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Old December 14th, 2005, 12:45 AM
t90princesst t90princesst is offline
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anti barking stuff

we've had teecee for 2 months now and he still has hissy fits when he gets put into his room. he's almost 5 months old now and he's a chihuahua. we gave him the downstairs bathroom as "his room." he's got water, a bed, a puppy bad and a TON of toys. he goes in there at night and then he gets let out at 7 am and then he goes back in at 9 am and then he gets let back out at 12pm and is normally out for the rest of the day unless we have to leave or if i have some thing important to do and i dont want him eating my stuff. oh and he has his own radio in there too. but when we do put him in there, he throws huge hissy fits. he never barks but he screams really loud and whines and it doesnt stop.

so my question is, will one of those anti barking collars or stationary things work on this?
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Old December 14th, 2005, 09:40 AM
jawert1 jawert1 is offline
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First off, you've said he's got everything he could possibly want in his room, problem is, he doesn't. He's not comfortable there and experiencing separation anxiety, which I'm sure you wouldn't want an anti-bark shock or spray collar on you if you were feeling out of sorts when someone you loved left the room. He needs to feel comfy in this space, as though it's his own. I would recommend playing with him IN the room, associating friendly happy times with it rather than "my parents dump me in here alone when they leave" thoughts.
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Old December 14th, 2005, 09:42 AM
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First, the anti-bark collars can't be used on puppies and can't be used on dogs of any age that are less than 10 lbs. They are also not to be left on a dog unsupervised. This is not an option for your dog.
What do you do when he has his fits. Do you say anything to him or let him out when he does this? If you do, this is why it is not stopping.
Make sure he has everything he needs and has done everything he needs to do before he goes in. He has eaten, gone to the washroom, has water in the room, safe toys and most important he has had enough exercise. Even though he is small he still needs you to exercise him. Rule of thumb. If he is doing laps in your home he is not getting enough.
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Old December 14th, 2005, 05:05 PM
t90princesst t90princesst is offline
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i woudlnt want to use a collar but one of those stationary ones that plug into the wall.

when he has his hissy fits we just ignore him. after he quiets down, he seems to like his room. he's got all safe toys, chew sticks, chew bones, a bone with peanut butter cuz that's his favorite and he has a down blanket in his crate, and i usually hide some treats in his blanket so he can find them.

i think he gets upset because i am not there with him. we have a baby gate on the stairs so he cant go up there and if i go upstairs for a minute he sits by the gate and cries and screams. i'd love to have him sleep in our room but he has to be able to not eat things when he is left alone and he hasnt learned how not to be a "weirdo yet" lol thats what i say when he's being bad. so until then, he HAS to get over me not going to bed with him or not being able to go in there with him when i have to leave. any suggestions?
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Old December 14th, 2005, 05:32 PM
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you have an anxiety problem not a barking problem.
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Old December 14th, 2005, 06:01 PM
t90princesst t90princesst is offline
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right i understand that and the barking thing i saw online says barking, whining and anxiety which is why i wanted other opinions on what to do. because he's been doing this for 2 months straight now and nothing works.
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Old December 14th, 2005, 08:30 PM
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If the dog has had this habit for 2 months and it is just 5 months old. You will most likely need a behaviourorist to solve the problem. I'll put it bluntly, You created this problem by introducing the dog to the lock-up incorrectly. It's all well and good that he has food water and toys. But what he doesn't want his own room, he wants to be with you. You can't just take a pup and shut him away isolated. You have to introduce it slowly to him. It will be very difficult to get him comfortable there, to him that place is 100% stress.

You really should get a pro. Personally I would give up on the room and get a crate. Put the crate in the most active room of the house and put the dogs waterbowl in the crate. Feed the dog in the crate, open at first, for a week or so, then closed while you feed. Let the dog out after it finishes eating. Slowly extend the time in the crate after feeding. When the dog is comfortable with the crate put it close to where you sleep and thedog in it at night. Slowly move the crate away from your bedroom and to a final place for it.Like the kitchen.

Don't put the crate in the room where the dog has been stressed in. Don't ever let him out if he is crying. AS you train,don't leave him in so long that he starts to cry. You'll need to learn the stress signs your dog shows so you let him out well before he cries.

Anyway, read up and find someone experienced with this to correct it. It is unlikely you will be able to fix it on your own.

And take all the toys away. Bring them out for play time then take them away. DOn't leave food out for the dog. Feed twice a day, what ever he doesn't eat in 5 minutes take it away.
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Old December 14th, 2005, 09:04 PM
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Don't get me wrong, I just feel really sad at how much time your pup has to be by himself. You have to get into a childlike state of mind and just imagine what you would feel like if you were just a little guy getting left by your mom in the downstairs bathroom.
I have an extremely destructive dog, this is how she was when I got her, instead of putting pup away, work on the problem, pup won't learn by being segregated, someone said to put the crate in high traffic area, that's a good suggestion.
My dog is like a baby, I have to watch and listen to her alllll the time. When I sleep, I'm always ready to spring up and catch her in the act. I just keep everything else amazingly clean, this lessens the likelihood of her chewing on things that will upset me.
When I first got our dog, she was far worse than she is now, you would be surprised what giving your pup a bit of trust will do for them. And when they break the trust, then you also go back a step.
It's a hard thing to do, to train a dog or a pup, get some help, a behaviourist, as was suggested before, all you can do is work hard at it.
To make sleeping in my bedroom easier, I close the door with the dog in the room, that way I know for certain that I can hear her doing her naughty things, if that's what she's up to, but she rarely gets into trouble at night anymore.
BTW I also have a small dog, small dogs are prone to behaviour problems, often due to over breeding and breeding of animals with undesireable behaviour traits, (just to make a buck), they don't always grow out of it. You kind of just get used to it, and ask God to help you on the days you don't think you can.
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Old December 14th, 2005, 09:14 PM
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This is a training issue and needs to be treated as such. There is no quick fix.
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Old December 14th, 2005, 09:21 PM
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Putting any kind of anti-barking device on the pooch (or even just in the room) will agravate the problem -- probably exponentially. I would find a really good training book on Seperation anxiety or, better yet, follow everyone's advice and get a trainer.
Seperation anxiety is a very comon problem, and there's lots of info out there on how to deal with it and how to help reduce your dog's stress.
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Old December 14th, 2005, 09:29 PM
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Good article:
http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dogsepanx.htm
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Marie-Eve and Buster (5 year old-ish rescued Boxer)

Deep thought, by Jack Handey : "I think my new thing will be to try to be a real happy guy. I'll just walk around being real happy until some jerk says something stupid to me."
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Old December 14th, 2005, 10:20 PM
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Just out of curiousity,when he gets a hold of things he shouldn't,what to you do?

Is he destructive?
How much exercise does he get?
How much do you play with him?
Has he been this way since you got him?
When you let him out in the AM,has his toys been ripped apart?
What is the first thing you do with him when you let him out in the AM?
What is your daily routine with him?

Sorry for all the questions.But depending on the answers you give will determine if he indeed has Seperation Anxiety.

As Stacey said,it could be a training issue.
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Old December 15th, 2005, 03:22 PM
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This is not about correcting the barking/screaming - its about correcting your world in relationship to your dog. All night and then 1/2 the day in isolation does not raise a puppy with a stable and confident personality.
There is nothing wrong with confining your dog - but it should not be the majority of his life. And how you confine him can play a major factor in how he deals with it.
You brought home a baby and need to stimulate his mind, body and soul. Granted there are times when he needs to learn to be alone and self entertain, but this current scenario isn't working. And adding an electric shock or chemical spray isn't going to fix the core issue.
Using a crate in the bedroom at night, or living room during the day would be much better. At least he knows that someone is there looking out for him and he can be entertained by whats going on in the room. Sleeping next to you in his crate he can hear you breathe, snore, shift about and he is reassured that you are there and he is safe. Learning to relax in his crate (den) in the living room will be far more satisfying to him then being shut up in a room. You need to help him learn how to be alone and not to associate it with you being gone. Sometimes he's in the crate when you are doing dishes or watching TV. He gets his best toys/bones in there. Make it a happy place and teach him how to feel good about being in there.
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Old December 15th, 2005, 04:35 PM
t90princesst t90princesst is offline
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he really isnt alone cept for at night. i cant keep him in my room because i have 3 other cats who dominate that room and i really dont want them to have to give up their routines. that may sound silly or stupid.

teecee doesnt mind sleeping in his room. its the fact that i am not in there with him. my boyfriend lets him out between 6 am and 7 am and they play until 9 am. i really dont know waht they do in the morning. i know for sure teecee eats breakfast and they place fetch or games and then around 9, teecee falls asleep and my boyfriend puts him in his room and he goes to work (he works from home so he's at home all day also). then between 11 and 12, he lets teecee out and then i come down stairs and i'm with him from then until midnight. and when i put him in there for lunch, its only for 20 minutes. we had a baby play pen for him to put him in when he couldnt be around us and he spent the entire time screaming and whining because he could see us but couldnt play with us. and we put that away last week and he says out unless we are eating or we have to leave. and like i've said before, if my boyfriend puts him in, he's fine. but if i am downstairs when he goes in, he freaks out.

Is he destructive? not really. well not on purpose. he likes to eat paper so if he finds it, he eats it but he doesnt do it out of spite.
How much exercise does he get? he gets a TON. in the evening we have about 30 minutes of straight play time and then 30 minutes of learning time where we practice sitting and staying and his new thing is lie down. and then he and my boyfriend have their own play time. and THEN he runs laps around the living room every hour or so. no, i dont make him do it, he just does it. he runs figure 8s and then grabs his favorite toy and runs some more. and on the weekends, we take him to the park and we run run run cuz he loves to run.
How much do you play with him? all day long. i do classes from home so we spend all day together. usually i'll throw his toys across the room and he runs back and puts them on the couch. and then when he gets tired he curls up beside me for a while then he's ready to go again.
Has he been this way since you got him? yes, it was much worse the first couple of weeks. he would scream for an hour straight. but now its only for abotu 5 minutes and then he's fine.


What is your daily routine with him? let see our day together starts at noon. and he's usually really hyper so we play for a while. then we settle into the couch to watch a little tv. around 2 i eat lunch so he's in his room until 2:20-2:30. then he's back out and we play the throw the toy game. then he naps from about 3:30 until 5. then its play time again. my boyfriend gets off work at 6 so if we have errands we go run those and are back around 7-7:30 then we let him back out and around 8 we have play/learn time. and around 11 pm he falls asleep on my lap on the couch.
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Old December 15th, 2005, 04:42 PM
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If he's fine for your BF but not for you then it comes down to relationship. He knows that whining will work with you and he's willing to go the distance until you rescue him. You need to work on his respect for your word. When you say it's time to be quiet then it's time, and no arguing. I would go back to the play pen or use a crate and teach him proper manners.
Also, one tiny issue - this dog could live for 20 years. Is it fair to him that he is out of the bedroom for his life because of the cats? Better to teach them all how to get along and have 20 years of harmony. Even if he was in the crate in your bedroom he would like that better and the cats would be safe. Just a thought.
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Old December 15th, 2005, 08:42 PM
t90princesst t90princesst is offline
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what i meant was that until he learns to behave and not chase them or eat their toys he cant sleep in the bed room. i'll bring up the play pen from the garage and try it. i konw he's very attatched to me. and i try not to baby him too much. espcially when he does some thing wrong. and he's gotten better. and its not a huge problem i was jsut worried about him being too anxious and wanted to help him feel better and not just stop the whining. i am more worried about him.
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Old December 16th, 2005, 10:58 AM
jawert1 jawert1 is offline
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I would recommend as well getting him started in puppy classes now, he will learn confidence this way, as well as your relationship will solidify with you in a leadership role the same as your bf
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Old December 16th, 2005, 03:33 PM
t90princesst t90princesst is offline
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we plan on starting him in classes in january. he's so smart so i cant wait to see how he does in class.
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Old December 16th, 2005, 04:43 PM
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I have 2 crates for my pup - one in my bedroom, and one in the kitchen. I also have 2 cats, that sleep in my bedroom (usually with me) at night. My pup is now 9 months, and when we go upstairs to bed, he runs right up ahead of me, and directly into his crate. I don't even have to close the door anymore.

As for the kitchen crate... it took me a few weeks to find a good location, I tried the dining room (he cried), the livingroom (he cried), our back porch (heated, carpeted, 2nd livingroom type of porch) - he cried... finally I put it in the kitchen... and viola! that was the winner! he ran right in, layed down, and was content just being there while I made dinner and such. Now I just say "Tucker, kennel" and he goes in. no fuss.
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