insertcoolnamehere Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 My 4 1/2 month old puppy has developed a case of seperation anxiety. Its not when I leave her for when I go to school, shes not alone, she has the cat to play with, its when I leave her in the yard after her meal for an hour of quiet time... she won't shut up. Thing is, she never gets a chance to stop barking, because after an hour of non stop barking my mother surrenders and lets her inside, no matter how much I protest. This is only making it worse. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 This is not seperation anxiety as I know it It is merely a teenager not wanting to be somewhere, and training your mother to let her in!! The pup KNOWS that, if she barks long enough, grandma will open that door!! grandma has to be taught to IGNORE the pup Completely. When you put pup outside- what does she have to 'do' ? Does she have a food stuffed kong? A Bone? A nice rattly toy? If she is just put in the yard --- and of course she will not want to be alone-- she WILL bark. She is unhappy and wants to be with her pack . However, if she is fed in the yard...preferably with her food in a kong ,or treat ball/cube.... then the yard becomes a MUCH nicer place, and she will be happier to stay there I am sure others will have better suggestions - this is just what I thought of ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all that glitters Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 The fact that your mum has been letting her in while she is being vocal is going to make things a LOT harder now. Dogs work on what works for them, and if crying for however long means the ladys mum is going to let me inside, I will cry again next time -- even longer if I have to! Do you leave her with things to do out there -- yummy treats, a kong, a chew stick, a bone.. these will help distract her and get her comfortable out there. You may also have to desensitize her to being out there.. that is getting her used to you going out there with her, then getting used to you approaching the back door.. do it so many times that in the end she isn't phased by you going to the door. Then you progress to opening the door and doing that a lot, then over time you enter the door and close it, then open it immediately and come out.. this sort of gets them used to what's happening. With my girl she cries and whines when we leave for work but luckily she is only vocal for 5 minutes.. I am doing desensitization with her and doing multiple 'test run' lockups through the day when I am home and I have noticed a vast improvement already. But unlike you (cos your dog barks for a LOT longer than 5 minutes) I am able to wait til mine becomes silent for a few minutes, then I can safely re-enter the room without 'praising' the vocal behavior. I have gotten her down from howling and frantic barking to just slight whining now. Not to say she doesn't have bad days -- she still carries on loud some days, but I am hoping doing test lock ups a lot helps. See if you can get yours used to you walking in and out the door? The key with yours is to go back outside/let them in BEFORE they start to cry (cos once yours becomes vocal you should under no circumstance let them in cos it praises the behavior.. but an hour is too long to wait!) so getting in before the barking starts will help with the test runs Have you spent time out in the yard with the dog? Sitting with them, reading out there, letting them know that being out there is fine and safe. I try to spend more time outside than I usually would so my girl knows outside is a nice place to be too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insertcoolnamehere Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 (edited) I leave her with a Kong, about five bones (lol), water, toys, and her bed in a nice shady spot (dont have a kennel yet). I've spent time with her in the yard, maybe once a week she and I will go out there for about two hours (not much I know, but getting there). I will most DEFINITELY try the feeding thing. I have tried waiting for her to stop... but she just doesnt. When I say non stop... I MEAN non stop Edited February 21, 2010 by insertcoolnamehere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 What does the dog do if you were to put them in another room in the house instead of outside- this may be a good in between step. Otherwise- you do have to ignore the puppy. And given that it has worked a number of times you could be talking about a couple of hours to start with. The older the dog gets, the more stamina is gained and the longer the pup will be able to go for physically, let alone mentally. You need to either break it down into steps- crate training, using other rooms etc or ignore, ignore and ignore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insertcoolnamehere Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 What does the dog do if you were to put them in another room in the house instead of outside- this may be a good in between step.Otherwise- you do have to ignore the puppy. And given that it has worked a number of times you could be talking about a couple of hours to start with. The older the dog gets, the more stamina is gained and the longer the pup will be able to go for physically, let alone mentally. You need to either break it down into steps- crate training, using other rooms etc or ignore, ignore and ignore. Same thing. Barks non-stop. Once I get a kennel, I'll start doing little baby steps, then eventually leaving her outside when I'm at school. I gave her a pigs ear an hour ago - she hasnt even chewed a 1/4 of it (it's being nearly one 1/2 hours) and wont leave it alone, so I know waht snack to leave out next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Crate training inside with you nearby would be a good in between step. Where does the pup currently sleep over night? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insertcoolnamehere Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Crate training inside with you nearby would be a good in between step. Where does the pup currently sleep over night? She sleeps on the floor, at the foot of my bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Does she get free access outside or is it always the door is shut & she is either let out/in?? As he gets older what is the routine plan you are working towards(outside only,outside.inside etc etc) because the odd walk so far all pup gets what is the pups routine for play/interaction/independence at home?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insertcoolnamehere Posted February 23, 2010 Author Share Posted February 23, 2010 Does she get free access outside or is it always the door is shut & she is either let out/in??As he gets older what is the routine plan you are working towards(outside only,outside.inside etc etc) because the odd walk so far all pup gets what is the pups routine for play/interaction/independence at home?? She cant have free access outside because we have a Ragdoll cat and parents are scared he'll get stolen, so because of him the door always remains shut. I eventually want her to be outside when I'm at school. I've being in the yard more often lately, and giving her bones and such out there. I dont understand your last sentence though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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