screaming, barking.. etc

dirtyghettokid

hi all, our lab is now 13 months old. my husband would like to get an outdoor kennel for her for during the day time. i am at home during the day, and spend time with her... but i do need time on my own to get things done around the house. she follows me wherever i go.

the issue, is that where we live, it's on a dangerous bend (car accidents a plenty, due to speeding) we can never have her off lead outside around the house, as she has no sense whatsoever. she'd be killed. the few times she has escaped, she'd be out on the road running in the middle. or she goes to the company next door (i can't have her bothering the workers there -- she jumps up at everybody)

she incredibly boisterous. i take her out to a safe place for her to run around off lead every day, which she enjoys -- but it doesn't settle her at all.

we have a long chain on a steak that we some times put her on, so she can have a wander around outside. but she won't. she will sit and scream and bark non stop. this is my worry when getting a kennel for her for outdoors. she would have to be on a chain, for her own safety. so she would bark non stop when out there...

she has had this screaming problem, forever. NOTHING stops it. everywhere i've read, has said never to go to her when she is in this humour, as it reinforces the bad behaviour. but this girl will do it non stop for like an hour and a half even!

i'm at my wits end. i don't understand how she can still be so boisterous when she gets plenty of exercise, a good diet and attention (especially with me being home all day)
i literally can't get 5 minutes to myself and it's doing my head in.

TLDR; boisterous dog, screams and barks when confined in crate or by chain outside (but does not bark or scream at night in crate)

what to do?

borderlinemeath

Get a dog run built to keep her safe, much better than tied to a chain.

Have a look at some of the ones on this site http://cilldara.ie/. Room for the dog to move about outside but contained and safe from danger.

dirtyghettokid

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Get a dog run built to keep her safe, much better than tied to a chain.

Have a look at some of the ones on this site http://cilldara.ie/. Room for the dog to move about outside but contained and safe from danger.

thank you, i'll look into those. i am guessing that it won't stop the barking/screaming though...

borderlinemeath

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

thank you, i'll look into those. i am guessing that it won't stop the barking/screaming though...

You won't know til you try. As you say she's barking/screaming looking for attention when crated or tied to a chain during the day but with a run the dog has room to move about. You could also give her something like a kong stuffed with food to occupy her for the time she's in the run. She may associate going into the run then with getting a treat/toy to play with. As it is she associates getting chained/crated during the day with being left alone and is sounding off but if you make the run a desirable place to be during the day she may look forward to going in.

DBB

The screaming sounds like a response to being left alone, would you agree?
Whilst it's great that you're about to keep your dog company, this can have a negative effect in that the dog learns to expect to have you there all the time, and never learns coping skills for being left alone. Does this sound right to you? Bear in mind that many dogs are fine about being left alone at night, because they learn from the word go that this is normal. It's during daylight hours/periods of human activity that they develop the expectation of near-constant company.
If this is the case, you've a lot of work to do before tying her out or penning her. On the tying out, I'd strongly recommend against this... It can cause a lot of unwanted, unpleasant behavioural problems. A run, as suggested, is a far better option.
So, what to do to get her used to being alone? Does she holler if left inside, as a matter of interest?
You need to get her used to being left alone for tiny periods of time at first. Leave the room, but immediately turn around and come back in. Repeat ad nauseam until she gets bored with you leaving. Now you can stay out a little longer, and build from there.
It is imperative that you utilise stuffed Kong toys, chew toys, and think about getting her a thundershirt to reduce her anxiety. A DAP collar may also help. It'd be preferable to start this process inside before trying it outside.
You've a bit of a mountain to climb, this is going to take time and patience!

dirtyghettokid

appreciate the reply, DBB!

when we leave the house, we crate her. she goes in on her own, as in we just ask her to go to bed and she walks in and lays down.
we then leave the house, and we don't hear a peep from her (we have hung around outside for a while to see)

she will scream and bark if she goes to her crate and i am in the house. say for example, i don't want her to come into a room for a minute while i hang clothes up, or have a shower or something. whether she is in her crate, or just in another room with the door closed, she will bark and scream.

if we have guests over, she is just insane with the jumping up, that we will have to put her into the crate for a little while to calm down (this doesn't work) the minute she gets in, she goes mental.

if i clip her to the chain outside while washing the car or something (while i am out there with her and she can see me in full view) she will go mental.

in the cases where i need to confine her for a short while & i leave a kong in with her, she will finish the kong in a few minutes and then start with the barking and screaming. she has toys, but does not play with them by herself. she is only interested in food related items. she only will play with her toys if one of us is playing with her (usually me though)

if she hears me getting up to go to the loo in the early morning (say around 6) she will start screaming and barking, even though she doesn't get up until 8 (routine)

right now as i type this, she is laying on the floor staring at me... :P

thundershirt? never heard of those..

DBB

OK, so it's more when she knows you're about that she starts all the hollering?
I suppose she has learned that this screeching will probably result in you coming back at some stage... it doesn't have to work all of the time for her to think it's worth her while to try it!
I'm guessing that in the early days, you were perhaps more likely to return to her when she started making this noise? And now you try to ignore it as much as you can, but she keeps it up for so long that there are times you have to return to her whilst she's at it?
Anyway, it sounds like she's having problems with impulse control: a very common problem with youngsters, and a REALLY common problem with Labs! The jumping up on visitors problem needs to be addressed, but at first, not when you have visitors. You, your OH, and anyone else living there need to teach her to sit when you come in the door. I'm assuming she knows how to sit, if not, you'll have to teach her
Walk in the door, ask her to sit: if she does, give her a treat and nice, verbal praise. If she doesn't, back yourself out the door. You may have to try this a number of times before it works, but it does work: keep calm and keep trying.
She will eventually realise that sitting when the door opens is the only way she's going to get greeted by you... so much so that you eventually drop the Sit command as you walk in, as the door opening itself becomes her cue to sit. As she gets better at it, you can start to become more animated as you walk into the room, generalising her response from calm, quiet you to an increasingly loud and loopy you. Now, she can start to greet carefully selected visitors, who will go back to step one and come in the door calmly, asking her to sit. You can keep her on a lead if this makes it easier for you. The idea is that eventually, it doesn't matter who's walking in the door or what they're doing, her default behaviour is now to park her butt in return for food, attention, and praise. You can expect some relapses from time to time, but never forget that you can just back up out the door again, and try again.
As for the screeching, I think my original advice still stands: get her used to tiny absences, and build them up slowly. Look up the Kong website for creative Kong-stuffing ideas that last longer than your current Kong filling.
The Thundershirt is a coat which is designed to create a swaddling effect and make the dog feel more secure in anxious scenarios. Have a google for them too!

dirtyghettokid

yes, the hollering and whatnot is when i am around most definitely!

i've left it as long as possible, but there were instances i've had to go in, because of the phone ringing or someone at the door. her crate is in the sitting room and i have to walk past it to get to the kitchen where the back door is.

she knows the sit command, but she actually is too hyper. she will sit down for a millisecond and then back up again. my father in law would be someone who comes in quite frequently. she jumps up at him and he will ask her to sit, but same thing. millisecond and then back up again. on occasion, she will sit for longer and after i praise her, she will gobble a treat and then hop and jump again. we've found the only way to keep her off our guests, is to put her in her crate.. but then of course, starts the screaming.

any time i go over to her, if she is laying down and being quiet, she will jump up and start mouthing my wrists or pulling at my sleeves. if she sees me get a jumper, or go over to where the jackets are, she thinks it always means walk, she will start going ape, jumping up in the air and pulling at my sleeves. i've tried to keep the crossed arms and turn my back, but she nips at the back of my legs then. if i am sitting, she also smacks me in the face and neck with her paws. oh she is a handful!

my husband had a lab before, and i had a lab x GSD and both of them were never this much work. i thought she'd calm a little after getting spayed and getting a bit older, but she's still as hyper as she always was. she doesn't know the meaning of the word calm!

ISDW

What food is she on?

cocker5

ISDW wrote: »

What food is she on?

+ 1

Food can play huge part in a dog's behaviour.... what are you feeding her?

DBB

Put her lead on! Then, when she sits, quickly stand on it so that she can't jump up on you. The lead should be positioned so you're standing on it right in front of her. Also, when she jumps up and you've no lead on her, always leave the room, don't leave yourself open to the messing. Or, stand on her lead!
The lead should let her stand comfortably, but not loose enough to allow the front paws leave the ground when you're standing on the lead.
That all said, you can slowly build up the duration of the sit, by asking her to sit, wait one second, then treat. Develop this to a two second wait, three, five, ten etc. This is all part of teaching her that all-important impulse control... She can have what she's looking for, but on condition she acts politely.
Seeing as you brought it up, spaying does not calm a female down. Castration can help calm males alright, but not spaying on females.
Also, whilst food does play its part in this sort of behaviour, and a diet change may be in order, her behavior as you describe it sounds absolutely typical of any young dog, especially an overly exuberant lab, who just hasn't learned how to control those impulses through training and boundary-setting. It can be difficult when a big dog realises she can take the mick out of you with her size, so using the lead, and environmental control like leaving the room, and withholding rewards until she gets it right, will get you there eventually.

nemo32

We have the exact same problem op, our fella is the best dog when we are around. Has the sit down and doesn't jump up on anyone so can't complain about that at all.
The crying and barking when we leave him on his own is starting to really worry us. He has all the Kong toys you can think of but the min i walk for the door and close it the toys are forgotten and he is crying at the door. We have let him bark for 2 hours and when he stopped we let him in and we have repeated this but he doesn't seem to have learnt from it.

Can't walk upstairs for 1 min and he is barking. Sleeps in his crate at night wit no problems but can't put him in here if we are in the house, he just barks non stop.
He is 4 mths old and just seems to want to be wit us 100% of the time which is understandable for a pup but he has to learn to be on his own at some stage, doesn't he?
Help!

dirtyghettokid

thanks for all your help. i'll try the lead. leaving the room does absolutely nothing though.

to answer the question regarding food; she is on red mills leader adult.

she had a lot of gastrointestinal problems for the first 6 months of her life, so was on royal canin gastrointestinal. then she was on the royal canin lab junior. she's been on red mills for the last 4 months solidly, with no gastro probs. her personality and hyperness have been the same since we got her last december. the only thing that has changed is she doesn't mouth as hard now.

she spent a fortnight at a kennel while we went on holidays. when we got back she was good as gold for about 4 days and then went back to her antics. some days are worse than others!