Tips to quieten howling: it's seperation anxiety

freespiritmom · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:49 pm Post subject:

Good for you standing up to your neighbors. I just hope your fines are not to high. We got those baby gates and put across the rooms we didn't want Sam and Bullet to get into. Maybe you can try that.

Before the gate, on my bed!

afromaiko · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:51 pm Post subject:

We've been struggling with this with our 6 month old, Mika. She's left outside alone during the day for about 8 hours.. from about 6:45am Monday to Friday. We did the introduction to being home alone very, very gradually over about 2 months so most certainly did not just throw her out the back one day and take off to work.

One of our neighbours informed us that Mika was barking/howling for ages when we left in the morning, but they didn't care during the day because they were at work. It was getting woken up early every day that annoyed them. The 'She's just a little puppy' excuse doesn't really cut it with them because they see her as a 25 kilo monster and not a 6 month old baby.

Dog barking here is covered in noise regulations similar to power tools and electrical devices, machinery etc. Before 7am on a weekday is a definate no-no. After that time it's not too much of a problem as long as it's not constant, and that is where things get cloudy. More than a few minutes in a row without a break during an hour is probably going to cause trouble. We give her a meaty bone and a kong and that will keep her busy for at least an hour or more after we leave.

When your neighbours first mentioned it to the council, they would have been asked to keep a record of the barking/howling for about a fortnight. There is a lot of scope for abuse here, for example if the dog barked for 5 minutes, then had a break for 20 mins, then 5 mins again.. would the neighbour specifically detail that? I think not, they are much likely to exaggerate and say 'dog barked constantly for 1 hour'.

Without your own evidence it's impossible for you to defend yourself. I'd suggest setting up a video camera, or a web camera connected to a PC like we did (can record the entire day easily) or even just record the audio. You need to do this and log the times yourself. You would only need to present your own conflicting evidence to the council for them to put your neighbours complaints into the 'busy-body complainer file' and treat them lower priority or dismiss altogether. They could even be on record as a general complainer.

However we did do some excellent training and come up with a few ways to quieten Mika, but do have a similar problem to you in that she is adorable when we are around.

We haven't had total success yet, and she has good days and bad ones. But when I filmed her a few days ago she would have been one of the quietest dogs in the neighbourhood I think.

I suspect a part of it is also bratty behaviour, and while we have always tried to train her positively, we have had to bring out the squirt bottle recently to teach her that she can't get away with whatever she wants.

We've also found that closing the curtains helped as she doesn't try to jump up or scratch at the windows if she can't see in.

We are very big on putting her outside even when we are home whether she likes it or not, and then not letting her in until she is quiet for at least five minutes... and then we make her sit & stay while we stand there with the door open and she will just stay sitting until we give her the release word to come in. So she knows that making a fuss isn't going to get her inside any quicker.

But yeah.. it's definitely been a struggle!!!

Edit: we also have a good selection of toys for her, including some that I hang on ropes around the place. She loves to tug and play with these, especially one that has an elastic strap above the rope (she can't get to the elastic). She pulls the stuffed toy attached to it back as far as it will stretch, lets it go flying & bouncing around and then she goes crazy trying to catch it again. Other toys that bounce unpredictably (like kongs) or make noise are great fun too. (I don't think the neighbours can realistically make a complaint about a squeaky toy!). Just make sure the toys are quality, preferably designed for dogs, and squeakers can't be pulled out easily.

LeaAnn · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 10:39 pm Post subject:

Great, thanks for the tips. We've been doing pretty much the same as you. At least the neighbours on either side of me are reallllly good. One has two dogs of his own and has gotten seven complaints...the other guy, who has a 14 week old rottie!, is undestanding too. Thank goodness. He was home for a few days this past week. he said that Hans howled for about an hour the other day. He said it wasn't loud....but as you know...."it just travels". Luckily for us, the person who complains all the time is known to the Animal Control lady who watches our area, and is known as a chronic complanier. At least we've got that going for us. We're making headway. He starts obeidence classes on Monday night...so off we are on that.
I'll look into getting him some outside toys...cause the ones he loves just get all gross outside.
So...no complaint calls this week, even though he was howling the other day. I got advice from a friend who use to work for the council....and that was to be as nice as possible to the Animal control person and we pretty much just drop off the phone calling list....cause they've got better things to worry about really.

LeaAnn · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 10:40 pm Post subject: