Excessive Barking when I'm Not Home

[Arobryn]

Hi all - unbeknownced to me my boy Blue has become one of those annoying neighborhood dogs. When we're gone he's outside barking. (The most frustrating part is that the neighbor has waited over a year and made calls to the city before contacting me - drives me batty that people will take any other route rather than just talk to their neighbor) Anyway, once I found out I started closing the doggie door except when we're home to monitor his barking, but now and then he gets out anyway so I've considered getting a 'bark silencer'. Either the "Ultimate Dog Silencer" or "Dog Silencer Pro":

http://www.ultimatebarkcontrol.com/products.htm


And I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were.

I know the reason he's barking - it's a mix of pent up energy and seperation anxiety and the fact that he's still fairly young (1.5 years). When he's locked in the house he's fine - not destructive, doesn't bark excessively (I've lingered after leaving and come home silently many times to verify), but if he's allowed to get outside he's like a kid hyped up on caffiene - he gets all roudy. I do leave things to keep him occupied - toys, bones, chews, the other dog (who is completely opposite of Blue and doesn't really want to play), and I alternate things to keep it interesting and we try to exercise regularly (generally some fun games in the morning, hide and seek and some sit/stay things then out for a walk in the evening), but now and then things get hectic and we don't get in as much as he needs and that's when he gets unruly.

So I have a short term and long term goal -

Short term I'd just like to keep him from being obnoxious if he gets out and I'd like to hear what people's experience is with the bark control devices.

Long term I'd like to train him not to bark excessively when we're not home, but I'm not sure how to do that. I'd like to be able to leave him with friends and not have to worry about him barking when they're at work (although, my friends have dogs he loves playing with so it might not be an issue).

On a side note, I realize now that this was probably preventable so if there are any new puppy owners reading this I HIGHLY recommend maintaining control of your puppy's environment for at least the first year. It seems very domineering, but I can clearly see that if I had he wouldn't have learned this behaviour. Some of it was instigated by neighbor kids taunting him when he was younger so it's also for their own safety.

~ L'aura

[littledmc17]

Why isn't he in a crate in the house?

[AbbyK9]

I don't know what your outside area looks like or what kind of fence you have, but if your pup is barking outdoors when he is alone but not indoors, then it's very likely that he's barking because there are fun things to bark AT - people walking past, different noises, squirrels in the trees, the neighbor's cat, the neighbor's dog, etc. etc.

There are many reasons why it is not a good idea, for both the dog's safety and the owner's peace of mind, to leave a dog outdoors or with access to the outdoors when nobody is nearby to supervise the dog. Your neighbors might be a pain by complaining to the city about the barking, but other neighbors may take things into their own hands by throwing poisoned meat over the fence or shooting your dog. It can happen to you. It has happened to people on this forum.

If your dog is quiet while he is indoors, I think the easy and obvious solution would be to contain him indoors when you are not home. If he finds ways to get outdoors, find out what they are and close them off so he cannot. If you have to close or lock doors, use a gate, or find a way of closing your dog gate so that he can not use it, go ahead and do that. It's safer for your dog to be inside, and you'll know that he's not being a nuisance and that nothing will happen to him.

If you believe that a large part of his barking is due to pent up energy, then you must ramp up his exercise. Having a lot of energy is something that comes with owning a young dog, especially a young German Shepherd - they're known to be energetic. It's very important that his exercise needs are met, both in terms of physical exercise and in terms of mental exercise.

How long are you gone each day? Are you able to get up earlier and have a long walk in the morning, along with some of the games you play (like fetch?)? Any chance of moving your schedule in a way that allows for more exercise for your pup?

It seems that, based on your description, you don't need a bark control device as long as the dog is indoors.

[Arobryn]

Sorry, I should've mentioned - I leave the dog door open for the cats, but put a child gate up to keep the dogs from using it and now and then he's able to pull that down.

And I don't generally crate him during the day because he's fine in the house. When he was younger I'd crate him and it's the perfect example of how doing the tough stuff early on helps them so much.

And you're right, the exercise is a big part of the problem. The last two month have progressively gotten more hectic at work leaving me less time to spend with Blue so I've been taking him to doggie daycare and this last weekend when work was really bad I actually kenneled him there and that helps (the owners are GSD fans and just love Blue), but the other side is that he just misses us and can act up because of it.

So, for the most part he's fine and confining him to the house during the day works well - it's just those occassions when everything's gone wrong at once, so to say. So maybe I'll save on the bark devices and replace the dog door with a cat door. At this point the only time he uses it is when we leave it open at night so he can go out to pee.

Thanks for the advice

[darga19]

Sounds to me like you have an under-exercised and under mentally-stimulated dog. You need to tire him out before work so that he sleeps all day IN A CRATE in the house while you're gone...and seems to me your problem will be solved.

----------------------------------

I just read thru the rest of the posts....

If he's fine indoors then just tire him out in the morning and leave him inside all day. If you're not gone for a HUGE extended period of time he should be fine indoors all day without potty by 1.5 yrs.

Just block him from getting outside. The excitement from being out there is likely what's causing some of the barking anyway.

[vomonyxhaus]

Originally Posted By: littledmcWhy isn't he in a crate in the house?

Why would he need to be in a crate in the house if he isn't destructive????? Once they are trustworthy, I never have mine in crates.......

[Amaruq]

Originally Posted By: vomonyxhaus

Why would he need to be in a crate in the house if he isn't destructive????? Once they are trustworthy, I never have mine in crates.......

I think they mention the crate because that way the dog cannot keep escaping and going outside and barking. That would be my suggestion. If not in a crate than confined by doors instead of a gate which has proven ineffective to contain the dog safely indoors.

[3K9Mom]

I crate my young dogs in the house even when they're not destructive because it keeps them as safe as possible. You never know what a *young* dog can get into. And your dog is still incredibly young in my opinion -- 1.5 years old, he's still very much an adolescent. Being left alone all day long, he might start poking around cabinets, drawers, garbage cans, etc just to entertain himself.

So, I crate my very reliable kids to ensure that they stay reliable. It's hard to break bad habits once they've developed (as you've seen with the barking). I get my kids nice big crates so they have lots of room to move around, but all they ever seem to do is snooze anyhow.

Give him some exercise in the morning and plenty of opportunity to eliminate before you leave. This way, when you're at work (or wherever), you know he's safe. If you can get someone to walk him in the middle of the day (or come home and break him yourself), even better.

Re-read Historian's post, though. She's spot-on in terms of what your pup likely needs in terms of exercise.

[LisaT]

Both of mine stay indoors while I'm at work. Indy has free reign, but Max is crated, because that is what he is comfortable with. I have forgotten to close the crate door a couple of times after he's gone in the crate, and on those days, I come home to a very stressed dog. Well, two stressed dogs, because clearly he has also stressed Indy out too.

Max used to be crated, but earned his freedom in the house, but slowly developed problem behaviours, getting into things when we weren't here. He just can't handle the freedom. With a young dog, I wouldn't give him the opportunity to get in trouble, as 3K9 mentioned above.

[kelso]

Originally Posted By: 3K9MomI crate my young dogs in the house even when they're not destructive because it keeps them as safe as possible. You never know what a *young* dog can get into. And your dog is still incredibly young in my opinion -- 1.5 years old, he's still very much an adolescent. Being left alone all day long, he might start poking around cabinets, drawers, garbage cans, etc just to entertain himself.

So, I crate my very reliable kids to ensure that they stay reliable. It's hard to break bad habits once they've developed (as you've seen with the barking). I get my kids nice big crates so they have lots of room to move around, but all they ever seem to do is snooze anyhow.

Give him some exercise in the morning and plenty of opportunity to eliminate before you leave. This way, when you're at work (or wherever), you know he's safe. If you can get someone to walk him in the middle of the day (or come home and break him yourself), even better.

Re-read Historian's post, though. She's spot-on in terms of what your pup likely needs in terms of exercise.

I think the crate is a good solution. I crate my two youngish (2.5 yr old) dogs while we are not home. It just really works well for ALL of us. They love their crates, always have. No behavorial problems while we are gone. My husband comes home in the middle of the day for an hour for lunch and they are let out. I usually get home shortly after that.

But, I understand that some people do not like the crate idea. One of my friends fostered a dog for 6+ months and the dog was doing great in the crate during the day, even though he was pretty reliable on his own in the house otherwise. The people that ended up adopting him did not want to crate him and I think after just a week of him being with them they had complaints from neighboors of him barking from inside the house while he was loose.

Instead of crating him, they have decided to take him to doggy day care during the day to curb this. But that costs money too! But maybe this is an option for you if you do not want to crate. Or like mentioned, just make it so he cannot go outside if that is the only time he barks. But these folks I mentioned were having issues with the dog barking to much while inside even when he could not get outside.

Good Luck!!! Hope it all works out