My poor little whine bag...
 

Recently Wosie will NOT let me out of her sight! :confused: I would say that it was the broken leg that did it, but no, this started about 4 weeks before the break. She loves Dave, it's not like she doesn't, but if we are all together in the same room and I leave to go do something somewhere else, she freaks! Cries, barks, carries on, she can't concentrate until I come back in the room. Little booger! :aimeeyork

Dave says that when I leave for work, she will sit at the door waiting to make sure I am really gone, and then she is fine. But if I am in the house, she doesn't rest until I come back in the room. What's a woman to do?? :confused: It makes me feel bad that she is so awful to Dave. He's OK with it, and thinks it's amusing. ;) Short of carrying her from room to room with me, how do I break her of being such a mommy's girl? Thanks for any help you can give me!

OMG, I was just going to post about the same thing!

Pixie has developed this nasty habit of barking barking barking when I leave the room. But if she knows I'm going to sleep or I'm leaving the house, she's perfectly fine. I don't get it. She can't stand that I go to the bathroom by myself.

I can't even have 10 quiet minutes alone to read posts here on YT! Either she has to be in the room (and then I have to keep a hawk's eye on her, too much stuff in here), sitting my lap (which then she crawls all over me and the computer desk, can't sit still) or I leave her in her area in the kitche and I have to listen to yipyipyipyipyipyipyipyipyipyipyipyipyipyip forever! The second I come back into the room, she stops!

So I'm there with ya! If anyone posts any good advise, be sure that I get to see it!

I'm with you, girlfriend!
 

OK, folks, Kelly and I need some help here! Anyone? Hmmmm?

No help here! :D Kacee doesn't cry when I go to a different room, but she will often follow me, but not always. If I go into the garage or out to the patio, I can hear her crying and yipping before I come back in. :rolleyes: She usually goes with me, unless I can't take her for one reason or another.

Anyone?
 

**Bump**

Last night I made a feeble attempt to break her of this....

I covered the side of her pen with towels so she couldn't see through it and then sat on the other side. Of course, since she couldn't see me, she started barking. So I then proceed to say "quiet" and then rattle an empty soda can full of pennies every time she barks. I think it scared the heck outta her! I felt really mean, scaring my baby like that, but within half an hour of doing this, she was reduced to quiet whimpering instead of her high pitched screaming! I think I"ll keep trying this every day. Maybe eventually, she'll figure it out.

Its good that it works for you. It doesnt work for everyone. It scares my dogs too but it and the water bottle are the only things I can find to control the barking.

Wow, drastic measures!
 

Good luck with your work, Kelly! Keep me posted on your progress, OK?

I thought of the water bottle, but then I'd have to pop up to squirt her. And since she only barks when I'm not in the room.... I don't want her to think that every time I pop my head around the corner or over the pen she's going to be "shot"! Know what I mean?

I'm sure eventually she'll become immune to my penny can, but hopefully I can stop the barking before that happens.

I'd LOVE to help you - when you find out the answer - can you tell ME too ? I have the SAME story - My hubby is here ALL the time yet my girls are glued to my BUTT...one for each side :)

The ONE absolutely most important thing to do is to NEVER go to them when they are barking or whining! If you do, you reinforce that behavior. Wait for a break in the annoying behavior before you go where they are. If they do it when they can see you, immediately turn around and leave (& wait for another moment of quiet before you go back).

As far as the clingy behavior (if you really want to change it?), you need to let your SO's be the "keeper of the good things". Let him feed, give treats, introduce new toys, etc. Encourage him to play with the pup more often.

Here's a link to a good article about separation anxiety:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Con...=1&SourceID=47

Sorry, Kinda Long.....
 

I don't mind the clingy behavior. I love it when she follows me from room to room. I'd just like her to not bark and whine when I need to put her in her pen for some reason. I'd like her to learn to just occupy herself when she needs to be left alone while we're home (she's good when we're away/sleeping).

This is my experience so far... Can anybody else relate?

We have been doing the ignore thing since day 1 (and still are). It worked for a couple weeks. It's just the past week or so she's been barking so bad. And she ONLY does it when we aren't in the room, she second I need to walk past for anything, she stops. She knows only good quiet puppies get attention. Because of the layout of our house and where her pen is, I can't complete stay out her line of sight, so she'll bark. I don't look at her, don't go to her, I just completely ignore her.
I know she's completely quiet when we leave the house (we live in a duplex.... my parents don't hear her bark at all during the day, they live on the first floor). I know Pixie doesn't have separation anxiety.... I've met dogs that have it *ahem, my parent's beagle* I couldn't imagine having to deal with that....
She would quiet down after about 10 minutes, but that first 10 minutes was LOUD. I think she was just being a spoiled little pup and thinks we should be playing with her every second we're home (which I would love to do, but I don't exactly want her standing next to me when I'm cleaning something with some sort of disinfecting spray or something, can't be good for her).

Does this sound like anybody else's home? What did you do to fix it? :confused:
I know my penny can tactic doesn't work for everybody, but I've had some success with it so far.... I would say "quiet" then rattle the can. Now after just two days, all I have to do is say quiet. She sure picked that up FAST. Hopefully she learns this quickly at obedience training!! :)

Attachment
 

:p

5 Babies following me everytime I move from room to room.....2 must come in bathroom with me for shower and the other 3 wait outside the door. Don't I love it...total devotion and unconditional love.....loyal Yorkie babies.....so special. :cool:

Only one of our little girls will sit on my Husbands lap if he is here in family room, no one else will, they sleep surrounding me or on my lap. Yep...very difficult to type, etc. So, if I post with lots of spelling errors you know why.... lolThey love everyone else in the family but they are really one person dogs...totally devoted to who they consider their master.I would like for them not to bark and howl when I leave the house (rarely without them) but otherwise I love their devotion to me.....my little babies.... :thumbup:
They are so cute trailing along with me.....

I really can't help the separation thing - Rowdy follows me from room to room but doesn't cry or whine when he can't come with me. But when he was about 4-5 months old, he started barking at us - bark bark bark bark - when he wanted our attention. Ignoring the barking did NOT work. I didn't know what to do so I treated him like I thought his (canine) mom might. When he barked, I grabbed him (gently) by his harness and gently shook him (like his canine mom might if he misbehaved) and said "NO!" very sternly. He was so startled, it only took 3 times for him to stop the barking act. After that (and now) when he barks or whines, all I have to do is say "NO!" in that stern voice and he stops!

Okay, this thread has been weighing heavily on my mind and I finally figured out why. :( It bothers me to think of punishing a puppy who is already stressed and is telling you about his distress the only way he knows how.

In addition to NEVER reinforcing behavior that you don't want (whining, barking), this is what I'd do. I would try to prevent it from happening. I'd try to make being left behind a GOOD thing. I'd start giving him/her their meals just before you left the room. I'd give them Kongs and then leave the room. I'd give a new toy - or rotate in an old one that they haven't seen in awhile - just before leaving the room. Give a small treat when you leave. In each case, I'd try to return to the room before the pup starting stress-vocalizing again. You want that time when they're alone to be a pleasant time; you don't want to leave them long enough that they get uncomfortable again. :animal36 You should be able to gradually lengthen the time that you are out of the room without the pup fussing.

Give it a try and then let me know how it goes, okay?

Oh, I've also had pretty good luck with teaching Joey a "quiet" command by reinforcing small, but increasing, increments of quiet behavior with praise and small treats.

I think I'm just rambling now....
 

I don't think Pixie is stressed at all. Once she figured out we aren't going to respond, she quickly settles in and plays/chews on whatever toys I put in her pen with her. (Before the barking issue anyway). She's completely quiet during the day while I'm at work. My sister says she never hears her (she lives downstairs with my parents... unless she's lying! :eek: ), and will go and check on her at random times throughout the day. Most of the time she's sleeping or playing with her various toys. Her barking is just an attempt to get me to pay attention to her. I can hear her saying in a whiny puppy voice "But Mooooooommmm, I don't wanna be in here. I want to run around and chew on the drapes and chase the cats and knock ornaments of the Christmas tree when you aren't looking." :animal36

She rarely ever barks when we are in the room or playing with her. She may bark once or twice when we start playing, and that's it. She doesn't bark at the cats and she doesn't bark at whatever imaginary thing it is that some dogs see. She only barks when she needs to penned and I'm in a different room. So how do I teach/tell her to be quiet if she isn't barking right in front of me? If she starts barking, I walk in the room and tell her quiet, I'm just reinforcing the fact that barking is going to bring me back in the room.

And though I talk in present tense about my barking problem, she's "cured" so to speak. I can put her in her pen and leave for another room for any length of time and she doesn't make a peep.... Although now that I say that, it'll probably be 10 times worse... The ignoring tactic only worked for a couple of weeks too....
There's more than one way to train a dog. You had success with reinforcing quiet times (did your dog bark often bark in front of you?), others have had success with squirt bottles and I've had success with a penny can. Which, to those who think that's extreme... IMO, it's not. Extreme to me is using one of those barking collars - citronella, shocking, or otherwise. (The penny can doesn't bother her, I rattled it in front of her and she just cocked her head at me. She didn't run away with her tail between her legs!... Although she may have at first. I couldn't see her. More or less, it just gets her attention now.)

Jaspermom.... Have you tried anything? What has/hasn't worked for you?
To those of you that have used other methods... What didn't work? What finally quieted your barker?

Just trying to deal with it
 

I keep hoping this is just a phase and as she gets older she will grow out of it! :D

Well, I just think mine is spoiled rotten! :D She doesn't say one word when I leave of a morning. In fact, she usually just keeps on sleeping and barely notices I'm leaving; or she's ignoring me because she's mad! :rolleyes:

There's more than one way to train a dog.
I certainly agree with you on that one! Apparently you found my post offensive and, for that, I apologize. Yesterday, you were still asking for ways to fix the problem (well, actually, you still are today) and so I answered you to the best of my ability.

Extreme to me is using one of those barking collars...
Agreed! A penny can is also less aversive than being sprayed with water or being shaken.

This is how you characterized the penny can when you starting using it:

So I then proceed to say "quiet" and then rattle an empty soda can full of pennies every time she barks. I think it scared the heck outta her! I felt really mean, scaring my baby like that...

You asked for alternatives and that's what I gave you. I'm sorry that my answering your question offended you. :confused:

I'll admit I was a bit upset when I saw the words "punished" and "stressed", but I didn't take offense at it. I'm sure there are many instances where this would be the case, but knowing myself & Pixie, I know neither apply :) My husband and I make a point of reinforcing positive behavior and only using a stern No when it's warranted... It just didn't work this time!

I should have chosen my words more carefully in my first post... I'm sure the can did startle her, but as I was unable to see her, I'm not completely sure what her reaction is. All I know is she immediately stopped barking (for a few moments anyway, then she started up again). I could sit there and tell her No and Quiet as many times as I liked behind that towel and she didn't give a darn. I was just surprised at how quickly that can quieted her.

My additional calls for help are more or less to learn about what did/didn't work for other people... Maybe I'll need it in the future. The ignore tactic worked for a couple weeks before the barking started, now the penny can is effective... I may need some new angle soon! (Although, saying quiet before shaking the can seems to have helped. I can say Quiet now and she'll bark once or twice more then stop... Good enough!)

I rattled the can in front of her yesterday and all she did was sit down and cock her little head to the side.... Didn't scare her, just got her attention. Maybe it's my homemade version of a clicker now! (How much are clickers... $1 - $2 at a pet store? Mine cost me 6 cents and a soda can!) :)

I've waaay over-monopolized this thread. Perhaps someone else can explain the difference between a clicker and an aversive penny can?

I know the difference... A clicker is used a training tool. It's meant to give the dog an audible "good dog", if you will, for performing a command correctly.
My aversive penny can is being used to distract/correct her negative behavior. Clicker = good dog. Penny can = naughty dog.

I guess I need to learn to clarify my posts... I just meant it's a training tool.