Barking complaints

[TalesTreadsTea]

I have a lovely and sweet little dachshund with the worst separation anxiety. She is usually silent, which is unlike her breed. No barking at all! But if we leave her even for 10 minutes she barks pretty much non stop. If we are out longer, she will bark non stop for hours until we are back. My poor neighbours are complaining and we have had a letter from the local authority. We live in a terrace.

Just to confirm we make all effort to never leave her alone, I work from home. We try to do family days out that are dog friendly and take her with us, but sometimes we need to be all out together, albeit this is only for a few hours. Like visiting parents, cinema, soft play etc .

She is otherwise a lovely dog and my daughter would be devastated if we had to rehome her. So would I honestly I love my little sausage 😭

I cannot even go to the shop without her staying up.

I cannot get her into day care for those occasions we are out and about as she is terrified of other dogs and it's not fair on her. No one in our families will dog sit as she is not great toilet trained wise.

Has anyone got any tips? Desperate here! Thank you 🙏🏻

Can she be trained to puppy pads? My small dogs didn't like inclement weather and would happily and reliably use the pads on command.

Make sure you have a hidden camera but hire a pet sitter when you have to go out.

What about a dog sitter on the occasions that you go out?
We have a little sausage & he's barky with other dogs also absolutely won't go out in the rain unless he has an umbrella held over his head 😂 but he's actually ok being left alone.
I suspect that your dog suffers from insecurity from her past breeding life in kennels. Have you tried leaving a worn old jumper of yours in or near her bed when you go out - she thinks your not coming back so she needs reassurance that you will be back,

Oh, I ❤️ her!! Another vote for Julie Naismith, but you have to follow her system strictly and it isn't a quick fix.

Your poor neighbours.

I say this as someone who has a dog with separation anxiety - you must stop leaving her alone to bark, no matter how restrictive it is for your family.

Either someone needs to stay home with her or you need to pay for a dog sitter to come and care for her in your home.

I know it's incredibly expensive and frustrating but at the moment, all you're doing is teaching her that being alone is terrifying. When dogs have separation anxiety that's this severe, they basically have a panic attack every time you leave the house - they're just so terrified that they can't do anything except scream.

Lots of dogs with anxiety like this end up back in rescue because, understandably, most people can't (or won't) put their lives on hold for years on end.

Thanks everyone I will take everything on board, especially the professional trainer, exposure therapy and not leaving her at all as she will be panicking. Appreciate your help!