its official – william is the most barkiest dog in the world ever !!

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I have moved his crate to the lounge and he goes in there to rest now, he has his comfy bed in there, my smelly top and a bowl of water.  I pop a treat in every so often and he has a good snaffle round, he also settles down to sleep in there at night with no problems.  The other afternoon he was settled (lying down, when normally he’d be sitting all stiff and whining/staring) when I left and was quiet for the 20 mins I popped out. 

How many of you have listened to a recording of your dog barking SO MUCH and getting SO STRESSED he simply does not have it in him to bark another bark … ?  It is the cruellest most upsetting thing – thats what I have to come home to.  Its making me not want to go out anymore which is making me not wanting to go out full stop even with them and I am so exhausted with his bloody barking I am just conditioned to snap shutup at him (which does shut him up – even tho it really should just make him bark more ?!!)

Nothing will be done till after xmas re: moving them but I have till 14th Jan to shut them up while i’m out!

Claire.
p.s. I have Harry singing goosey goosey gander !!

[SuzAndTheDiva]

Actually Claire yep I do understand – how about coming home to hear your dog howling the most heart breaking sound youve ever heard because he simply doesnt realise youd gone out. We have that most weekends with Buster – we try not to leave him on his own for more than half an hour and thank god our neighbours are understanding or we’d be in the same position, and luckily my mum is home all day so he doesnt have to beleft……..

All im trying to say is there IS people out there if when youve done your absolute best still cannot cope, well there is people who have the situation for that sort of dog.

Im guessing you have no one at all who can come and sit with them while you go out? Just till this is sorted.

ALl I can suggest now is you try not to leave them too much until Bev can come and stay – and chill Claire because you know  your stress is not helping  :-*

[Anonymous]

*update*

Hi …

Well I took William dog to the vets yesterday morning only to arrive and they’d been broken into and the waiting room which usually would have been large and well within my comfort zone for keeping William settled was resembling a set from CSI and the patients (a sweet old bichon boy and a real spitfire cat in a cat box) and us were all crowded round reception, the front door and doors to all the consulting rooms !  Not a particularly easy situation to manage any dog really – especially as it was all new (new vets) and “new” in the sense he aint been for a good few years now.

Well we waited and he sat nicely for me for treats very focussed with a dog coming out the consulting room next to us and another dog coming into the little reception area.  Then a dog came out of a door own the corridor and he had such a woof woof it made everyone jump and i couldnt re-focus him as they were going to walk right past us I got up and went outside for a couple of minutes and re-entered by this time there was another dog (on someones lap!!) sat where we were, the bichon had gone in and the dog he barked at was at reception so we did some sits in the porch and walked past them ok but had to sit right next to the cat (he doesnt “do” cats) but stayed focussed for the treats and was good walking past the dog he barked at and the lapdog into the consulting room.

The vet looked at him all over felt his back and pelvis, scrunched all his legs up and back again and looked in his mouth (first time vet hasnt commented on his teeth so i guess bones are working good there) and his eyes and ears oh and his heart too.  He said he seems a fit and healthy dog he’s a bit long sighted now so he’ll find it hard to focus close up which was a suprise and a relief (i had thought he had cataracts forming and Bev did think he may have lost some peripheral vision in one eye).  He didnt mention the lumps were anything to worry about (i wasnt but its nice to know he didnt pick up on them if you get me).

I talked to him about his barking and he gave me some advice about making sure William knows I am the pack leader like to not let him on sofa’s and on the bed, feed us first and then the dogs and dont let them have all their toys just pick 2 or 3 and rotate them to play with.  He then said that it could be seperation anxiety but I said I didnt think so as he wasnt stressed when I left – he just barked himself into a stress while I was gone!!  Then he said we could try a citronella anti bark collar and showed me how they work (i have never seen one they are alot more bulky than i ever thought and the spray they get is much more than i thought too) Wills had it on (with no battery in so it wouldnt go off and scare him).  They are alot of money but the vet said I could rent one to see how I go – if it helps any.  Unfortunately, the only one they had there had a little part missing so they are ordering that in for new year.

He then said if that doesnt help he would put a note on Wills file that we’d try drugs.  

At the moment I dont feel totally happy with either solution – I was quite shocked about how large and obtrusive the bark collar is and I must admit concerned about the possibility of it catching on the crate so I think I would have to leave him loose if I did that.  The other thing is that if I left him loose with Bonnie there would be nothing to stop her bark setting it off too and if I took her then the “leaving” environment” would be different and William would react differently – not sure if this is a + or – ???  The other thing is that the vet “woofed” into it to show me how it worked and even quite a small “uff” sets it off and it also went off from his voice during normal talking so I think leaving the radio on might be a “no no” aswell with this collar.  The other thing is that it would be used as a training tool in a positive sort of way where I would leave him for a short time to bark and the collar to work and after 20 mins or something come back and he’d be relieved to take it off or something ?  It was very confusing though as I thought this would make him bark more to “make me come home and take the collar off” also if he barks for 3 hours he is going to work out he can run it out and then carry on barking !  I cant get over it punishing him and not the behaviour though.  I personally think this is wrong and because of his past I know that he will respond to it (in the same way when he wont listen to positive cues he will bolt if you start shouting) but thats just it – he bolts to nearest underneath something and stops there till he thinks its safe again … not a predictable behaviour like a cue at all (tho i can tell it will happen – i couldnt tell you where he’d go for sure!!)

We didnt really discuss drugs as the vet seemed keen to try the collar first and I assumed this was because William is an older dog and I have read about some mixed results – like they can make hearing trained to be *more* accute, which could make a reactive dog worse.

However, I have been doing a bit of coming and going and the like and really think this needs more investigation before either thing is tried.

I went out on thursday afternoon for 40mins there was only me here and i did my little routine for going etc … and no barking.  This morning I do the same thing with only me in the house leaving them for about an hour and they bark.

Looking at it logically either – they are more excited / expectation for something happening (e.g. the dog walker came in the mornings, binmen, post come in mornings….) and my “going out” cues are hyping them for expectation *OR* something is setting them off initially and then William cannot settle himself.

Now what is interesting is before (both crates in office) only William ever barked, now I have seperated them and left her in the office but put his crate in the lounge so he uses it more as a “rest place” and whatever … when he starts with 1 woof she is then butting in and not stopping for about 30mins in this case.  I know while I left today that visitors came to next door and they *BLOODY ANNOYINGLY* insist in parking right infront of our house – the initial “uff” from wills was like a “its a car door banging uff” and then madam starts with her alert refrefrefrafref … and he shuts up.

SO – is he thinking “ah she dealing” when they are apart and she is letting him “deal” when they together??

Will have to do some more trials and set the video cam up too so I can sync sound and whats going on outside.

William actually felt alot calmer and easier to handle than Bonnie is at the vets and he got a comment about how good he was from the reception lady (i think the vets wife lol !?).  Also on the way back he lied down in the crate and didnt fuss – I am now wondering if I should get Mr Tubb to extend that crate or make a tailgate and partition so they have more space and their own space in the boot.

I dont know if its me because of my aspergers or just because the poor vet had just got into work to find his practice in bits from flipping thieves and CSI lady there with her fingerprint dust and her magnifying glass but I wasnt really sure the vet listened to me and seemed quick to reccommend a bark collar to sort it.

I dunno what to do – as a vet would be reccommending does anyone know if M&S cover this on their insurance (they are alot of money)?  or if I can get him to reccommend beh. work would this be covered – I know Kiz said there wasnt much she could do right now but with drugs aswell helping or something ???

Claire.

p.s. Suz, I am chilled a bit more – no i dont have anyone to sit with them, mainly because i dont actually know many people !  I understand what you are saying about other people having the situation for him but they are few and far between as he would need help to settle with any existing dog (entire males and young pups definately no), no cats or small animals, he needs a home that wont vacc/worm/flea regularly as he reacts to all of them and complete food (especially cheap) makes him ill too.  Plus he is a fair bit of work grooming and hoovering plus he doesnt exactly make your visitors seem welcomed and he would take the piss and pull on his lead or clear off over to other dogs for someone not really “clued up” oh and he dissappears down badger/fox/dug out rabbit holes too.

He’d be good for a hermit living miles away that had a passion for grooming and hoovering who had no other animals lol !!!!!

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