Puppy Barking

[Mak]

My youngest daughter just got a chihuahua/toy fox terrier puppy. Nikki is about 12 weeks old now. He's adorable! LOL But she's having a problem with him barking when they are off at work during the day. She has a rather nasty downstairs neighbor who complains when her 3 year old runs across the living room, so she thinks he is behind the complaints. But the condo association has been rather nasty about it as well. They gave her no other warning than to call today and tell her they have had "complaints" and if they get one more complaint, she has to get rid of the dog. I think that's a bit unfair, but that's not the issue. She, of course, does not want to get rid of the dog. I know separation anxiety (and probably some boredon) is not going to be cured overnight, but I don't know what to tell her, either, since my dog has never had behavior like that. Is there anything she can do short term to lessen at least the noise so she can work on getting him better in the long term? And what can she do to get the barking under control completely? I know there are a lot people here with dogs, so any suggestions are really welcome! Thank you!

 

[mrslb333]

I have used the anti bark collars from Ebay and they are fantastic some vibrate others spray or give small electric shocks when the dog barks which seem to work well there are also things like http://cgi.ebay.com/Viatek-BC16G-Su...ultDomain_0&hash=item2eb361976a#ht_2024wt_905 she could also try a dap diffuser to see if that calms her pup

 

[Skyesrocket]

I wouldn't put an anti barking collar on a puppy. It seems like a lot to expect out of a pup that young to stay crated and not to bark all day.
She could try wearing the pup out with exercise in the morning before she leaves. But, again, that pup is young and probably unhappy about being home alone.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Quote:
Is the puppy crate trained? If not that will help a lot, get a small crate, one that the puppy can lay down comfortably, stand up and turn around in-- and thats it no more room than that. Second she can reduce his stimulation by putting a blanket over the crate. Third she can make things for him to do in the crate. Get a small Kong dog toy, puree some chicken broth, kibble and cottage cheese in a blender. Put a plastic bag around the larger half of the Kong and secure tightly with a rubber band. Make sure the plastic covers the hole taut. Fill with the thick mixture and freeze it. The puppy will have something to concentrate on during the day time. Its also a "meal" as well so they'll have to factor that in to what he's already getting in his ration.

Make sure they put the crate in a quiet room in the house, and cover it, then put the frozen Kong in just before they leave. A bedroom, laundry room. Not the living room and not by the door. Part of the puppies behavior is totally normal. This isn't Separation Anxiety. This is a bored baby animal. He needs to learn better and he'll only do that with some intervention at this point.

Hope this helps

 

[Mak]

Jamie- thank you! I will pass your ideas along to her. I did tell her that the problem is most likely bored baby. He does need something to do while he is alone. I use a kong with our lab even tho he does not have problems when we leave him. This one just needs to grow up a little. She does want to keep him, so she is willing to do whatever it takes. And he is a good little dog- not really his fault he's just a baby!

 

[Mak]

Skyesrocket- Yes, I think he needs to be more stimulated in the morning. I told her she can't expect a puppy to sleep all night quietly and also stay quiet all day. He needs more exercise and even maybe some training work in the AM to wear off some of that puppy energy!