# Barking! How to stop? Help!



## ngshore (Sep 25, 2013)

I have a 5.5 pound maltese named Mendel. He's a great little dog. The only problem is his barking. I live in an apartment so he can't keep doing this. I've already arrived home from work twice with angry notes from my neighbors stuck to my door.

When I'm home, he will bark at noises he hears outside. My apartment has an indoor corridor so Mendel can hear when people go in and out. He will bark when he hears the door outside open/close and when people walk past my door talking. Since I'm home I try to correct him by picking him up and firmly saying "no!" or tapping him on the head with a folded piece of paper (it scares him) and this usually does help and/or stops him for a while.

However, the bigger problem is when I'm gone to work for 8-9 hours during the day or when I have to leave him alone for a shorter period, like going to the gym. He was barking almost nonstop. I noticed this was happening so I gave him some beef jerky right as I leave that takes him 15-20 minutes to eat. I thought this solved the problem because he has stopped barking when I leave and I haven't heard him barking when I return home. But tonight I went to the gym for one hour after work and again received an angry note on my door about Mendel's barking. When I'm gone, he is apparently barking for long periods and then will stop for a while and resume barking and stop a while, etc, which is why I'm not catching him barking anymore.

I guess this is separation anxiety? I also don't know how to stop it because I'm not present to even try to correct the behavior. I've looked at barking control collars that don't use a shock (spray, vibration, ultrasonic) but these all seem too big for my tiny Mendel. I don't know what to do to make him stop. I live in a nice apartment community and I'm afraid my neighbors are going to report me to property managem for nuisance, if they haven't already. 

Any help here?


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## mdbflorida (Feb 28, 2013)

This is a tough one. First of all, leaving a dog for 8-9 hours is a very long time. Do you have a dog walker or possibly investigate doggie day care? I would also be afraid of leaving something he can chew on up attended in case he chokes on it. Maltese especially are companion dogs and don't do well in my opinion being left alone that long. Of course my wheaten would struggle with this as well. The longest we leave them alone is 4 hours but we gradually worked up to it. We started off leaving for 5 minutes then 10, then 30, then 1 hour and so on.


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## littlefluffbabies (Apr 17, 2013)

I'm not sure that there is anything you can do to prevent the barking when you are not able to be at home. You could definitely work on the barking when you are at home though. There are many good threads with training ideas that have worked for other SM members. Unfortunately, you may have to see if you can leave your fluff at a friends house when you are at work during the day, or look into a good doggie day care.

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## Alvar's Mom (Mar 5, 2007)

First, check out this thread:

Unwanted Barking

How old is Mendel and how much exercise is he getting? I work full time too, but my fluffs get to alternate coming with me so that lessens the difficulty of being alone all day. For whoever is staying home on a particular day he will get a 45-60min walk before I leave, is left with a stuffed kong for entertainment while I'm away and gets another 30 min walk when I return. With my 1 yr old I also do agility class once a week and go to small dog play times for him to run like a wild man. Both do obedience and tricks training for some good mental exercise and, obviously, have each other to play with. So, I would say definitely increase his exercise and activities so that when you have to leave him he's tired and will sleep more than bark.


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## ngshore (Sep 25, 2013)

Alvar's Mom said:


> First, check out this thread:
> 
> Unwanted Barking
> 
> How old is Mendel and how much exercise is he getting? I work full time too, but my fluffs get to alternate coming with me so that lessens the difficulty of being alone all day. For whoever is staying home on a particular day he will get a 45-60min walk before I leave, is left with a stuffed kong for entertainment while I'm away and gets another 30 min walk when I return. With my 1 yr old I also do agility class once a week and go to small dog play times for him to run like a wild man. Both do obedience and tricks training for some good mental exercise and, obviously, have each other to play with. So, I would say definitely increase his exercise and activities so that when you have to leave him he's tired and will sleep more than bark.


Mendel is 7 months old. I typically try to walk him for 45 minutes to an hour after I get home from work every day. I would try in the morning but I leave for work very early and don't like walking him in the dark. I could try playing with him inside more in the morning. My fear there is he will get very worked up and be high energy when I'm about to leave. My focus so far gas been keeping him calm and relaxed before I leave so he's not barking more from being amped up.

Do you think neutering him will make a difference. I'm planning it in the coming few weeks.


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## ngshore (Sep 25, 2013)

mdbflorida said:


> This is a tough one. First of all, leaving a dog for 8-9 hours is a very long time. Do you have a dog walker or possibly investigate doggie day care? I would also be afraid of leaving something he can chew on up attended in case he chokes on it. Maltese especially are companion dogs and don't do well in my opinion being left alone that long. Of course my wheaten would struggle with this as well. The longest we leave them alone is 4 hours but we gradually worked up to it. We started off leaving for 5 minutes then 10, then 30, then 1 hour and so on.


I'm going to start him in doggie daycare but only once every week or two. $30 per day is a lot of money. Do you think just a couple times a month will help? I thought it might make him better socialized and this less apt to bark?


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## mdbflorida (Feb 28, 2013)

I do think it will help a long with what everyone else said. Day care will help him get more exercise too. Do you leave soft music on? I also do that -on my cable we have something called soundscapes -spa like music.


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

Welcome to SM! I am dealing with the same issue with my 11 month old. She has become entirely TOO vocal and barks at everything in and outside of the house. I am planning on moving in to an apartment soon but too afraid to do it until I have her barking under control. Others have given you great advice here - you also may want to do a search on the forum and check out other threads on this topic. 

One thing I need to work on more with Emma is teaching her the "quiet" command - I'm doing this by distracting her while she's barking and then treating/praising her for being quiet, while repeating the word "quiet" and "good quiet". Hopefully that'll help her to understand that refraining from barking (or at least stopping after one or two barks) is a good thing!! 

As for the separation anxiety - I think the day care a couple of times a week, more excercise, leaving a kong or other safe interactive toy, leaving the tv or radio on, etc are all good suggestions.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

It could be separation anxiety or he could just be barking out of boredom and because barking has been rewarding in the past. 

Could you install a camera like dropcam to check on his behavior while you're gone? If it's separation anxiety you will see other signs too like pacing, panting, anxiety in body language etc. 

IMO it is important to find out whether his barking is out of boredom or true SA so you can find the right fix. 

An alternative to a camera would be hiding somewhere and spying on him if that's possible. 


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I'm not expert on getting barking to stop. I do have a pup that has anxiety badly and an issue with barking. If you could do daycare full time that would be great. I kinda think that a dog in a crate 8 hours a day is too long, but if he's in a playpen or has run of the apartment I don't think it's so bad. It would be awesome if he didn't have to be alone for that long, but honestly if the average working person didn't have dogs because 8 to 9 hours is so bad for the dog to be alone-our homeless dog population would skyrocket like nobody's business.

I work full time, I have two malts. I like to come home at lunch and let them out and play with them but it's not always possible-and for some people it's never possible. I'd also like to note that all my dogs do all day whether I'm home or not is sleep  silly boys.

Ok, so there is this thing called a pet corrector, I know petco has it. 

The Company Of Animals Pet Corrector 50 mL

I have never ordered from that website btw, it's just the first thing that popped up on google. I have heard good things about this thing, using it when the dog is going nuts-and it's helped a lot of people to get their dogs to stop barking at every little thing. Now, I'm not sure, if I would use it, and then use a clicker the moment my dogs are quiet? Or if I would use it, and then treat and praise the crap out of them when they are quiet? 

My husband wouldn't let me buy it because it was $15 at petco, but I'm thinking a soda can with coins can do the same thing? Just something to make a noise to get their attention? Someone please step in if this is a bad idea.

What about a dog walker if daycare is too much? I would also recommend a camera set up to make sure your dog walker is doing what they say they are and to watch your dogs behavior from away from home. It doesn't have to be expensive.

You really give him 45-1 hour of exercise a day? That kinda blows my mind, I'm pretty sure my two would be totally pooped after that.

You can also practice leaving, when you are home. Step outside for a couple minutes and then come back in before he starts the barking-if that's possible. Treat him when you come back in...

But I would check the cost of daily doggy daycare, see if you can afford that, I just think it's a wonderful idea.

Also check with local trainers/behaviorists in the area.


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## Alvar's Mom (Mar 5, 2007)

ngshore said:


> Mendel is 7 months old. I typically try to walk him for 45 minutes to an hour after I get home from work every day. I would try in the morning but I leave for work very early and don't like walking him in the dark. I could try playing with him inside more in the morning. My fear there is he will get very worked up and be high energy when I'm about to leave. My focus so far gas been keeping him calm and relaxed before I leave so he's not barking more from being amped up.
> 
> Do you think neutering him will make a difference. I'm planning it in the coming few weeks.
> 
> ...


I didn't notice a change in energy level when either of my guys were neutered, so wouldn't count on that. I do think that play in the morning would be good, you could get some play in (tug is great, tricks burn energy too) and still leave a window of time for him to wind down before you go.

With doggy daycare, just be aware that not all dogs do well with it. Sometimes it's overwhelming, especially if there are lots of very high energy dogs there. So just see how it goes and listen to your instincts. It may be good to interview dog walkers for the non-daycare days/in case daycare's not ideal.


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