A lonely bark all day long - I NEED HELP!

[matt7]

Hello Yorkie community, I will try and be brief, although that has never been my style. This is my first post, I am anxious to read the threads by all of you, and I look forward to some assistance with my yorkie. I recently took ownership of a yorkie-maltese mix. her name is molly, she is 6 months old, and she leaves behind her papa, momma and sister. I hope I did not take her away too early from the family? Anyway, she is only a few days into her new home, and she is doing very well except for one thing....and that thing is important. I work from 7:30 - 6:00 monday thru friday. i have arranged to come home TWICE throughout the day with my boss, and he is cool with it...my girlfriend is also here throughout the day here and there...she is in law school though so her time is precious.....anyway, I can come home twice, take her out in the morning, take her out at night, etc.....BUT she wont stop yelping the second I leave the house in the morning. And she follows me around constantly. I have been ignoring her, trying to train her, and surprisingly her potty training is going GREAT...however, I can not figure out what to do about the yelping, and most importantly, I do not know if she is barking the entire day or just for a few minutes after i leave. she doesnt bark when i am present, so i dont know how to train her if i am not present? has anyone else dealt with significant barking and whining when they leave the dog for a few hours at a time? i am crate training now, but i am considering fencing her in the kitchen throughout the day in hopes that she is barking because she hates the crate....still though, i dont want to give in and let her take control of the pack. I NEED HELP! I have neighbors and a heart, so to think she is anxious, or mentally stressing herself out for 4 hours at a time is very scary to me....and i dont want to be asked to leave by my landlord. any thoughts would help greatly! is this something that will fade away? it has only been 3 days so i am unsure if it will last, or if she will learn? also, i have debated about bringing her sister (kona) to my place so she has her to play with and keep her occupied...does this sound like a good idea? or bad idea? thanks in advance for your help!:conf used:

[TwoforFun]

WELCOME!!!

My girls bark there heads off every time I leave and I've had them for months. What I did was give them a treat they can work with for a couple of minutes while I took off. Now when I leave they look at me like wheres my treat.
I can also suggest you put in some soothing music or have the tv turn on. There's a toy and I can't remember what there called but you put a treat in there and they have to fish it out. My point is to keep your fluff entertain while you leave. Good Luck!!

[jencar98]

You would like to think they quit barking a few minutes after you've left, but unless you sneak back and listen at the door, you won't know. I just learned yesterday that some of them don't stop. I rarely leave, yesterday I did for a couple of hours, dh was home with the dogs. When I returned dh told me the poodle, Louis, cried and howled the entire time I was gone - he missed me that much!

I would suggest you fence her in the kitchen, provide toys, possibly a Kong filled with treats, and maybe leave a radio or television on for her - just the background noise might make her more comfortable.

If you think you are prepared to handle another, getting her sister could be the perfect solution for Molly's loneliness.

Good luck and btw - welcome to YT - it's good you've joined us!

[lysiane_souris]

I agree with both previous post.. I also give Bailey a treat before I leave to take her mind of mommy leaving... and I ALWAYS have the TV on and she watches it to. I also live in a basement suite and Cannot let her bark or it would annoy the people upstares.. At the biggining she barked everytime we left and know from monday through friday she made it a routine that we leave the house at 8am.. but funny to say she knows when it is the weekend and if we leave to do anything that is not a work day she gets mad and bark...lol they are smart.. as soon as I change her routine she gets upset.... I would LOVE to get her a friend but I am not aloud.. I think you should get her sister if you are sure you can handle 2 puppies

Good luck

[alriver]

Both mine have radio on when I leave & they get a treat that they only get at that time (stuffed kong). Every time I leave they get it but only then. There is no barking, they're busy with their "special" treat.

[kkubas]

I'm having 100% the exact same problem. I live in a condo and have neighbors above and below me, as well as right beside me. I took Bella over and showed the neighbor across from me and explained that I had gotten a dog and am currently crate training so if she barks or cries to just let me know (I gave him my number so he could call me if she was bothering him.) As for the other neighbors (above and below) I haven't said anything. My landlord doesnt know I have her and I DO NOT want him finding out.

Bella basically SCREAMS in the morning when I leave for work. I tried the treats, I put the radio on, I put one of my shirts in there (so she can smell me. I got that tip from the forums) and some of her toys. She still goes crazy. I come home on my lunch break to check on her and I havent heard her barking but that doesnt mean she had stopped completely. It just means she either took a break or she stopped. I'm not sure which. I thought about getting a tape recorder to record how long she barks. It is absolutely heart breaking but it has to be done. Some puppies are too small and get into too much. So its best for the puppy and the owner if they are crated. Its hard, but I'm hoping it will get better. She even goes crazy when I get in the shower!

If I find out anything that works, I will let you know! Until then, good luck and I feel your pain!

[matt7]

Hello KKubas, well I guess I am not alone! It has been one week since we got Molly and we have had a wide array of things going on. Last week when I originally posted this thread, she was doing the exact same thing you stated below. Everytime we leave her sight she loses it, yaps and cries. We have been ignoring her as much as we can, but also, we have to think about our neighbors. I put music on, place treats and toys in her crate, my t-shirt, etc...and still it doesnt matter. Now, this week (week 2) she is not eating, and refusing to move when we go outside to eliminate. I dont know what to do. I bought a playpen which is 3 feet by 3 feet and 26 inches high. My thinking was that maybe it is too soon to crate her cause of the new surrounding and leaving her family. However, she apparently can broad jump 26 inches as we found her outside the pen yesterday. I am trying to be hard on her, not playing with her at night, ignoring her, and doing everything I can to lead her to something other than me, but it is not working. I am thinking of hiring an obedience trainer and nipping this in the butt before it gets worse. Molly grew up spolied and I am paying the price....good luck to you and I will let you know of anything I discover that helps. I am not going to give up on her but right now she is earning herself a bad reputation....I just hope my neighbors are not affected.....please let me know if you find any solutions.

[matt7]

Hello kkbus, I feel your pain, I do. I still am having difficulties and I dont know where to turn. I want to enjoy my dog and right now I am not. Have you considered hiring an obedience trainer? I am thinking about doing it so I can nip this in the butt now. Molly was raised poorly, and spoiled and now I am dealing with the ramifications of it. I have tried all the things you described below and i also bought a 3 foot by 3 foot playpen....which she proceeded to jump out of! I think it may be too soon for crate training for Molly. She eliminated in her crate last week, which I believe is a bad sign and true indication of separation anxiety. I have tons of friends who have dogs and have the same limitations as me (such as work all day) and they seem to be pulling this off! What am I doing wrong!

[TLC]

I got Roxy and TJ at the same time. I work full time as well, and am unable to come home during lunch. So, we got two, this way they keep each other company

...not sure if that is an option for you or not

[KashasMom]

I am with all of you! Kasha has been with us for 3 weeks now(she's 13 weeks old) I live in a condo where no dogs are allowed to renters(of course we rent) and I have never had a terrier bark this much when left alone( I've raised 2 Scotties). To prevent barking I take Kasha EVERY day to my moms so that she is alone for 3 hours max(Even then she has doggie company). She will sleep in her crate at night if I "put her to bed" but to leave her there during the day time... she sounds like she's POSSESSED! I tried leaving her in the bathroom but she hates that too. She seems to be TERRIFIED of being left alone. What kind of treats to you seasoned trainers recommend? She likes her Kong, but will ignore it if she it too excited/distressed. I'm just worried to leave her alone ... but it's gotta happen sometime I guess. Tips? Remedies for anxiety?

[kkubas]

OK I called her Vet. He said to go to Petco/Petsmart and get some all natural stress relief. I also asked some friends and they said to go to walmart and get "Rescue Remedy". I looked on the website to see what it was : Rescue&reg Remedy - Official Site
and it looks like it might work! It had really good reviews. Its for dogs with separation anxiety and a lot of other things and you can give it to them as much as you need to. The Vet also suggested training but I cant train her until she is 10 weeks and she is only 8 now. I cant do this for 2 more weeks... my neighbors are probably LIVID. Plus training is expensive and shes just a baby!

I also looked into a doggy daycare near my work. It was $15/day where you can drop them off before work and pick them up after work. They can socialize with other dogs and get exercise but I dont like that idea because I dont want her catching anything from any other dogs. The only cool things was that they offer a webcam on their site and you can check in on your baby while you are at work. Its better than her being at home, but still its expensive and I honestly cant afford that.

My other option would be to move. Thats crazy to do but I would rather do that than give her up. Its just an option for me because my lease is up. Thats is my last resort before I have to give her back to the breeder.

This is horrible because its so emotionally draining! For us and the puppies!

[MinnieAnderson]

Hi Matt, i completely understand what you're going thru, it's very sad and you just wish you can put them in your pocket and take everywhere. I got a morkie at 2 months old and had my mom watch for a month but had to leave her alone from 9 til 4 with no check ins. it's very hard, i cried all the way to work and everyday that i leave is still upsetting. i did however forget something one day and had to go back and when i opened the bedroom door she was playing and not making a sound. which made me feel better but the fact that she is checked on through out the day is great i wish i could do the same. we keep her in a puppy proofed bedroom i know it's bad but she was very very very upset in the crate with horrible sounds of crying so i gave in. But my minnie still cries after 4 months, but leave and then wait a few min to see if she's still crying when she thinks you've gone. I'm thinking now of dropping my Minnnie off at co workers house where she just got a morkie in hopes that maybe with the two of them they wont' be so lonely. but from what i learned, morkie's are just people dogs and want and need attention. You could also set up a web cam so that you can log on and look from any computer to see what she is doing at any moment ( I am looking into that myself) let me know if you have any other questions, i know it's scary and exciting at the same time, i was a wreck but it was so worth it, i just love my minnie's

[MinnieAnderson]

i forgot to add, i would get the sister too, i wish i did with my minnie my husband said no way, now i'm afraid that later on when i twist his arm and have more money, minnie might get very jealous but now would be perfect and they would never be alone, it would be a piece of mind and if you think 15 a day times 5 a week is 75 times 4 a month is 300 times 12 months is 3600 a year for doggy day care, might as well get the sister.

[kkubas]

Matt....

Great news! I left work early to go buy the rescue remedy and I cannot even begin to tell you how much of a blessing it is. I took a shower- no barking. I took out the trash- no barking. I went into the kitchen- no crying or barking or shaking. Its like I have a 100% different puppy. I got it at whole foods (i think thats the name) it was $10. I gave it to my cat too. She was totally calm as well.

The only problem now is Bella biting on my computer cord lol shes so funny.

Seriously, this stuff works. GET IT! If you do not notice a difference, let me know. I will help you find something that works. I know what you are going through and I want to do all I can to help.

Amazon.com also sells it for pretty cheap. I needed it TODAY so called around to see who had it. This is a miracle in a bottle.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[YorkieMother]

Try using Through a dogs ear CD. Google it.

JL