left alone
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  #3  
Old April 9th, 2004, 11:07 PM
claudianbr claudianbr is offline
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Talking THANK LUCKYRESCUE!

I REALLY APPRECIATED VERY MUCH YOUR QUICK REPLY AND I KNOW SPARKIE IS VERY THANKFUL TOO....
I THINK WE COULD TRY ALL THIS ,SPECIALLY STARTING BY LETTING HIM KNOW WE DONT LIKE HIM BARKING..SPARKIE IS A VERY NICE DOG AND I HAVE VERY HIGH HOPES ON HIM....

THANKS A BUNCH !

CLAUDIA
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Old April 11th, 2004, 12:03 PM
Bill & Bob Bill & Bob is offline
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Just a thought, and I have to say I didn't read the article yet, but my German Shepherd (that's Bob) was barking quite a bit when I left him too at the start. Started crate training and the barking has been reduced to a few minutes after I leave. Then he eventually settles down and relaxes. Of course that's until I get home and then he goes nuts with excitement, but that's reducing to a few minutes too. I think it takes time and patience. The kennel gives them a pretty strong sense of security, and if the people walking by is a problem, you could put the kennel in the bedroom when you leave.
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Old April 11th, 2004, 05:38 PM
claudianbr claudianbr is offline
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Talking Thanks Bill and Bob :-)

Hi Bill & Bob:

Well ,I just started the trainning (day-one)following the article .
I decided to start but just letting him know we dont like him barking no-no -NO!.....Well seens he got the message.
Our new apartment had the elevator direct to the floor and a back door that takes to the emergency stairs...not much people walks by the stairs....away from delivery,repairmen or Kala (the neighbors dog) when is ready to be walk in the park.
I can follow yet the reason why he barks when we are all away,he is pretty quiet when im home...my best guess them could be loneliness.
Bill I will like to try the crate but i dont know if would make him feel like trapped in an small space.....He isnt used to be confine even to a room so I really dont know if will work ..probadly will make him bark more....I really dont know ? but I will try if option one fails ..with Sparkie we never know......he is a very sweet dog and whats is for sure is that he stays !
Tomm im taking him to work with me :-)
Glady I own a business and can do things like it...


I will keep posting my progress and please -keep helping me with any input ideas! Please I know I will need them !

Thanks a bunch !

Claudia
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Old April 11th, 2004, 06:28 PM
Bill & Bob Bill & Bob is offline
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Claudia, I doubt that Sparkie will feel bad about being in a confined space if you put him in a kennel when you are out. I am a new dog owner as well, and I had the same concern. Once I did some reading though, I found out that they think of the kennel as a den. As you know, dogs as a species go way back and they are used to spending considerable amounts of time in a hole they have dug out or a cave of some sort. The kennel should be big enough to allow Sparkie to stand up straight, and turn around. That's it. Too big and they get stressed out. As well, they might go poop in the kennel if it's too big. If it's just the right size, they won't poo in there because they don't like to sleep in their own poo. Too small and that would be cruel.
Anyway, Bob loves his kennel. Usually. Sometimes when I put him in there he chews on the bars, but not for long. When I go out I put him in there and he barks for about 5-10 minutes, then calms down. When I'm at home, he sometimes just goes in there and hangs out. I put an old blanket in there for comfort. He does destroy the blankets sometimes when I got out, but he's getting better at that too. In fact if I give him a treat or a bone, he runs in there to eat it or chew on the bone. It's like his little private space. You're lucky if you can take the dog to work, but if you can't, I'd recommend the kennel.
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Old April 12th, 2004, 09:34 PM
claudianbr claudianbr is offline
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Wink Thanks .-)

hi Bill :

Bod sounds like a very nice care for and happy dog :-) !

Well ,this sounds that this could work with Sparks too.......maybe he needs his space...his scent,his toy,blanket etc...
Yes, im very lucky I can take him to work with me......but isnt what im looking for..I did expect Sparkie to learned to behave and stay home alone quiet as should.....but of course he isnt all home alone ---the 2 cats stay with him.....He gets along pretty good with the kitties ......but seens he felt alone anyways...too confusing lol .....
well got to get back to the training and to the his walk in the park.......
I will keep posting news.....!

Thanks,Claudia
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Old April 13th, 2004, 09:31 AM
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mona_b mona_b is offline
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I take it that since he was your dads dog then he was home all the time with Sparkie?If so,this could also be a bit of seperation anxiety along with the stress.

IMO,I would be very careful about the kennel(crate)..This could stress him out even more.Which could be more harmful.If you want to try this,I would slowly introduce him to it.I have never crated my dogs.But I have heard of the negatives to this in a stressed dog.

I have 2 GSD'S.I have had them as pups.They were doing a bit of the barking.But I did what was said in the link LR provided.The part that said leave the radio on.It worked wonders.After a couple of months I didn't need to leave the radio on.They were more into themselves and their toys to care that we were not home.LOL....Also,I made sure that they were exercised before I left the house.

The link has some great info to help you.

I have watched a trainer on t.v who used the methods in the link.He did a follow up.And they did an amazing turn around.

Good luck.
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Old April 14th, 2004, 03:16 PM
Bill & Bob Bill & Bob is offline
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Mona, you brought up some good points there for sure. You defenitely have to introduce them to the kennel slowly. Make it a happy place for them. Favourite blanket, that hopefully smells like the owner. Never put them in the cage for punishment. A friend of mine used to do that with his dog. Horrible idea. The TV or radio is defenitely a good idea though. Talk radio seems to be Bob's fave. And the excercise thing for sure. I've found that Bob doesn't get as stressed if I feed him just before I go out too.
I talked to the vet about the kenneling thing, and he said that Bob would benefit from it because he was experiencing separation anxiety though? Hmm.
That's great that you've got two GSD's to keep each other company though. I think the strategy to deal with a single dog might be different though. I now you know that though. A friend of mine has two huge dogs. They just sit and wrestle with each other in front of the TV when she goes out. Very cute.
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Old April 14th, 2004, 04:46 PM
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mona_b mona_b is offline
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Well my 2 were together for only 18 months.Then Tron went to go work with my brother.But I got my baby back a few months ago...

Usually,not always,seperation anxiety along with the barking they can be destructive.That's why crating is a must.

Since Sparkie is very stressed,then crating is not a good idea.As stated in the link.

To be honest,this is the first time I have had 2 dogs at once.It's usually just one.But I to went through the whinning,and barking with one.And I have never crated any of them.

I too have heard people using the crate for punishment.Then they wonder why the dog won't go in it.

Do you have a pic of BOB?
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Old April 14th, 2004, 05:10 PM
Bill & Bob Bill & Bob is offline
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Yup, I'll try and figure out how to get them up on this thing. I tried to figure out how to get the little picture under your name, but it said the file was too big.
The only ones I have are the ones taken at the SPCA when he was there. Don't have a digital camera.
Hmm, I'll try the picture section this time instead.
Wow, that was easy enough. I can't believe what a parent I'm becoming. I was cursing this thing because I could only put one picture up on there. Oh my.
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  #12  
Old April 16th, 2004, 08:42 PM
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woodbyter woodbyter is offline
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Barking Dog

I used to smoke a pipe and bought a great tobacco called Barking Dog- fine stuff.
Anyway back to the topic at hand. I had a terrier that barked in an apartment and we could not find out what set him off until a friend of mine pointed out that the apartment was a bit sparce on furniture-had a long hallway and wood floors. The dog would bark and it would echo in the apartment and he woud answer and they were off......He would bark for hours answering himself. We finally found by rearranging furniture and hanging some drapes were were able to dampen the echo effect and the dog was not as irritated by his own barking.
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