barking again

[sakirby]

so, i know i have posted about oscar barking before. but, now he has started it again. mainly just when i leave the house. i gave him access to the front hall now. before, he just had the kitchen. access to the front hall allows him to be at the front door which i leave from. now, when he sees me leave the house, he barks and claws at the door. any suggestions? i am so embarrassed that my neighbors may see/hear this. (i live in an apt.) do i just ignore it and leave and hope it will only last a couple of minutes? usually that is all he barks for. thanks!

[adora's mom]

I think Oscar is around 6 months old? Puppies go through a second fear imprint stage from around 6-14 months. It sounds like Oscar probably has some separation anxiety. A few suggestions that helped me with Beckham (who had MAJOR S.A. from 6-9 months old):

- Ignoring him for 5 minutes when you come home, don't talk to him, pet him, etc. and also ignore him for 5 minutes before you leave.

- Busy toys, like Roosje suggested, are great. Kongs, Buster Cubes, Molecuball, etc.

- ComfortZone plug-in worked wonders for us. It's an oil warmer that you plug in that has pheremones in it that humans can't smell. Beckham used to bark at it and then go to sleep! :rolleyes:

- If all else fails, get a citronella bark collar. We're had very good success with this.

Hope this helps :)

[sakirby]

thanks guys. yeah, oscar is about 4 months old actually. i think he is just starting to test me again. he has recently started barking for attention a little and when i leave. i have DAP which is the plug in thing you were talking about lesley. it worked great at first, but, i think it is getting a bit low. i will have to refill it :) roosje and lesley, when you leave now, do you still give toys to dot, mo, and adora? or are they old enough that they don't bark when leave now? that is a good idea though to give him a kong. the only thing is, if i leave 3 times a day, i don't want to give him kongs all the time. a lot of food. thanks for your help guys. i appreciate it. oscar's barking is about the only thing i can't handle. it just terrifies me because i am so afraid of the neighbors getting mad and me having to move :) also, it is so loud, and i just want to make him stop. but, i know that going to him is not the way to do it. just a quick fix that will make the problem worse.

[adora's mom]

You could feed him all of his meals in the Kong if you need to. Roosje had a great suggestion with the cheese spread or peanut butter. If you just put a small amount on their bowl or put it in the Kong way down at the bottom he'll be so occupied that he might not notice when you leave.

Adora doesn't really cry or bark very much when I leave. I keep her upstairs in the master bathroom with a baby gate though so she doesn't see me go in and out of the front door. If she is lonely, Beckham usually busts down the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and comes to sit with her :)