Mum's dog - barking when left alone

[dancinginpurplerain]

My mum has an older Norfolk terrier and has recently moved into sheltered housing, bringing her dog with her. This was a major factor in her being happy to move as they would accept an existing pet. Her dog however barks constantly when left alone. She only ever leaves him for an hour or so but she has now had a complaint from a neighbour about the excessive barking. In her previous house, the dog would be distracted by a treat but in the new flat, he often ignores any treat and only eats it on her return! Does anyone have any ideas on how to help the dog get used to be left without barking? It's stressing my mum out and don't want her just always staying home to avoid the issue.

I think your mum may need to go back to the very beginning with training her dog to be left alone i.e. starting by doing her usual "routine" of coat on, shoes on, grab handbag etc, then sitting back down; once he ignores that, moving onto going out the front door and coming straight back in, etc. Basically build up from nothing. It may be that the change of environment has stressed him and he needs to relearn how to be ok on his own.

That makes a lot of sense - thanks. He's never been great at being left so going back to basics could be the key.