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Latest post 06-03-2008 12:30 PM by Jeff Millman. 1 replies.
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  • 06-02-2008 11:29 PM

    Puppy barks when we have alone time

    I have a 9 month old male Yorkie and he is a darling little boy in most respects.  He sleeps in a crate in the kitchen every night and is also crated during parts of the day when my boyfriend and I are gone.  He used to have problems with whining at night before falling asleep, but has since grown out of it.  The one thing he hasn't grown out of is whining when my boyfriend and I ... shall I say... need alone time.  We do everything just like he's going in the crate for bedtime or if we were to leave, but he starts to wail as soon as he hears us moving around.  He yelps and barks louder when we are in the bedroom than he ever does otherwise.  We have tried to drown out anything he might hear with the radio and air conditioner, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.  Any advice? We're desperate. 

    • Post Points: 20
  • 06-03-2008 12:30 PM In reply to

    Re: Puppy barks when we have alone time

    Sounds like you have tried some of the strategies that I would recommend, but I will suggest a few more. If you need more suggestions, please ask.

    Behaviors occur naturally or based on a change in the environment. In this case, there is something about the situation that has changed to cause Charlie to get anxious.

    You need to break down the various triggers that might be causing Charlie duress and then desensitize him to them individually and then add them one by one until he can handle the entire situation.

    As with most reactive dogs, these are some of the issues that might be causing Charlie stress
    • Charlie is not comfortable being alone when you are in the house
    • Charlie is reacting to noises
    Since you did not say that you put Charlie in the crate ever when you are home, it might be as simple as that being the cause of his stress.

    I recommend working on these tips first for separation and these tips for noises (or let me know if I misread your post and he is actually fine when alone when you are in the house).

    Just because a dog can be alone when their person is out of the house does not mean that he is okay when you are home. Try this first and let me know if you have more questions.

    ---

    Jeff Millman

    Founder and Trainer

    Watch and Train, LLC

    • Post Points: 5
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