Barking when we leave - Help ASAP!!

[bosstheboxer]

Uh oh, we just received our first complaint from a neighbour.
Apparently Vegas barks constantly when we're not home.
He never barks when we put him in his crate at bed time only when we leave through the front door for work.
He doesn't really suffer from separation anxiety - unless that's what he's doing here.
This lady lives next door and left a note on our door this morning saying if he doesn't stop his 'incessant barking' she's going to call animal services.
There are people that live above and below us but they don't complain.
She could just be a miserable old so and so... but this is something he shouldn't be doing anyway.

How can we stop him from barking when we leave?

He catches on quick - he stopped barking for his food when we ignored him. We can't exactly ignore him now...we're not even home!?

[Goodgirl]

You can pretend you are leaving and peek in through a window, or listen by the door. When he starts barking, do something to distract him like tapping on the window, or making some type of noise.
I live in an apartment also, so I needed to stop Felix's barking even though I could have just ignored it to go away. He is deaf though so they only thing I could think of is a spray bottle of water. I only use it if I know he doesn't need to go out (he barks in the morning when its time to go) I give him a spritz from around the corner so he doesn't know i'm there, well I hope he doesn't know Usually it is enough to distract him and he forgets what he was barking about. He is getting much better, when he objects to the crate its only for a few whines then hes over it.
Do you ever leave him in the crate while you are home? I think letting Felix "practice" being in there while we are home helps too. They just don't want to be alone Also, try mixing up your routine in the morning... walk out the door and come back in before he starts barking in and out- maybe he will realize that you ARE coming back sooner or later.
Also, do you leave him with some irresistable treat? I was feeding him before I left b/c my SO wakes up after me to take him outside again. but today I gave him a kong with frozen canned food.. Mmmm that must have been good!
I think it would be neighborly of you to thank the lady next door for letting you know about his barking, and let her know that you are doing everything you can to fix it. Maybe even ask your other neighbors if his barking his bothering them, and if so- tell them you are working on it too.
Good luck!

[Goodgirl]

Sorry, I meant to add that I put a nice thick comforter over his crate and just leave the side with the door open so he can see whats going on- this muffles his barks considerably!

[Boniboxer]

Hi I just leave the tv on it seems to help

[bosstheboxer]

Originally Posted by Goodgirl

You can pretend you are leaving and peek in through a window, or listen by the door. When he starts barking, do something to distract him like tapping on the window, or making some type of noise.
I live in an apartment also, so I needed to stop Felix's barking even though I could have just ignored it to go away. He is deaf though so they only thing I could think of is a spray bottle of water. I only use it if I know he doesn't need to go out (he barks in the morning when its time to go) I give him a spritz from around the corner so he doesn't know i'm there, well I hope he doesn't know Usually it is enough to distract him and he forgets what he was barking about. He is getting much better, when he objects to the crate its only for a few whines then hes over it.
Do you ever leave him in the crate while you are home? I think letting Felix "practice" being in there while we are home helps too. They just don't want to be alone Also, try mixing up your routine in the morning... walk out the door and come back in before he starts barking in and out- maybe he will realize that you ARE coming back sooner or later.
Also, do you leave him with some irresistable treat? I was feeding him before I left b/c my SO wakes up after me to take him outside again. but today I gave him a kong with frozen canned food.. Mmmm that must have been good!
I think it would be neighborly of you to thank the lady next door for letting you know about his barking, and let her know that you are doing everything you can to fix it. Maybe even ask your other neighbors if his barking his bothering them, and if so- tell them you are working on it too.
Good luck!

It's hot right now so the comforter would fry the little fella. He uses his crate when we're home for a time out or we put him in there for 'time outs' or when we can't look after him (cooking, etc.)
He has special toys in there that he doesn't have access to when he's out of the crate but he never pays attention to them when he's in there. He doesn't bark while he's in there and we're home (overnight, etc.) - it's only when he realizes we've gone out. We can hear him out front of the apartment.
Our routine is pretty mixed up - I'm a journalist at a 24 hour all talk news radio station and my SO is a paramedic - totally mixed up!
We come and go without making a big deal about our departure. We're doing everything (seemingly) by the book, but still he barks for about 15 min whenever we leave the house.
We're running out of ideas.
Perhaps we should try taking the partition out of his crate so he has a little bit more room in there to play with his toys? He's house trained so I can't see him soiling it.

I seriously don't know what to do.

[Goodgirl]

If you wanted to try the comforter you could put a fan facing the side that is open. It won't stop the barking but it should make it more bearable for the neighbors.

[RolenKisses]

Have you tried putting him in the crate about 10 to 15 minutes before you are ready to leave and waiting for him to settle down while going on with your business? We used to do this with Rolen...he would whine and carry on for a little bit and then realize that he wasn't getting out and would lay down. Now he goes in when we are about ready to leave and just lays right down.

[bosstheboxer]

Originally Posted by Goodgirl

If you wanted to try the comforter you could put a fan facing the side that is open. It won't stop the barking but it should make it more bearable for the neighbors.

So...I've got the tv on, a blanket over the crate and a fan facing the front of the crate (it's there all the time already) - I've discovered a particular recipe he likes in the kong, and that's in there with him.
I'll let you know how it goes when I leave for work tomorrow morning!

wish me luck! ! ! :/

[whosierbabe]

Hmmm... this sounds like a familiar problem. Benny used to do the same thing when I left for work every morning. I don't know what else to suggest than to leave the TV and radio on loud enough that he can hear them pretty well, but not loud enough to bother your neighbor. Other than that, hope that it'll get better with time. Maybe try giving Vegas a treat when he goes to his crate before you leave. Seemed to help Benny. Oh and make sure that he has toys in his crate. Keeps him occupied so he can't bark.

Bon chance and hang in there!

[northernboxr]

The fan thing helped Riker. It means he can't hear anything that would wake him up and remind him he's alone. He just sleeps now when I'm away.

I put Riker's stuffed bone thing (he doesn't like kongs) in the crate before I leave and shut the door. Riker sits there staring at it from outside. He can't wait to get in there and consequently likes me to leave.

You could try leaving him alone for 30 seconds, coming back in and giving him a reward if he's quiet. Then try a minute, 2 minutes etc.... keep varying up how long you leave for before you come back.

I would also leave a note for your slightly crusty neighbour saying you're dealing with it.... At first Riker used to bark at work when I brought him. I asked for a week's leeway to get the barking under control. That is all it took- hopefully Vegas will be the same!