What should I do about my dog, if anything?

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Hello,
Ive just found the doghouse and I need some advice please! Sorry if this turns out crazy long, I dont want to leave out anything important!

We have a nearly 2 year old Bichon frise bitch who we (Me, DH and 2DDs) love to bits. She is a bit of a princess and definitely prefers being an indoors dog for the majority of the time, we have a patio door that is open anytime its not too cold or raining and she only goes out to pee and straight back in she literally has to be dragged out if its raining!

Last week I had a knock on the door from someone from the SPCA saying they were coming to do a welfare check as they had received a report there was an emaciated small white dog at the property that was left tied outside for at least 12 hours a day. I let him in, he saw DDog in her bed inside gave her a stroke and then had a bit of a chuckle to himself and said "shes lovely, shes definitely not underweight, she looks perfect to me. Do you mind if I see your garden?"
I took him out to the garden and he asked about how often shes out and if shes tied up. I told him shes much more an indoors dog, shes never tied up but if its a nice day I leave her out in the garden if Ive to go out (shopping, toddler group, school run etc) or if its raining shes inside in her crate. Shes a chewer so she doesnt get free reign of the house if shes left alone. He asked how long she was left in the garden for and I said if Im out shopping or at toddler group it could be upto 2-3 hours. He said that seemed fine but he does suggest I get her an outdoors kennel to shield her from the elements. Usually I just leave the shed door open and like I said if its raining she stays inside but I said I have no problem getting a kennel. (FIL is actually making us one now)

He said he couldnt see why they had received a call and asked if she was a barker. She does bark a fair amount when she is out, unfortunately our garden backs onto a cul de sac and she barks anytime anyone passes by the garden, but he said barking is natural not a welfare issue just that his feeling is that someone has been getting annoyed with her barking, called to make a complaint, been told its not a welfare issue and then elaborated on their story so that someone would come around. He then said he felt there was no issues present and that would be the end of it.

Today I had to take DD to a dance recital, I was gone for just under 3 hours, I left the dog in the garden as it was too warm today to take her and leave her in the car. When I got back a neighbour that I had told about the SPCA visit came to tell me the dog had been barking for most of the time I was out and her DH was out walking and a woman was hanging around nosing in my garden and asked my friends DH if he lived here. He just said no and went on and after a while the woman left.

I was talking to FIL this evening about trying a bark collar and he is totally against the idea saying the dog is just trying to protect her territory and just to let her bark and if that woman had not been hanging around by the fence it probably wouldnt have been so bad, which is true.

But, what do you think? Should I get her a bark collar or just let her bark? I should add if Im in the house and she starts barking at people going by I bring her in so this is only an issue when shes alone.
Sorry for epic post, if you got through it all!

I wouldn't leave the dog in the garden whilst not in the house.

And no, you shouldn't just let her bark, it's annoying.....and that's from somebody in a 3 dog household.

Bark collars are cruel.

I'd be annoyed if one of my neighbours left their dog barking in the garden while they went out. Its not on really.

You ought to dog proof part of the house and put her in there while you go out.

My dog chews. I wouldn't dream of leaving him outside. I just make sure there's nothing left that he can get to.

I don't know how to resolve the barking, but I would not leave a barking dog outside as its very inconsiderate to your neighbours and you are also at risk of her being stolen.

I think it's clear that your dog's barking is upsetting your neighbour(s). Three hours of barking is really not acceptable! So in answer to your question as to whether you should let the dog bark: no!

As to solutions, I'll let others guide you there.

Thanks for quick responses, I honestly thought leaving her in the garden for a couple of hours was the least stressful for her though I dont want her to be annoying the neighbours.

We tried (probably nearly a year ago) leaving her in the kitchen but she peed and pooed, ran all through it and chewed and scratched all up the door frame. I am happy to try to leave her in the kitchen again if you think its better. She doesnt pee or poo if shes left in her crate but if Im out for a couple of hours it seems cruel to leave her in the crate when she could have free roam of the garden.

What can I do to help her stay calm if shes left in the kitchen? I have a pet plug in, and always left her water, treats and her blanket. If it is best to keep her in when Im out I'll do whatever it takes to get her used to it!

If she's happy in her crate I'd leave her in there. I think its ok to use it for 2-3 hours. Idont use one as my dog hates it but I know people who do use one. Dogs will happily sleep in one place for a few hours, which I guess is no different to a crate.

Maybe she is anxious about being alone, manifesting itself as destructiveness when left in the kitchen and as barking when left outside?

I have dogs but a neighbours dog barking for 3 hours on a regular basis would drive me batty, that said if she were mine I would be far more concerned about her being stolen than winding up the neighbours. Dogslost is full of stories of dogs taken from their owners property, sometimes when the owners are in, let some when they are left outside on a regular basis.

Bark collars are both cruel and ineffective, most committed barkers will just learn to ignore or empty them by sustained barking. Does she get lots of exercise and is she left with interesting things to do, Kongs etc? It may be that you need a behaviourist to help her learn to settle when you are not there, or if it's only occasional for a few hours and you are sure she is happy in her crate and doesn't bark on howl then just leave her in there. It may well be that she just feels much safer alone in a small easily defensible space, but a bit lost and panicky in a large area like the kitchen or garden.

It sounds like she has some separation anxiety and if being an indoor dog is normal for her, leaving her in the garden is probably just increasing her anxiety.

If she doesn't mess in her crate or rip up the bedding etc and is normally happy in there, I would say she'd probably be far happier crated for a couple of hours in her 'safe place' than left in the garden feelling vulnerable.

The vast majority of stolen dogs are taken from private gardens and small breeds are often the prime targets. Please don't leave her outside when you are not around to check on her.

When I do have to go out without them they're left with kongs stuffed with sardines/pilchards mixed with their usual food and then frozen and/or some tasty chews. They also have treat dispensing balls and a kong wobbler and buster cube that also dispense treats. All of these keep them busy and focussed on something other than my not being there.

Bark collars either frighten the dog into submission, but leave it in a state of constant fear and anxiety thereby actually making the separation anxiety worse or teach the dog that it needs to bark at a different pitch or over and over in quick succession to empty the spray tank then it can get back to it's usual pattern of barking. They don't teach the dog the skills it needs to cope with being left alone and have no place in positive, reward based dog training.

Both of my dogs have a degree of Separation Anxiety, for different reasons and can only be left for an hour maximum. There's no way I'd want their noise to bother my neighbours, so I have to arrange my life to ensure they're never left longer than that while we work on extending the length time they can cope. They're my dogs and it's therefore entirely my responsibility to make sure that they don't negatively impact on anyone else's lives. It's extremely restrictive and drives me batty sometimes, especially as I don't drive so can't take them with me when I do have to go out, but we are working on it and we've come a long way from the pup not being able to be left for even a couple of minutes without screaming the house down and my bereaved older dog howling with distress when I'd only been gone five minutes.

my neighbours leave their dogs in the garden and it is SO annoying. they have a kennel and the RSPCA probably could not do anythign about it.
but it is not neighbourly imo

RSPCA can't, but the Local Authority can, as it's not an animal welfare issue, it comes under environmental health.

Don't leave her in the garden while you are out. It isn't fair on your neighbours why take the chance of the dog being stolen or harmed.

Do not use a bark collar. She sounds like an an anxious dog and the collar would make that worse.

Have you tried leaving her out the crate when she is tired? A good walk followed by a treat dispensing toy/kong worked well with my terrier. I would hold back her breakfast and feed her from the toys when leaving.

It does not work on all dogs but could be worth trying.

Leaving her in the garden is not fair on her or your neighbours. I can see you are trying to do your best but can you not see the inconsistency of your argument - you explain that she is a dog that prefers the indoors then leave her out there alone when it is clear from her chewing, scratching and toileting in the home that she has some separation related anxiety.

It is completely unreasonable to subject your neighbours to several hours of barking dog. I would also strongly advise aganist a bark collar for the reasons given by others. Adding an aversive every time she barks is likely to make her more anxious.

If she is calm and happy left in the crate and she sees it as a safe space, it is not in the least bit cruel to leave her in there when you go out, provided she has adequate exercise, interaction and stimulation the rest of the day. It is much more humane than leaving her to bark herself silly in the garden when she does not even enjoy being out there.

Thanks for all your advice, I didnt really think that she might be more distressed outside than in her crate though it seems obvious now its been pointed out, before I was just thinking she would be happier running about rather than in a small enclosed space for a couple of hours.

She definitely does have some seperation anxiety and I am keen to reduce her anxiety as much as possible. I would like if I could calm her enough to leave her in a room rather than in her crate, that would make me feel better if I need to leave her for a couple of hours, I will leave her crate open in the room with her though.

I really cant afford a behavourist at the moment so if anyone has any tips on working on her seperation anxiety that would be much appreciated.
I wont be getting a bark collar, and I wont leave her outside if I have to go out anymore, will leave her in her crate while I work on the anxiety enough to hopefully leave her in a room.

I would recommend this little book, which is very practical. However there are far more experienced people on here who might be able to suggest something better :)

As someone who is home most of the day I would be driven nearly to distraction by a dog that barked for three hours. This woman snooping around your garden is not acceptable, but neither is you leaving a barking dog outside for hours at a time. I have no idea what a 'bark collar' is, but if she barks continuously when left outside, you shouldn't leave her outside when you're not there. If I was a neighbour of yours I'd be calling the police for nuisance noise TBH.

I have the book Gobbler recommended and it's a good basic introduction, but doesn't have all that many strategies.

I also have Nicole Wilde's book Don't Leave Me which is fantastic and helps you work through a programme to understand the type of SA your dog has and then come up with a plan of action to deal with it.

If your dog generally anxious or only around being left? Does she start to get stressed before you go out? If she does you will need to desensitise her to leaving cues by doing things like putting on your coat, picking up your bag and keys and they sitting down and watching tv or having a cuppa. Going in and out of the exit doors hundreds of times without ever leaving so that she stops making the association between your exit and being alone etc. The book will help you with all of this.

I would definitely recommend trying stuffed kongs or favourite long-lasting chews to keep her busy, also leave the radio or tv on for her, as an empty house is very different to one where people are bustling about, talking etc and the sudden silence can be hard for some dogs to cope with.

Exercise, physical and mental is also key to ensuring they are relaxed enough to sleep when you're out. So a nice long walk before you go and lots of short training sessions throughout the day will definitely help, as will puzzle treat toys (google Nina Ottosson).

My older boy developed SA after our elderly bitch passed on in Spring last year and it took about 6 weeks of doing nothing but concentrating on desensitising him to leaving signals and building up the length of time he could cope for to get him up to an hour before getting our pup - who unfortunately, having been taken from his mother at birth and dumped then surrogated and removed from the surrogate mum young, also has SA issues so I've been doing an SA programme for the best part of a year now. They're generally ok for up to an hour together, although the older lad is happy to be left longer these days. It's intensive and hard work, but worth it both for your peace of mind and their wellbeing.

I'm a dog owner (2) and a professional dog walker but as I drive around collecting dogs am amazed by how many people think it's acceptable to go out and leave dogs yapping away in their gardens so tbh it does sound plausible that one of your neighbours is heartily sick of the barking.I would be.
A couple of years ago one of our neighbours was regularly going out for the day at weekends and leaving their Alsatian in the garden for hours and it barked on and off all day.Eventually I was nominated the one most suitable to go and gave a word about it by all our other neighbours.It had never occurred to them how fed up we all were and they did stop it.