I need help

[imported_Ivan Arache]

Well, I don't know if this is the right forum to post this, but here i go...I have a 7 months old fox terrier and im having problems in the building i live because of her, whenever we have to go out and leave her alone she stays barking for hours...they gave me kind of like an ultimatum....either we have to make her stop doing that or she will have to go.... =o/. I don't know what to do... I asked a vet and he told me that the only thing he can suggest is some operation to mute her...but i don't like that idea, i wouldn't like to lost my voice just to please someone...anyway...I 'm just trying to get some other advice to see if theres a less drastic way to fix her problem....

Thanks for your time....

[Marthina McClay]

Hi Ivan,

I had the same problem with my Pomeranian (Ted) along time ago when he was young. He died a few weeks ago at 14 yrs so I obviously worked things out with him. I would NEVER give up on him.

I lived in a condo with him and had complaints as you have with your little guy. My Ted would go out on the patio and bark until I got home. The neighbors would call the police on him and the police would leave their card on my door, etc. I also had the altimatum thing too. I never did the operation and I considered at one point a shock collar and COULD NOT do it. I did eventually move to another condo and went around and talked to my neighbors when I FIRST moved in and told them I had a little dog that barks when I'm away and if he gets too bad I will start leaving him inside with the patio door closed. This worked and in the 6 years I lived there, there was one complaint.

Now what I would do is if I had him again, I would crate him. I always thought that this was a bad or cruel thing but it isn't at all. I now have a pit bull that I adopted and she goes in her crate every morning for about 4 hours. I'm home in the afternoons and work at night but my roomate comes home to watch her so it's not for 8 to 12 hrs or anything. I put a Kong filled with frozen peanut butter in there with her and a Nylabone and go. There are great books and crate training and how to make it so they like it which are very helpful. I think this is better than an operation or mad neighbors. My Tel also peed in my house as he was left loose.

Let me know what you think. You can also ask your vet - maybe you're already using a crate. Like I said if I had my young Ted I would use a crate for him - the neighbors wouldn't have heard him IF he barked AND he probably wouldn't have been barking in the first place as the crate helps them be calm.

Hope this helps and I hope it wasn't too long.

Marthina

[Colleen]

Have you considered using a bark collar? They make two kinds, one that sprays a little puff of something (citronella, I think) every time they bark and another that issues a small shock whenever they bark. Both are supposed to help reduce barking immediately. The shock collar might not be a good idea for your small dog. I think there is also an area one, that you can use if she stays in the same area while you are gone, i.e. the kitchen.

Have you looked into these?

[Grace Erick]

I know with my chi, it's in their personality to warn you to various sounds and that's what makes them bark, they are "alert" dogs. Luckily I live in a house and there is no noise around where I live. Can you put your dog in a back room in your condo to muffle his barking?

If you lived in an apt., you could move to a house w/one apt. where the owner is gone all day, but I see you have an investment in a condo. I know this is a long shot, but there are houses where you can rent to buy, so you pay rent and it goes towards the purchase price of the house so you still have an investment.

[Andre Mendizabal]

Crate idea is good, do you have time to exercise her before you leave? This is how it works: you feed her, you take her for a walk (fox terriers need lots of exercise) or for just for play, but you do it intense, so that she is tired (a 1 hr walk works for my beagle) , then you get ready to go out and crate her, give her a stuffed kong or a favorite toy (if you don't have her crate trained, go look the articles in crate training forum, or ask Laura) and leave her there, dogs like crates if correctly introduced to them, unlike everybody thinks, dogs like their little personal cozy place... That way she will be tired and asleep most of the time, you didn't say how long you leave but it should be quite a while for neighbors to be so annoyed, so, and if you can find somebody to do it or can afford it, have someone come over and take her out for a second walk, and then leave her crated. My guess is she's bored, but if that doesn't work there's a good chance she has separation anxiety and there are experts out there that will help you with it...

Anyway, good luck with your girl!!!!

And remember, a tired dog is a good dog!!!!
:)

[Renee]

Hey guys-

I would not recommend a bark collar to anyone for the following reasons:

1. A dog can tell when the collar is around their neck and when it is not.

2. These collars can also be set off by other things besides your barking dog. (Barking of other dogs may set it off. Also hitting the collar against any type of surface has been known to set them off). This can create inconsistancy and the dog does not understand why it received the shock.

3. When people use positive punishers (as any type of electronic collar is) it is very difficult to know what degree of punishment is consistent and not too severe for the dog and what is not severe enough (habituation). Lets face it - thats why they have diffent levels of shock settings on electronic collars.

4. The dog can easily associate the shock with children, dogs, the backyard (or other location) instead of the barking. Sometimes this creates/fuels aggression problems. This is a dangerous road to travel on... A very common story that I hear is that an owner has 2 or more dogs. The owner has a dog that has a barking problem and puts a anti-barking shock collar on the dog. A few weeks later the dog (with the shock collar) starts attacking the other dog because of the negative associations that have been made. Some people have had to re-home their beloved pets because of this....its very sad.

5. Many dogs simply don't understand why they are being shocked. It is very stressful. They shut down and become nervous. I've seen people abuse their dogs with shock collars and then their dogs start deficating in the house. The owner then doesn't understand why the dog is going to the bathroom in the house (this baffels and appalls me). We often see this with animals that are stressed out - deficating in the house is just one of the signs of stress.

Shocking a dog doesn't address the underlying problems that are causing the dog to bark. Counterconditioning, desensitization, and managment ARE the ways you improve backyard barking. Teaching "watch" is an excellent way to start the process because the stimulus that is setting off the dog has such a stong visual component to it.

Using quick "fixes" like electronic collars may or may not work in the short term, but it will be damaging to the relationship you share with your dog in the long term - we call it fallout. The fallout risk is very high with when you decide to use a shock collar on your dog. We need to remember that there is no such thing as quick fixes or free lunches in life. So take the extra time to learn how dogs learn, base your training on how they learn, spot trouble before it becomes a problem and work on it the best you can. It will pay off in the long run.

[imported_Elizabeth Coleman]

As you can see from my post - I had a similar problem. Crating is a great idea, and it gives your puppy a sense of his own space - just make sure the crate is always clean & has plenty of room. Give him a few toys to play with & see how that goes. Both of my boxers are crate trained & choose to sleep there at night, every night. During the day, they are outside. I also have a VERY precocious Italian Greyhound & he stays inside allday. He will sleep in his crate, most of hte day. At first, we left him there during the day, in 4 hour stints, when he was puppy teething. Now it's much better. I have tried the no-bark collars, but only on my boxers. I don't think I would recommend them for anything smaller than a large (50lbs plus) dog.

PS - do leave the crate on linoleum, in case you don't get home in time & he can't help but lift his leg... that, or put plastic under & around until he's used to the time he spends there.

[Krysta Smith]

Hi Ivan!

I have a 5 1/2 month old pug/fox terrier cross and she does the same thing if I put her in her crate and she's wired up. She'll bark constantly and dig at the door. I try to give her LOTS of exercise before she goes into her crate. I find that after she goes on her puppy rampages (anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes of solid running) she settles really well and goes to sleep almost immediately, as long as I give her a few minutes to settle down before she goes in. Playing with her for a while helps as well, as long as she's drained a whole bunch of energy she's fine. If I have to go out for longer tha half an hour I leave a stuffed kong and nylabones in her crate. I usually leave the tv or radio on so she doesn't feel completely alone.