Barking/howling at night/when left

[LadyGoneGaga]

Hi,

Bit of background. We just adopted a two year old GS cross (she's GS coloured but much smaller - more collie/small lab sized) from Many Tears. She's great - great with the kids (3 years old and 14 weeks), very affectionate, lovely with other dogs, even fine with our cat. We only got her yesterday but when I put her to bed when I went up she barked and howled for a couple of hours. I went down to her and calmed her but as soon as I left she started up again. She was shut in the dining room with her bed (she is familiar with this), some toys and a hide chew.

In the daytime, same thing. Whenever I have gone to shut her in there (just for a couple of minutes so she isn't alone with my children while I pop upstairs for something) she barks again. The rest of the time she follows me around.

I figure this could be separation anxiety. What I don't know is whether it is just while she settles with us or will be ongoing and want some advice on how we go about tackling it? We don't really want her to sleep with us at the moment as the cat sleeps with us and its not really fair to her to oust her right now, especially when they are just getting used to each other. And I need to sleep in our room as the baby is in there.

Should we go to her? Ignore her? Doggie version of controlled crying?

She's the first dog I've had for years and years and I really want to set off on the right foot with her and help her feel secure but also set ground rules for the future. Her fosterer said she was no bother at night but they had other dogs who she slept with.

Any advice would be much welcome! As I say we've just got her but I plan to take her out for a half hour walk cross fields in mornings, an hour during day - again mostly off lead and probably a short-ish walk in evening on the lead. I'm on maternity leave at the moment so around most of the time. (When back to work I will be 3 days a week). Should I start leaving her at all just yer or leave it for a bit? When? For how long? Any strategies for night time?

Thanks in advance.

[feesh]

When we got our pup, we had her sleep in the bedroom with us for the first few weeks. During the daytime, we did 'alone training' with her, gradually building up the time she could be left in the kitchen from (literally) 3 seconds to 2 hours over a couple of weeks. I also made the kitchen (which was the only dog-proof room in the house, so the one we had designated for leaving her in when she was alone) the best place to be, so I sat in there on a camping chair with her for a couple of hours every day (as there is no furniture in there normally), played with her in there and fed all her meals in there etc.

Then we moved her to sleeping in the kitchen at night, and if she cried, we just left her - if you respond to the crying it only gets worse!

When you do the alone training, start off with just 2-3 seconds, ideally before she starts whining. If she does whine, you've gone too far, but whatever you do don't go back in to her until she has been quiet for a few seconds. It helps to busy her with a chew before you leave the room.

Do this several times per day, and whenever you come and go, do it without making eye contact with her or giving her any attention - act like it's the most natural thing in the world that sometimes you go away and sometimes you come back.

Gradually increase the time you leave her (over hours/days/weeks depending on how well she is coping) and vary it as well, so that sometimes you go back to seconds again instead of minutes etc.

[KatharineClifton]

I got my dog just over three weeks ago and had exactly the same thing you are describing. I had planned on letting her sleep upstairs, but can't because she's not as good with the cats as I thought she would be. I borrowed a pen off my mother to put her in at night and when we went out. The barking has got less and less and practically nothing now. For the first couple of nights I went back to reassure her a few times, but I don't think it really helped.

She is still sticking to me like velcro, but that is lessening a bit, and I'm sure it'll wear off when she is properly settled.

Now to work on stupid cat who keeps running...

[LadyGoneGaga]

Thanks both. Well, I am going to avoid bedroom sleeping unless absolutely necessary/I am 100% about cat and dog together. She's calmed down a lot already. Will allow me to go to other rooms without whining and I just left her for 20 minutes (after a walk and with a bone) whilst I picked DS up from nursery and no barking at all!

I think tonight is still the worrying thing but it is really reassuring that you got it sorted fairly quickly, Katherine. With a baby who is up a couple of times in the night and a 3 year old who comes in at 3 am and again at 6am we could really do with peaceful nights!

Apart from that I honestly can't fault her so far - she recalls pretty well too (apart from when it all got too exciting in the woods!)

[KatharineClifton]

And it's not nice to hear the dog so upset either. It did take a good week for the barking to lessen. Luckily my neighbour said she couldn't hear it.

[Rhinestone]

You've had great advice so far.

One other idea - have you tried wrapping a hot water bottle in a towel and putting it in her bed? It's nice and comforting.

[LadyGoneGaga]

Thanks all. Just an update - she slept all night with no noise whatsoever in the dining room last night! I think we still need to tackle her anxiety issues elsewhere - had to leave her outside the post office today for literally two minutes and she barked and barked, bless her. However, I am a whole lot more tolerant when I am well rested!

[toboldlygo]

DBF, can we have a 'don't leave dogs outside shops' lecture over here please!

[KatharineClifton]

Blimey, that was quick! Can I ask which dog you got from MT?

[chickchickchicken]

glad she slept better.

just fyi we have had a lot of dog theft from outside shops here in glos. maybe a good thing that she barked constantly as at least you knew she was there and it may put off people approaching her. please be careful though, dog theft is rife and they can be stolen in under a minute and bundled in a car

[JaxTellerIsMyFriend]

please dont leave your dog outside shops. They get stolen.

Maybe you could leave a radio on (quietly) for her when you go out.

[LadyGoneGaga]

But I could see her from the queue by taking two steps back - and we live in a very quiet village (was the village post office). What should I do? My car needed taxing and I don't want to leave her for long just yet. I take on board what you are saying but I really think she was safe in our village for the minute I was inside. I'll try the radio thing.

She was called Dana on Many Tears, Katharine. She wasn't on the site for very long though as we snapped her up. She'd been returned to them as their other dog wouldn't accept her. She did bark/howl again last night but literally for only 5 minutes. We took her for a walk with our neighbours boxer yesterday and think they wore each other out charging about in the mud and rain and leaping in the river!

[KatharineClifton]

You are very lucky! I phoned about Dana but they said I should wait 6 months for my first dog to settle in.

[LadyGoneGaga]

Well, in the nicest possible way I'm glad you didn't get her . She's sleeping on the sofa right now. Been walking in the woods this afternoon and she goes mental in there chasing squirrels and pheasants so she's worn out. She's lovely though. I do wonder whether she misses her doggy friends as she was living with three collies in her foster home. The cat has so far refused to have anything to do with her and is living upstairs so she has no non-human pals. Maybe DP can be persuaded in a few months....

What's your dog like, Katherine?

[KatharineClifton]

I think she had only been in foster for a couple of days, and with the previous rehomer for 2 months until they gave up so probably not missing them.

Amelia is a 9yo crossbreed. Really lovely dog.