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It’s a common problem, but an annoying one: Your dog is well-behaved when you’re home. But as soon as you leave, he can’t keep his mouth shut. The barking and whining is driving your neighbors nuts.
Your dog has his reasons for acting out. Boredom, restlessness, fear, and separation anxiety are all common reasons that your dog might bark and whine while you’re gone.
Instead of being ousted from the neighborhood, try these tricks to distract or redirect his behavior from barking, courtesy of Mary Burch, Ph.D., Director of AKC Family Dog and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist.
Make sure your dogs have an adequate amount of exercise before you leave in the morning. Tired dogs are more likely to want a quiet rest time. If possible, have a dog walker come mid-day.
There are a number of commercial and homemade products that give your dog something to do while you’re gone. Treats can be placed inside a Kong toy, and the dog will work to get the treats out. This is a behavior that is incompatible with barking.
A common suggestion by trainers for dogs who bark when owners are gone is to leave the dog with some familiar sounds such as a radio or television. The idea is that these approximate the household sounds when the owner is present.
Citronella collars spray a burst of citronella when the dog barks. Citronella is made from the oils of lemongrass, and it is often used in perfumes, candles, and incense. This collar is seen as a humane alternative to shock bark collars. There can be a problem when more than one dog is barking and the collar is sometimes hard to fit on very small dogs. Online reviewers report that some dogs learn to bark in tones and frequencies the collar does not detect.
There are several anti-barking devices that do not involve collars. These devices detect barks and sends a high-pitched sound that only dogs can hear.
If your dog is barking because he’s bored, providing a distraction to keep him busy — e.g., a Kong filled with treats or a “brain puzzle” to keep him entertained — may solve the problem. But if his barking continues, you might need to play detective and explore beyond the simplest solutions.
Keep in mind that as the dog’s trainer (or animal behaviorist), finding the function of the behavior is important. Once you identify what triggers his barking, you can go about reducing or eliminating that trigger.
A recent study confirmed what many dog behaviorists and owners already know: separation anxiety in dogs is a complex problem. “Remember that anxiety is a term that means your dog is sufficiently stressed that there will be some physiological signs that will be manifested by behaviors such as pacing, whining, panting or drooling,” Dr. Burch says.
She also adds that your smartphone can be a very useful tool for diagnosing the root of your dog’s behavior. Consider using a smartphone app like Barkio or Pet Monitor VIGI to observe your dog remotely, or a simple nanny camera. By watching your dog’s behavior from afar you’ll be able to watch for signs of anxiety in your absence, or see if the barking happens when squirrels are in the yard, or if your dog gets destructive when it’s simply bored.
Separation anxiety can be a tough problem to treat — but these best practices from Dr. Burch can help you make inroads on the problem. Some of them are similar to the more general fixes for barking:
Depending on the severity of your dog’s anxiety problem you may also need to work with the dog’s veterinarian, who can prescribe medications that you’ll eventually phase out.
Recruiting a professional dog trainer can also help. Training an anxious dog isn’t always easy, and your dog is very clued in to your mood. Involving a professional makes it easier for you to stay calm and relaxed, which in turn helps your dog stay calm too.
Krystn is a passionate pet nutrition enthusiast. She has worked in the pet industry for over a decade and loves to share her passion for animal welfare with others. She loves all animals but is currently channeling some crazy cat lady vibes with her four lovable, but rebellious cats.
What is separation anxiety in dogs?
Canine separation anxiety, sometimes known as “separation related behavior”, is a set of excessive, usually unwanted behaviors that a dog displays either just before being left, or while being alone.
It is estimated that up to 40% of dogs in the U.S. experience separation anxiety in some form or another. The factors that cause it are varied and complex, but studies show that it is more common in some breeds than others, can increase as dogs age, and can often occur as a consequence of traumatic experiences.
Repeated barking, or other vocalizations when being left alone, such as whining or howling, is one of the most common and immediately obvious indicators of separation anxiety.
Other signs include:
TIP: Some of these, such as pacing or depressive behavior when alone, might not be obvious if they only occur when you’re out. Try setting up a camera on a laptop or smartphone before you leave to get the bigger picture of how your dog copes when you’re out.
My Dog Barks When I Leave Her Alone! Watch Me Train Her To Stop!
Nuisance dog barking or puppy barking can be a big problem for owners. No one wants to be the neighbor with the crazy barking dog. If you want to improve your dog’s behavior you first have to understand it. Dogs have different barks for different behaviors. Dogs will bark to alert, for attention or out of frustration and many will bark or howl when left alone.
Barking is very hard for pet parents to work through because a lot of our instincts end up reinforcing the behavior. For example take a dog who is barking at a strange dog or person on the street. As nurturing human beings, pet parents often think they should sooth and calm him with petting, where the dog most likely will take this to mean you like my behavior, keep doing it. The other major issue is barking dogs can trigger owners to yell or punish the dog to try to stop them. This might suppress the behavior but it is more likely to cause the dog increased stress and to continue barking. Frustrated owners will sometimes turn to punishment in some form like “anti-bark” shock collars, these tools are not very safe or humane and most of the time they will make the problem worse by creating anxiety.
If owner-absent barkers declare victory every time a family member returns—even if only to holler for quiet—how can this vicious cycle be broken? Start with exercises that reward the dog for being silent. On a day free of work commitments, go through your normal morning routine, but don’t stray far from the door once you’ve left home. If your dog is silent for a predetermined period of time, reenter and reward him. Begin with an easily obtainable goal—say, 10 to 30 seconds. When he barks, set the timer back to zero. It may take awhile to get that first silent success. Some dogs will improve faster when a marker indicates unwanted behavior; a sharp rap on the door with a metal object after a bark may speed things along. No shouting for quiet, though—most dogs prefer negative attention to none at all and may find your hollering rewarding.
Once you have garnered your first success, reenter the home, tell the dog “yes” or “good,” reward him, and go about your business. Keep all comings and goings low-key so he isn’t excessively revved up each time. Repeat the exercise numerous times, lengthening the time away with each success. If you have to restart the count more than a couple of times, you may be moving too far, too fast.
Some dogs will get wise to your presence on the other side of the door. Increase your distance after the first few repetitions to replicate departure. Instead of rapping to mark the unwanted behavior, you could employ a citronella-dispensing collar. This device interrupts each bark with a multi-sensory cue by combining the startling pssst of the mist exploding out of the container, the moist sensation, and the citronella smell. In a 1996 Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association article, Cornell University behaviorists Juarbe- Diaz and Houpt note that the citronella collar is twice as effective (88.9 compared to 44.4 percent) as the electronic shock collar, without the use of a painful stimulus. Some find that the use of the collar alone extinguishes barking proclivities. However, it is not suitable for separation anxiety cases, as these often demand a more extensive behavior modification protocol and possibly drug therapy as well.
No matter what the reason for your dog’s home-alone barking, please let your neighbors know that you are working on the matter. Their irritation will lessen once they know that their complaints haven’t fallen on deaf ears.