Hello everyone and welcome to our Problem Solving Board. I look forward to helping you solve your dog training needs.
What are some steps you would take for a puppy that howl/screams once you leave the house and will not stop until you get back. He is not alone, we have another dog and we have gotten him a bark collar but that doesn't appear to deter him.
Miah, what I do is to have that dog spend more time by itself. You can use crate training to do this. You can use a timeout or outside time in a fenced yard. But it sounds like some kind of separation anxiety and the solution is more time alone so that your dog can realize, you will be back and its ok to be alone.
At what point does crate training become punishment to correct a behavior? I have a 1 year old mal/gsd female whom were still in the puppy phase?
@christopher-karsten I try not to use the crate as punishment if at all possible. Sometimes, we can become frustrated, and the crate is a good way to be able to give both ourselves and the dog a break. But I want my dogs to view the crate as a good place. They can rest and relax, they have a chew toy and it is low stress for them.
Hi Joel
Im still working out a few kinks, but the hardest one to correct is Phoenix barking when my husband (or anyone) comes home. Especially my husband because the barking turns from alert to happy which is even harder to contain. We've tried having him settle in his open cage but, even if he stays there, he still barks. We now resort to me taking him outside on a heel command and leash to meet the husband/guest halfway and then turning him around and have him follow me along side the husband/guest until we are all inside. Only then do I allow him to greet them.
It mitigates the barking (which is important when you just put the baby down to sleep) but I'm not sure if this is the correct method.
Any advice would be heaven-sent.
@ash I thought I replied to this and I apologize if you’ve been waiting for a reply. With barking like that there are several things you can try. 1. Use place or other obedience command and add “quiet” as a command. If he barks, correct with “Phooey that, quiet.” As soon as he stops, even for a second, “good quiet”. I would set up times, like when the baby is not sleeping, to create situations where you can practice this. Also, don’t overly pet the dog when you come home, you or husband. As soon as I walk in, if dogs aren’t in their place, I give place command. I go change, use the bathroom, whatever before I come pet the dog. That way they learn they are not going to get tons of love right off the bat. Worse case, you could incorporate a bark collar, but bringing up your level of discipline in obedience and following these steps should really help out. As you’re going through, if you run into other issues, please reach out.
