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Neighbour's dog howling - is he ok do you think?

11 replies

Cheesyslice · 03/01/2014 12:31

Any advice gratefully received. Before I start, just to be clear the howling does not bother me in the slightest, I'm just wondering if the poor pooch is ok.

He is a spaniel, not sure how old. Rescue dog. Howls CONSTANTLY when his owner is out. She's very aware that he does this all the time when she's not in. She has spoken to us about it and explained that it's because he gets lonely when she isn't in the house (she lives on her own). She has apparently tried 'therapy' for him Confused and also tried leaving the radio/tv on etc. She also has cats, although I assume these do not provide him with the company he needs Hmm. So now she just leaves him to it.

Now I'm a total dog novice, never owned one. However, I do love dogs and just wondered if he is ok. Is this normal for a dog? Is he distressed? Again, I don't care about hearing him, in fact I can zone it out, but I would feel awful if she is ignoring this when he is actually not very happy at all. Any nuggets of wisdom much appreciated.

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MelanieCheeks · 03/01/2014 13:53

Well, she will have to find some way of leaving him alone - she can't be with him all the time. If she's trying different things, then she's approaching it sensibly. Howling's pretty normal, not necessarily a sign of distress. And it could be that he'll learn that nothing happens when he howls.

Cheesyslice · 03/01/2014 14:10

Well, she's kind of not trying anything any more. She hasn't done anything for well over a year now (as long as we've lived here).

He's done it since she's had him, apparently, so I'm guessing it's some kind of deep rooted psychological thing which just won't / can't be fixed. As long as he's not distressed that's cool. She's a bitch from hell, he's a little poppet.

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Cheesyslice · 03/01/2014 14:11

(Sorry for drip feeding - meant to add to that post she's out about 6 hours every day. He howls every minute. So she frequently leaves him knowing what he does when she's not there)

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ilovemydoggy · 03/01/2014 14:13

My dogs do this when we go out so does next doors dog so it's normal. Both outs calm down after about 5/10 mins so it's not constant. The dog must really like company and gets upset when his owner goes out.

mistlethrush · 03/01/2014 14:16

Its a recognised problem in dogs - Separation Anxiety. Some get distructive or foul the place - some are noisy. You can sometimes help a dog with SA, but it doesn't sound as though she's doing anything to help. Leaving him howling for 6 hrs a day is not acceptable - in fact, leaving your dog (without someone at least popping in to let them out) for 6 hrs a day is not acceptable.

Floralnomad · 03/01/2014 15:15

The short answer is no he is not ok because if he was he wouldn't be howling and TBH she's lucky she lives next to someone who doesn't report her to the council, which is what I would do . My neighbour has a dog that howls / barks constantly when they're out , we are detached so I only notice it if I'm outside . We've mentioned it to them and they're not particularly interested and fortunately it's not every day .

ButThereAgain · 03/01/2014 15:22

Six hours every day is a long time to leave a dog alone, especially if it distresses him enough that he howls. I take the point another poster made, that howling needn't indicate a high level of stress. But that was before you mentioned the duration. Even at low levels, stress for such a long period every day is no good. I'd be having another word with her to politely suggest that she tries something new for the dog..

Cheesyslice · 03/01/2014 22:24

Thanks everyone. I'll get DH to have a nice word with her (I can't stand the old witch) and suggest she tries something else. If not I'll give the council / RSCPA a buzz.

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mygrandchildrenrock · 03/01/2014 22:37

If it really doesn't bother you why phone the council/RSPCA? all the council will do is send her a letter saying they have had a complaint about the dog's noise which won't help change things. If she is going to work, it doesn't sound like she can change what she's doing. Some dogs do bark/whine/howl when they are on their own.
However, if it bothers you then reporting it might make you feel better, but probably won't change the situation.

moosemama · 03/01/2014 22:38

I have a dog with Separation Anxiety. It has taken from May this year to now to be able to leave him for up to two hours without him starting to get distressed and howl. (He started doing it when we lost our other dog to cancer in the Spring.)

The rehabilitation programme for SA is hard work and very intensive. It involves re-conditioning the dog's response to both you leaving and your not being there - if that makes sense - and the most important part of it is that you can never leave the dog alone beyond their tolerance level throughout the course of the programme. I religiously record my dogs when I'm out to make sure I'm not pushing him past his limit, as if I ever do, it will set his rehabilitation back considerably.

I have been literally housebound for months on end whilst rehabilitating my boy, the only time I went out was either to walk him or if dh was home and he could come in the car with us (for some reason he doesn't display SA in the car).

An awful lot of people simply wouldn't be able to fit the intensity of the programme into their lives and others may have the opportunity, but would resent the very real and significant restrictions it places on their lives. I'm lucky that I am a SAHM and we live across the road from my dcs' school, because at first he would howl within seconds of me closing the door. It has taken a lot of hard work to gradually build up his tolerance level, sometimes by only a minute at a time over a matter of weeks and we've had plenty of set-backs and regressions along the way.

Numpty that I am, I have now taken on a rescue pup who also has a degree of SA, so having dealt with our elder boy we are now going through something similar all over again. Hmm

I hate the thought of my dogs being distressed when left and also of my neighbours being subjected to their howling - to the extent that I won't even leave them for a school run (usually between 10 and 15 minutes) without making sure they are settled with a stuffed treat toy that will last while I'm out.

Six hours is far too long to leave a dog alone without someone coming in and at the very least letting him out and spending some time with him - preferably taking him for a walk. Even if he isn't distressed when she first leaves, as ButThereAgain said, his stress levels will be elevated and rising the whole time she is gone.

I can highly recommend the book Don't Leave Me! by Nicole Wilde if you would like to suggest it to her. It helped us work out that our old boy had something a little different to the usual SA, in that he actually has Isolation Distress - rather than true SA, because he's not over-attached to us and his happy as long as he's not completely on his own. As a result he is pretty much cured now we have another dog ... it's just a shame the new pup doesn't see things the same way! Grin

If it's just her and him, it might help if she were to employ a dog walker to take him out once or twice a day, as not only is making sure the dog is properly exercised an important part of the programme, but having someone else in his life might help him to reduce his over-reliance on her a little - it would definitely be worth a try anyway. Even better would be dog daycare if there is one locally. It can work out expensive, but she would know that he is well taken care of and not spending the day pining for her and he would be building up some independence - again to reduce his over-reliance on her.

Cheesyslice · 03/01/2014 22:46

Thanks moose, that's really interesting and helpful. I massively admire your patience with your pooch.

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