Losing my mind - barking and anxiety

Frazzled89

I'm looking for some advice regarding one of my two dogs. They're both neutered girls and when I'm not home they have a quite comfy set up in a heated kennel in the shed with access to the garden.
The problem seems to have escalated with the anxious dog since from the start of the lockdown when I'm off work I'm home and they've been with me a lot.
Now when I leave for work she runs to the gate and the kennel and the back door and the kennel and barks (I can see her on my outdoor cameras). On top of this she's been peeing in the shed that her kennel is in, this is a new problem too.
I've tried the anxiety collar, I've tried anxiety tablets, I've tried a thunder shirt, I've tried music in her sleeping area, I've tried giving her things to do, leaving things with my smell, I've tried putting them out more so they're more used to it. I've even tried parking my car around the corner to pretend I've left. I've tried making a run so they're limited to the kennel and a small bit of garden but tonight was my first night shift trying this and she's managed a jail break and she's out barking like a lunatic again.
Next option I'm thinking is a bark collar because I just can't catch her barking when I'm there.
I love my dogs more than anything, and it sounds awful but this is making me hate her a little bit.
Please help before I lose my mind.

cocker5

Frazzled89 wrote: »

I'm looking for some advice regarding one of my two dogs. They're both neutered girls and when I'm not home they have a quite comfy set up in a heated kennel in the shed with access to the garden.
The problem seems to have escalated with the anxious dog since from the start of the lockdown when I'm off work I'm home and they've been with me a lot.
Now when I leave for work she runs to the gate and the kennel and the back door and the kennel and barks (I can see her on my outdoor cameras). On top of this she's been peeing in the shed that her kennel is in, this is a new problem too.
I've tried the anxiety collar, I've tried anxiety tablets, I've tried a thunder shirt, I've tried music in her sleeping area, I've tried giving her things to do, leaving things with my smell, I've tried putting them out more so they're more used to it. I've even tried parking my car around the corner to pretend I've left. I've tried making a run so they're limited to the kennel and a small bit of garden but tonight was my first night shift trying this and she's managed a jail break and she's out barking like a lunatic again.
Next option I'm thinking is a bark collar because I just can't catch her barking when I'm there.
I love my dogs more than anything, and it sounds awful but this is making me hate her a little bit.
Please help before I lose my mind.

You don’t mention what age your dogs are or breed?

Also how much daily exercise do they get?

Outkast_IRE

I wonder do you need to go back to basics here.

When you are at home are you always within sight of them ? Alot of the training around separation anxiety revolves around the times when you are actually at home and step by step training the dog to understand that just because you are upstairs or in the next room out of sight its nothing to be anxious about. From your brief description it would seem like you need to start putting them in the kennel for short periods while you are at home but leave them see that you are not gone far and its nothing to be anxious about. Most problems of this nature are resolved or brought to a more manageable level with training, the use of anxiety meds or similar should only be a last resort.

As the previous poster mentioned exercise is so important , and is doubly important if your dogs are any of the working breeds. My last collie would cause trouble if she didnt get her 5k+ walk and time throwing the ball each day.

Frazzled89

cocker5 wrote: »

You don’t mention what age your dogs are or breed?

Also how much daily exercise do they get?

They are a frenchie and a frenchie mix, the issue is with the latter. They're both 4.

They get a good walk a day with off leash running and garden play time too.

Frazzled89

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

I wonder do you need to go back to basics here.

When you are at home are you always within sight of them ? Alot of the training around separation anxiety revolves around the times when you are actually at home and step by step training the dog to understand that just because you are upstairs or in the next room out of sight its nothing to be anxious about. From your brief description it would seem like you need to start putting them in the kennel for short periods while you are at home but leave them see that you are not gone far and its nothing to be anxious about. Most problems of this nature are resolved or brought to a more manageable level with training, the use of anxiety meds or similar should only be a last resort.

As the previous poster mentioned exercise is so important , and is doubly important if your dogs are any of the working breeds. My last collie would cause trouble if she didnt get her 5k+ walk and time throwing the ball each day.

No I've made special effort in the last while to not automatically let them in when I'm home so they can't always see me.
They're fine out there when I'm home, I think its when the car leaves at a certain time that she panics. She doesn't mind if we go off for the day at any other time.
She was given a marrow bone and a long walk this evening and I'm watching her on the camera and she's not bad tonight. Mega separation training required this weekend I think.

tk123

Frazzled89 wrote: »

No I've made special effort in the last while to not automatically let them in when I'm home so they can't always see me.
They're fine out there when I'm home, I think its when the car leaves at a certain time that she panics. She doesn't mind if we go off for the day at any other time.
She was given a marrow bone and a long walk this evening and I'm watching her on the camera and she's not bad tonight. Mega separation training required this weekend I think.

If you think the car driving off is the problem then you’re halfway there - keep going out, starting the car, drive down the road if you need to and come back.. again and again and again so she learns that it’s not a big deal.

cocker5

Frazzled89 wrote: »

They are a frenchie and a frenchie mix, the issue is with the latter. They're both 4.

They get a good walk a day with off leash running and garden play time too.

Garden play isn’t considered exercise to be honest.

What do you consider a good walk OP?

When you leave possibly try giving them a stuffed Kong when u leave? Making it a positive experience

cruizer101

cocker5 wrote: »

Garden play isn’t considered exercise to be honest.

Why?
I play fetch with my pair in the garden and would think its great exercise for them, also tug-o-war don't see why it wouldn't be exercise.

Outkast_IRE

Frazzled89 wrote: »

No I've made special effort in the last while to not automatically let them in when I'm home so they can't always see me.
They're fine out there when I'm home, I think its when the car leaves at a certain time that she panics. She doesn't mind if we go off for the day at any other time.
She was given a marrow bone and a long walk this evening and I'm watching her on the camera and she's not bad tonight. Mega separation training required this weekend I think.

It sounds as if you are approaching this with the right frame of mind anyway which is half the battle. The use of the marrow bone or similar when leaving is a decent technique to break the association with you leaving as a negative.

Maybe consider getting a Kong and stuffing it with a treat when leaving, there is some good info on this online and seems beneficial for most people. This along with further training while at home should hopefully help you.

cocker5

cruizer101 wrote: »

Why?
I play fetch with my pair in the garden and would think its great exercise for them, also tug-o-war don't see why it wouldn't be exercise.

That’s different from garden exercise.. most people think. Dog wondering around the garden itself is considered exercise and it’s not.

Fetch is different .. there’s running / interaction/ concentration

tk123

I always find these anxiety posts a bit exasperating as the canned answer is always exercise and stuffed kongs... as somebody with dog who has actual separation anxiety let me tell you that no amount of exercise or stuffed kongs will snap a dog out of it. It requires hard work putting time into training the dog at their pace..and actually training them and modifying their behaviour because walking or running the legs off a dog is not the magic solution that some people fall back on. We don't all have high energy dogs who can do 5km+ walks/runs and we certainly don't want to do further damage with ball chasing. Some dogs find sniffing the same spot for 10 mins or sitting with their owners in the garden more exhausting and fulfilling then running around.. Also too much exercise can be overstimulating and add to the problem because the dog is hyped up and doesn't know how to calm down.

Cherry Blossom

cocker5 wrote: »

. ..

Uhhh.. I think you need to take it back a step or two.. and chill..

...

No cocker5, you need to take a step back and chill

cocker5 wrote: »

...
everybody is entitled to post and try and give helpful advice based on their experiences without being singled out with a rant

...

Posting to give helpful advice is what tk has done. And rant is what you have done.

Not every post that disagrees with your opinion is a slight against you personally. Your advice often has holes in it or is incorrect. The next time I see you going off at another poster like this for no reason you'll be infracted, then banned, then banned for a longer period. You need a serious attitude adjustment if you want to keep posting in this forum. The ball is now in your court.

Please do not reply to this post on-thread.
Thanks,
CB.

Dubl07

I wonder if your dog has had a fright in the garden. I don't know where you live but with so many restaurants etc closed there's less food out there for scavengers like rats, gulls and magpies so they're coming into our Dublin residential neighbourhood a lot more. You might not see them on camera, but the scavengers' scents could be frightening to a smallish dog.

If your dogs are house-trained they might feel a lot safer inside the house than in the garden, even with a shed.

JustAThought

That’s a good point - particularly if you uave neighbours and the dog has been barking a lot - maybe a neighbour was shouting or threw something at it?

Having read the thread I’m a bit confused - sorry - you were off work and working in the house while the dogs were in the garden/shed and they were Ok - but now you are leaving the house to go to work somewhere else and one of you dogs is barking all day? (I sympathise)

tk123

JustAThought wrote: »

Having read the thread I’m a bit confused - sorry - you were off work and working in the house while the dogs were in the garden/shed and they were Ok - but now you are leaving the house to go to work somewhere else and one of you dogs is barking all day? (I sympathise)

I think it's more that the OP is home all the time when they're not working so the dogs are used to them being around?