The barking problem
I have had my cute little baby for almost a week now. She is extremely well behaved except when it come down to one little(okay, BIG) thing. I cant get her to stop barking when she is crated.
I am starting to get at my wits end on this. As soon as I put her in her crate and leave the room or leave the house she starts barking at the top of her puppy lungs and wont stop until I get back. I live in a apartment and the neighbors are already getting annoyed.
The crate is located in my living room, I tried covering it with a blanket, she eats the blanket, I have tried two different ones, but she has already destroyed them both. There is no point to putting her crate in my room because I work a graveyard shift and she is going to have to learn to be alone at night no matter what.
For the first two days I didn't leave, I would tell her "No Bark" and try and calm her and it kinda worked.
I tried "No Bark" with the addition to a soda bottle filled with change and that lost its effect after about a day.
The night when I left for work I was able to sneak out while she was asleep and the neighbors said she was quite for most of the night until the early morning.
The next night I tried everything to get her to sleep before I left but I just couldn't do it. When she saw be go out the front door she instantly started going nuts and barking, but I had no choice and had to leave. This time the neighbors said the entire night she was crying and howling.
For the next night I was able to temporary have her stay over at one of the neighbors house with her dog, and she said she didn't make a peep the entire night. She also has another dog to keep her company, but unfortunately I cant make that a everyday thing.
For the next night I bought this little box that emits a ultrasonic sound every time she barks. I tried it out for the night and didn't say anything to her and just let the ultrasonic thing do all the work. It didn't bother her in the least bit and she went right on barking though the whole night, even when it was place just a few feet from her crate. I know the thing is working because I can hear it myself.
I think she has been barking for two reasons.
1. She is lonely and misses her family, I can understand that but how long could it take her to get over this? She has been my 4th dog and I never remember having them bark like mad for days on end.
2. If she soils her cage she instantly starts howling. She unfortunately doesn't wiper or anything before she has the accident and I don't know until she starts crying afterward. I have a crate that has a training wall so I took it down so if she does have a accident she doesn't have to stand it in but it hasn't made a single difference and she continues to bark.
- During the day I can quickly take her out, clean up the mess, take her for a short walk then put her back so I can trying and get some sleep and for the most part that works. She always has a fit when I put her back that last about 5-10 minutes then normally is quite for the next hour or two till she needs to potty again.
- Never have I ever taken her out of the crate while she is barking or howling or crying, I have always waited till she calmed back down before I try and take her out of her crate.
- She has some toys in her crate with her in case she gets bored. She has a kong and a nylobone that seems pretty indestructible so she does have something in case she gets bored.
- No food in the crate and water only during the day is allowed in the crate.
- I would also say at night it is the worst, there unfortunately is nothing I can do to let her go potty outside while I am at work. My job will not allow me to leave and come back on my lunch break and I am gone from about 10:30pm to 7:15am. There isnt anyone in my family or any neighbors willing to take her out to go potty at night either. I have looked into a sitter, doggy day care or a walker. But no one is willing to walk her at 3am, even if it is for a week or two until she is old enough to hold it though the night, the doggy day care I am running into the same problem again and they only offer to crate her at the place and change the nightly rate for it which is 50-80 a night so that is out of the question as well.
I am about at my wits end already. I haven't been able to sleep for longer than 2-3 hours for almost a week now and it is really taking its toll. I will return the ultrasonic machine today and replace it with a citronella spray collar, but I see really mixed reviews on it as well, and I don't feel very comfortable leaving it on her all night in her crate because of a choking hazard but I feel I have really been left with no choice.
If that doesn't work I guess I could move on to shock collars, but I have always really hated them and never had to think about using one and because she is so young I am afraid it could leave her fearful.
Anyone have any ideas of something I could do or try to get her to stop barking at night?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on
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Are you making sure that she gets plenty of time outside of the crate as well? It'll probably take some time to get her used to your schedule, but making sure she gets plenty of exercise will help out quite a bit as far as getting her to sleep at night.
Also, how are you crate training her? Do you use treats and practice throughout the day?
Some people also like to set the crate up attached to a pen so that the pup can have some freedom and have a pee pad to potty on instead of inside the crate. I realize that being in an apartment means you're limited on space, but maybe you could find something that would work.
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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Have you tried an xpen? You can use it just by itself or try hooking it to her crate. She's still pretty young to be expected to hold it for ~9 hours so I would put down some newspaper in the corner she can use and still have a clean place to lay down. Do you leave the tv or the radio on?
How much exercise is she getting? You could take her to daycare once you got home from work. You would get some quiet time for sleep and she would be tired that night from all the activity.
I personally would never use a shock collar on a dog, especially such a young puppy. Honestly I'd rather see a dog de-barked than put through that.
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Permalink Reply by Chezza on
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Yes, I leave the TV on every night, also tried some music of birds playing and wind chime and left a light on for her.
I am pretty sure she is getting enough exercise every day, she get at least a 20 minute walk in the morning and a 40 minute walk in the evening, I wont let her sleep after 6pm and I dedicate all the time to playing with her until I go to work. The last hour before I leave I start winding her down and petting, holding and talking to her.
I don't know if I could trust her in a pen all night if she got out or knocked it over it could be a real disaster.
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Permalink Reply by Ellen Andersen on
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I think, if you have the space, the x-pen or some sort of bigger enclosed area with a piddle pad available, is a good idea. The hours you are gone is too long for her. A little pup that young can't hold it for that many hours. Perhaps try that? It might help.
I think your little one is lonely. Maybe leave a talk radio channel on on low volume...maybe the sound of peoples voices will help.
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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Marie O'Bryan on
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a shock collar?? that will traumatize a dog let alone a small pup. please do not use that, that will only make things worse such as making her hate her crate and think that its the worst thing in the world. im sorry that this is getting out of hand. but here is something that has worked for other people in my training class. since shes young she thinks that when u leave it might be forever, even though u keep coming back. try putting her in her crate and give her a kong or something very tasty. close the crate, and take a step back. open the crate and tell her good girl or reward her with a treat. close the door again and get farther and farther away and reward every time she is quiet. if she stays quiet go out of sight for just a minuet. and walk back in and open the crate and pet her. then go out of sight again for 2mins. she may cry but only come into sight when she has calmed down. this is showing her that barking gets her nothing but being quiet get rewarded. she will get it but it take a couple times until she really gets it. it may take a few days.
and sometimes a squirt bottle works too, its humane and i have seen it work but the problem is u have to be there to spray it:) lol good luck and let us know how she does
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I would attach the playpen to the crate and have a potty area.
Once they become frantic, letting them bark does not help and at this point you are conditioning her to hate the crate.
Get a pen, set it up, and use it. In the meantime, backtrack on the crate training. Get a Kong, spread it with cream cheese or peanut butter, Put her in, close the door, leave her for a few minutes and WHILE SHE"S STILL EATING the cream cheese or peanut butter, open the door again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Feed her in there, then let her out. Give her a treat in there and let her out. The key is to let her out again while she's still happy. Gradually increase the time, but mix it up. Sometimes crate her for 30 seconds, sometimes for 5 minutes, but always (at first) while she's occupied. Then I would move up to opening the door when she's finished snacking but before she starts barking, and increase from there.
The pen gives you a safe place to confine while you are working at reintroducing the crate. And please, stop using any aversives. Don't get the spray, put away the pennies. The dog should only have positive experiences in the crate, never any punishment.
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This is the pen I have. It's very sturdy. If you're super worried about it you could zip tie it to something so there's no way she could tip it over. IMO it's not really fair to expect her to sit in a soiled crate all night, even if she can still lay down. I can't imagine it helps her potty training progress either.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00020L78M
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Maybe I will turn the kitchen into another play area, it is box shaped and she doesn't mind being in there. I will just have to spray every cabinet down will bitter apple spray. It is also just around the corner of her crate so I can connect them with a minimal amount of carpet in-between.
I guess I could be more consistent with how long I am gone and very it so I am not always gone for 8 hours, then come back. In her mind one hour could seem like a week to her.
I don't think I am being too unrealistic with how long she is in the crate. I have gotten a max of 5 or 6 hours sleep every night since she has been here and she gets at least 1- 10 minute walk every hour or so. Then she is in there while I am at work, when she should be sleeping anyway.
I really don't mind the barking but when it is at 3am it keeps all the neighbors awake and the worst thing that could happen is they tell me the her or both of us need to leave and I am not willing to give her up.
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Bitter apple doesn't work very well in my experience. I'd still use the pen or you may find thousands of dollars of damage to your cabinets.
I'm confused about how long she is crated, but if a puppy is being crated over night it probably shouldn't be crated in the day time as well. That's way too many hours of not being able to move; her bones and joints and soft tissue may not develop properly any more than a child's would if the child was forced to lie on the couch most of the day and then sleep in a crib at night.
We linked the pen to the crate and it is very sturdy. It holds an adult dog, let alone a puppy. If they jump the pen shifts around a bit but it can't fall over unless the pup is strong enough to tip the whole thing, crate and all.
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Alright, to the pet store! I will get the exercise pin to better secure the kitchen area.
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http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Black-Exercise-Pen-Inches/dp/B000H8YT...
We have this one. It attaches right to the crate with big clips.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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The Kong in the crate with smeared cheese or peanut butter will help her adjust to a rest period which will usually help her sleep instead of barking. However, nothing will work without plenty of exercise so she is tired when you leave. That means a good brisk walk for at least 45 minutes before you leave. A tired puppy will sleep. Otherwise check out some doggy daycare options for a couple days a week so she will relieve some of that natural energy.
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