April 19, 2011
My 9-month-old male German Shepherd just recently began barking for prolonged periods of time either loose or crated. This problem began after leaving him with our in-laws. Suggestions?
Full Question:
Dear Cindy,My 9 months old male German Shepherd has just recently begun barking for prolonged periods of time either loose or crated and we need some guidance.
When crated, day or night, as soon as either my husband or I go upstairs in our house, Dio will bark for 30-60 minutes nonstop and repeat this behavior several times a night. FYI, he is always taken out before being crated, has chew sticks, a toy, and some water in his crate. We have tried classical music & a sheet covering the crate without success.
This problem began about a month or two ago around the time we went on a trip and left him with our in-laws for a week. The day of our return, he developed a foreign body obstruction (from a piece of my in-laws carpet :( and required emergency surgery and 2 days in the ICU. While he has recovered 150%, we just can't make sense of what has changed since we crate trained him at 10wk and never had any problems until now.
Similarly, when out of the crate, he has started barking at noises we can and can't hear. We have tried diverting the behavior (as you & Ed suggested in Crate and Barking Q&As) with Down or Sit, but he immediately jumps back up on Alert and barks. He seems to do this more at night than during the day and more when I am home alone with him. We do live in a Suburban area with close neighbors, other barking dogs, and road noise, but is very annoying for any tiny sound to cause him to raise hackles and bark.
I have read the discussion forums re: bark collars & nuisance barking, but don't want to prevent Dio from true protective barking, especially when I am home alone or sleeping and wonder if he would have to wear one all time time given the barking frequency. We are frustrated and unsure how to change this behavior. Any suggestions would be most appreciated!
Many thanks for your help,
Best Regards,
Charlotte
Cindy's Answer:
A bark collar isn’t going to change the dog’s ability to alert you when he’s not wearing the collar. I would use the Tri-tronics Bark Limiter when he goes in the crate. I don’t know any other way to make it clear to him that the barking is NOT allowed.
He sounds like he’s anxious about being left alone, to me. He was stressed at your in-laws, probably tore up and ate some carpet in an effort to curb his own anxiety and ended up in surgery instead. The barking is a manifestation of anxiety and stress.
I’d try the bark collar.
Cindy Rhodes
He sounds like he’s anxious about being left alone, to me. He was stressed at your in-laws, probably tore up and ate some carpet in an effort to curb his own anxiety and ended up in surgery instead. The barking is a manifestation of anxiety and stress.
I’d try the bark collar.
Cindy Rhodes
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