Hi
My dog (1 yr old JR/Staffie mix) has started to hide under the kitchen units and make the strangest sounds, a sort of whine/growl/yawn/woof sound mix. I am worried he may be unhappy about something? He gets out for a good walk twice a day but for approx. 2 days out of 7 he is left on his own for some of the day (approx. 6 hrs). He gets loads of attention from myself, my wife and the 3 children, is treated firmly but fairly, gets a good amount of playtime and mixes with other dogs on walks.

To quote Rupe - is treated firmly but fairly

Could you expand on the above please what constitute firmly but fairly, also when did the behaviour start and how old are the children.

Has he had a health check since this started?

Could there be some sound he can hear thats freaking him out. Maybe keep a diary of when he does it and whats going on in the environment at the time to see if you can identify a trigger.

Adam

Is there something under the cabinet that he is trying to get.  Mine do that when they want something out of reach.

Why do you ahve to treat him firmly?

It would be useful to have some more detail about when it started and how you react when he does this.  Do you think ther's any chance he is nay kindof pain?  Does he do this after walks or at a certai time of the day?  Actually despite appearances and what people think both of those breeds can be very sensitive to change and thier people so any detail may give a clue to what s going on :-)

Sounds like a mouse in your kitchen to me :)

I was thinking it sounds like you have a mouse or something under the units. 

Can you explain under what circumstances he hides? :)

MMmm dont know the breed well but do terriers make a sound when hunting?

Hi Rupe, I have one that, when younger, would often put himself in a position like this as a play invitation.  Sometimes it was a come and get me request and other times it was a position from which to leap out and surprise you, after which he'd scoot about like a mad thing before going back into his hole for another go!!  He's a terrier type too

It's important to identify whether he's doing this out of fun or fear.  What makes him go in, and what motivates him to come out?  I'd be more concerned if he was hiding and would want to know why he needs to go under there - does he have a safe bed from which to take refuge from the busy household?

As others have said he could also be hunting: mine will explore every new space.  We moved the fridge last weekend to find something I dropped and he was right in there with us, having a poke about and checking for 'creepies' :)

Finally - 6 hours is a very long time to leave a youngster. I appreciate it's only 2 days in the week but can you find someone to come and let him out?

By 'firmly but fairly' I am referring to the way I hope all good dog owners treat their dogs: you know the sort of thing, lots of fussing, playing and attention but clearly defining boundaries: no snacks between meals (except training treats), being told 'no' but also lots of 'good boy' etc, etc. All the stuff we learnt at training.

Children are 12, 10 and 9.

Last health check in November. Behaviour began about 3 months ago.

Well that is a very interesting point Adam. We live about a mile from an RAF camp from where occasionally we hear gun shots. It may be that he is hearing this but we are missing it. He had a very bad reaction to fireworks in November so maybe he doesn't like bangs (like most dogs I'm sure).

Rupe, it is difficult to say without seeing the dog doing what he is doing. It would have started about 9 months then. Would you say he was hunting or is he distressed. Does it happen all the time or only sometimes, are you able to jot down every time it happens what has happened just before the behaviour starts. I am inclined to think this may be a response to stress but what is causing it you are more likely to understand than us. Are your children involved do you think, does this behaviour happen when all or one of them is present.

Just grasping at straws really to try and sort this without seeing is not possible and if you are very concerned you perhaps should get help in to visit you and try to help with the problem.

A vet visit may be in order just to make sure there is nothing amiss.

Very interesting points too. Maybe he wants more play. I don't think he's found a mouse or is in any pain, as others have suggested, maybe as you say it's because he's a terrier. What motivates him to come out? I'm not sure - he is very present when we are preparing food, looking out for falling bits, and sometimes emerges at this time but other than that at times even his favourite treats don't tempt him out. He does have a safe bed (crate) in the utility room, he knows this is his area and often retreats here for a snooze or a clean up. The door only gets shut when we go to bed or out and he seems perfectly happy with that - safe and sound. On rare occasions he is asked to go to his bed if he is being unsociable.

I'm not sure I entirely agree about 6 hours being a long time to leave him. He has the run of the utility room, soft beds, toys and water. We don't necessarily like doing it but I think he is ok with these rare occasions. He joined us at 3 mths old so we assume he knows no different but maybe he does. He is very happy at all other times, maybe under the kitchen units too I don't know.

> I'm not sure I entirely agree about 6 hours being a long time to leave him.

Can you happily go 6 hours without going to the loo in the daytime?  I know I can barely last that long at night.

What is his reaction to firworks?  Does he run and hide then or does he race around barking trying to 'scare' the noise away?  Is he behaving the same way when under the kitchen units as he does when he hears fireworks?  If the response/behaviour is the same then it may be that he is hearing noises that you aren't.

Having said that I have a large breed who used to squash underneath the sideboard for no other reason that he liked to 'den'.  I now have a small cross breed who does the same thing under the telephone table/seat.  Even though he has a bed/crate  it may be that your dog just likes the 'den' he found, especially if the house is 'busy' with children and adults.

If he doesn't seem distressed it maybe isn't anything to worry about.

Could it be something as simple as a tiny piece of biscuit that he knows is there, can't reach and is obsessed with ?!. My terrier will sometimes lie with his head under the sideboard or sofa and cry for ages if he can't quite reach something !.
Don't feel bad about the 6 hours you sometimes have to leave him - as you say, it's two days out of seven and sometimes these things can't be helped. We occasionally have to do the same, and although we don't like it we know he's safe and well and in nearly 8 years we've yet to find him waiting by the door for us........it's always the sound of him jumping off our bed that greets us !. It's now 7am - he's been upstairs on the bed since 10 last night and I doubt he'll get up much before 9............he's got some bladder !. It might change as he gets older I guess but so far we've been very lucky

Do you know under what circumstances he does it?
As that should give a clue - for example, does he suddenly run under there, tail between legs, if you drop a plate, or slam a door? (in which case it may be that there is some noise sensitivityfrom somewhere, which could indicate that if there is a noise outside or inside, when he is alone, it may frighten him and he may feel more secure under the kitchen units). Noises like central heating, answer phones etc can frighten dogs who are alone.

He may also be scared of "bangs" - this is very common in the firework season, dogs often show anxiety about going outside to the toilet especially at nighttime (they are often better during the day) due to firework fear. If you live near tanks etc this can be similar - a friend of mine lives near the tanks at Wareham Dorset and her beardie reacts to similar noises in and out the house (e.g. a lorry going over a bump). He will then try and hide in the house (or did do,he's improving now). Dogs who are noise phobic can unfortunately "generalise" noises so that they end up scared of many sounds.

If you can describe his body language, when he does it, etc it would help alot :)

You could also try videoing him when he is alone to see if that throws any light on the matter :)

Lindsay
x

Have you ever come home to find a mess ( wee, poo or chewing etc ) and scolded him. Could he hide under the worktop when you come home waiting or expecting to be told off?

I'm sure you would prefer it if you didn't have to leave your dog for up to 6 hours x 2 per week but don't beat yourself up over it.  If it has to be it has to be and I'm sure you would be looking at ways to alleviate the situation if you thought it was detrimental to your dog.

There are far, far worse situations that dogs find themselves in, through no fault of their own, that people could worry and fuss over.

I spent many years involved with dogs in rescue.  In the big rescue centres there are as many as 100-120 dogs at any one time.  They are shut in their indoor kennels from 6pm at night until 8.30am next morning with minimum night staff cover for emergencies which doesn't entail letting all dogs out in the middle of the night to relieve themselves.

If the plight of dogs left for lengthy periods of time is of concern to some people maybe they could volunteer their services at such places to make better these situations.  I am sure it would be appreciated.

I agree my girls go more than six hours at night when we go to bed with no issues, however when they were younger I would have to get up earlier.  I can't remember the rule of how long they can hold it their age.  i know its a good increase after 3mths.

Mine love to get under things, maybe because they felt cozy in their crates previously. 

Maybe try a quick playtime with him when goes under to see if interested or lots of silly fuss to bring him out.  The other alternative is give him a bed there, he might like it.

>I agree my girls go more than six hours at night when we go to bed with no issues

It's precisely because mine go more than 6 hours at night that I don't think it fair to leave them for this long during the day as well.  Whilst they are quite happy to sleep during the day they are generally more active than at night...

A stable adult dog though is a different matter. If there is a possibility that the OP's young dog is developing an anxiety behaviour, he might cope better if not left as long.   A visitor mid way during the 6 hours might help to relieve boredom and alleviate tension.  A toilet break will also be welcomed I'm sure :)

I've just tried a little experiment that may give some clues. I removed the kick board, from the spot he goes to, and had a good look with a torch to see if I could see anything. I immediately heard him scuttling from the other room to see what I was doing. He again squeezed himself under the unit as if to join me as I explored. Nothing unusual apart from him licking dust up etc (urggh). I left him there quite happy, with the kickboard off, he made one of those funny noises I mentioned and then came out quite happy. I wonder if the noises are him feeling a little stuck as he negotiates his way out (this is the moment when he made the noise). I wonder if it's just a fact of him crawling under the cupboard, having a good sniff and then realising that he's a little stuck as almost as if he's saying "Er hello, I'm a little stuck here".

We've never really scolded him for weeing or pooing in the house (a thing of the past as he became toilet trained quite quickly). I'm not too worried about the 6 hour thing.

Thanks to you all for your comments, I shall monitor this and if his behaviour becomes more odd I'll let you know.

I find it interesting that people think 6 hours is too long to leave a dog. I agree, too long to leave a puppy. However, I would have no issues with leaving my dogs for 6 hours with good exercise before leaving them. Heavens, I've not had a holiday in 20 years because I don't trust anyone with my dogs care. I live very rurally and would not have the luxury someone popping in to let them out for the toilet. There are occasions where I do have things to do which are simply not feasible for my dogs to accompany me to.

JMHO :)

Ditto.  Much as I love my dogs (and they are priority One in my life),  we do need to live too.   For me it rarely more than 4 hours but if you are out somewhere and get stuck in traffic it can be longer than expected

when my last litter of puppies were still here they used to climb round the back of a chest of drawers I had in the hall ...because the front was lower to the ground than the back they could crawl under from the back and peep out they all loved doing this to the point of me having to block it off maybe he just likes to squeeze in and peep out?