Leaving dog

He is suffering from separation anxiety. I am sorry I do not have an answer but your vet may well do as it is so common.

Welcome!

First of all, welcome lonniefrances. What a shame your little puppy reacts so badly to being left. I'm sure he'll get over it in time, but in the meantime you do need to find a solution, if only to appease your neighbours!

Have you tried an anti-bark collar? My DD tried one once on her black lab, and wasn't really ever so happy because she thought it was a bit too tight. I think they need to be fairly tight to actually have an effect on the dog. Try googling the term - there are plenty of results and hopefully some are better than others in terms of comfort.

Good luck, I do hope you manage to solve this.

NO!!no antibark collar too cruel. I think it will have to be small steps at a time and all sorts of ideas for fun stuff so he gets the idea that when you are not there he gets a great of so me sort. The latest thi gmy daughter hadsfor her labradoodle/Irish wolfhound (dont ask!) is a ball he pushes around withhisnp

Sorry!!

A ball he pushes around with his nose which every now and then delivers a treat he loves it!
This b....y tablet is driving me mad.

I've posted this on here before but it might be worth a try....A friend of mine had a pointer who suffered with separation anxiety which soon became a problem with neighbours.

Her vet advised her to have a 'special collar' (just an ordinary one but different to the normal one) which is put on just as you are about to go out. The dog is then given a Kong toy filled with soft meat which has been kept in the freezer so takes the dog longer to lick it all out. The Kong and collar must only be used at 'going out' time.

Start by just going out for about ten minutes then when you return you change the collar back straight away so the dog learns that the 'special collar' means you will come back. Gradually lengthen your time away and always follow the same ritual.

Sounds laborious but it worked for my friend.

whitewave I'm inclined to agree with you. I don't have any personal experience of the anti-bark collars as we don't have a dog. My DD tried one briefly and didn't like it as it was in her opinion uncomfortably tight. I just wondered if there were different kinds and she had been just unlucky with that one. If that is what they're all like, then yes I agree, they're just cruel.

I like your suggestion merlot, definitely sounds worth a try.

Welcome lonniedrances If you google Sharon Bolt dog trainer you will find all sorts of advice. She's often on our local BBC radio station and has some brilliantly simple ideas. Hopefully, one of them will be what you're looking for! Good luck

We built our Dogs Trust refugee up to a good 5 hours by gradual increments. The first thing is to decide where they are to be left - a part of the house they feel safe and literally start with a 5 minute slot with you just leaving the room and coming back. Then you leave the house (we hid in the garden for 19 minutes at first).There must be no 'goodbyes' its not like leaving a child.....just go. I read somewhere that it was a good idea not to make too much of a fuss of them when you return either...so we just say 'hello' and carry on as if nothing has happened. It took us about a fortnight but once you are past half an hour the actual time does not make much difference...dogs seem to live in the moment once they are settled. We have stuck to 5 hours as after that time she would need a loo break!

Thank you for your suggestions, I think our big problem is that even 5 minutes of him crying or barking is unacceptable to our neighbours. I do understand how annoying a barking dog can be and think we will just have to try a minute at a time and hope they will be able to live with that!

lonniefrances - avoid the anti bark collar and any other aversive techniques. Merlotgran's suggestion is a good one. Google separation anxiety in dogs and you'll find helpful suggestions.
I fostered an 8 month old labrador cross who was being re-homed because of what was described as severe separation anxiety. The dog had been crated, hated it, broken out of 2 crates (astonishing photographic evidence of that)
I went back to basic crate training. Feed the dog in her crate, door always open, everything that happens in the crate is positive, e.g. food, kongs , throw treats in, bits of chicken or hot dog sausage. Encourage the dog to be left alone for very short periods, 2 mins whilst you nip upstairs, close the kitchen door so she can't follow you everywhere. Stair gate at the bottom of the stair or stair gate on the kitchen/utility wherever the dogs crate is.
At night, cover the crate with a heavy dark cover. My foster dog cried fr 25 mins the first night, reducing nightly so that by night 4 she simply went to bed and stayed quite till I came down in the morning. Once that was achieved I began leaving her in the crate during the day. Initially for very brief periods e.g. 5 mins. By the end of a week, she could be left for 2 hours without problem.
Good luck to you - our next door neighbours are very grumpy if any dog makes a noise here, it's nerve wracking isn't it

Crates sound horrible. Why can't the dog be left with a bed?

whitewave, crates aren't horrible, but can be used badly. I was opposed to crates, saw them as prisons until I started to foster for a dog charity and learned how to use one. the puppy who came to me with severe separation anxiety benefitted, honestly! My lovely vet recommends crate training, says it leads to calmer (not repressed) dogs. My old rescue boy took to using the puppy's crate as his own safe place in the latter months of his life. He'd go in and snuggle up in the bed in there, which is exactly what they are meant to provide, a safe haven.

I should have mentioned, the dog is left with a comfy bed in its crate.

I suppose I am thinking how I would feel.

Yes, I understand that. I felt exactly like that before being crate trained, so to speak I first used one with my labradoodle pup and on reflection stopped a bit too soon because I felt mean crating her when the old rescue boy had the run of the house. She ate the CD rack, one of the legs on a dining room chair and made mince meat of the skirting boards in the kitchen - it's the labrador in them I fear. That was when left alone for as little as 30 minutes. I followed the advice of the expert trainer/behaviourist who runs the charity I volunteer for in crate training the puppy with severe separation anxiety. It was remarkable, within a week I could leave her overnight and for 30 minutes/increasing time during the day. Previously her owner told me she'd been hysterical, breaking out of the crate and destroying stuff.
One of my dogs came to me at about 5 months having been cruelly crated for 8 hours a day whilst her original owners were at work. I didn't crate her……

I think I could live with it if the dog was in it for no more than 2 hours. If I think about my dog and watch when he is asleep, he actually may start in his bed or may not. But what he does do is wander well sort of stagger, heavy with sleep all over the room from one spot to another, so for me a crate would restrict his normal behaviour.
If a dog is being destructive it maybe because he doesn't have sufficient stimulation, or isn't tired enough after a long walk, and suggests that he is being left too long

Two Christmasses ago we had a houseful including DD's two chihuahuas. We put their crate in the corner of the kitchen with the door open so they could escape for a bit of peace and quiet (and keep out of the way of many pairs of feet!)

After Christmas dinner when we were all slumped on various sofas/ chairs/beanbags/cushions, we heard a fearful racket coming from the kitchen. We were expecting to break up a dog fight but it was nothing more serious than sheer outrage from the chi's because our two Jack Russells had sneaked into their crate, cuddled up on the bed and.....closed the door behind them!

We've never used a crate but they are very successful in the right hands. DH doesn't like them but if we ever get another puppy (highly unlikely) I would be keen to crate train.

I used a crate for my dog in her first year. In the daytime it was her little place to sleep and keep safe if I had to go out for a short time - the door was kept open when I was there. At night, it was useful to train her to settle down when I went to bed. I passed it on to a friend for her puppy - when we visited, my dog would head straight for 'her' crate and park herself with her paws at the entrance as if to claim her home back. It was particularly useful in house training her to wait to go in the garden. I think they can be used badly and don't like to see dogs being sent to their crates for punishment or to exclude them from being with the family because of unwanted behaviour that needs training input.

My dog cried when I went out at first, but I taught her to endure a few minutes befire I came back, left her with an old jumper of mine and praised her on my return. Now, I just say I'm going out and she settles down in her basket. If I come back minutes later because I've forgotten something, she's stretched out on the sofa

I used to hate the idea of crates too, but used correctly, as documented by Iam they become the dog's 'den', somewhere it can go to chill and escape.

I also like Merlot's idea.

I think you should have a word with your neighbours and explain this is a temporary issue you are working to resolve.

Good luck [waggy tail emoticon]

PS as soon as I get my car keys my old mutt heads to the top landing so he can watch comings and goings on the street. He doesn't even have to be told anymore.

'Going out' rituals help a lot I think. Like Anya's dog ours react as soon as we pick up the car keys. They sit - knowing they will get a biscuit and the last thing we say as we go out is, 'In your beds!' They take their biscuits with them but the older one doesn't eat hers until we return.

Been busy googling! I think I was getting confused because he goes off to day care and to stay with other people without a backward glance, seems he is OK with leaving us, just not with us leaving him. I don't think I could use an anti bark collar, it wouldn't feel right but the neighbours tell me that environmental health will make me if they complain, any one know if that's true? I wish I could speak to them Anya but they are just not interested. Have now decided we will have to build up a minute at a time if that's what it takes. He is the most gorgeous dog in every other way and is helping my DH through a very challenging period of ill health. Thank you all for your help.

Dear little soul

I doubt that's true Lonnie though Environmental Health might take steps to prevent noise pollution if it is serious and prolonged.