I have a four year old girl un-speyed, I do not intend to breed her, I manage her seasons very well, she is in very good health, I prefer not to spey unless for health issues.

I also have 4 other girls, one old and spayed, one middle aged and speyed and one un-speyed and her 15 week old pup. They are known for being a vocal breed.

My problem with said 4yr old is that she is a nervy girl and on the few occasions that all of the girls are left in the house un-attended the nervy girl will bark constantly, a stress type bark. She can start the others off but they calm down.

I leave kongs filled with treats and walk the girls before they are to be left.

I have a neighbour that has complained about her barking and it has become a problem, he is not a dog fan.

Will speying calm her?

I am all for spaying (all my dogs are neutered), but no, spaying will not calm her. Your girl has separation anxiety and you need to work on a plan to get her more used to being left unattended. What sort of training have you tried? What sort of remedies have you tried? I am thinking there of DAP diffuser, Pet Remedy, Rescue Remedy, Bach Flower Remedies etc.

Speying isn't going to help with her problems. Have you tried a DAP diffuser/collar/spray?

You need to manage her stress levels so that they do not go above this stage where she is getting destructive. She may be less stressed if you change your routine before leaving. I.E, if you always put your coat on, try putting your coat on, and then washing the dishes, taking it off again and then going back to doing whatever you are doing.

Does she get much alone time when you're in the house or does she follow you about?

Thanks both for the suggestions and I'm pleased to know that speying won't calm her as I didn't really want to resort to that.

I had thought about the DAP diffuser and will get one to see what results I get.

She's never left on her own in the house, the other 4 dogs are always with her, she has grown up with all of them, she is not destructive at all and has never damaged or chewed anything, she just barks at the slightest noise whether we're here or not, postman, doorbell, strangers about, that type of stuff.

When we're both at home she is not one to follow me all over the place and is quite happy to be on her own pottering around the garden or larking about with the others and also happy to be loved and fussed, walks well on the lead and is very obedient.

The radio is left on and curtains are pulled to try and reduce disturbances for her.

My OH works rolling shifts and the most the dogs are left is for about 5 hours twice a week, I come home at lunch for toilet breaks and to check on them, other than that OH is with them all through the day.

The problem is the 5 hours twice a week, my neighbour does not like dogs and her particularly, he has threatened to report us for her barking, he's self employed and spends a lot of time at home.

She really doesn't like him either and as soon as she see's or hears him she barks and doesn't stop even when we're here. I have to remove her so that she can't see him to stop her barking.
He has raised sticks to her and kicked out at her because he dislikes her so and hence she hates him.
When the neighbour is on holiday it's heaven.

I will try the DAP, and try to alter my routine on the days that the girls are due to be left for the 5 hours.

May consider putting the house on the market!!

I'm hearing a lot of really, really good reports about the newer Pet Remedy diffusers - cheaper than DAP and they seem to last longer too, from what I've heard.

There is some very interesting research here that does show behavioural differences in altered and intact dogs.

Non-reproductive Effects of Spaying and Neutering

I had a very nervous GSD bitch who was scared of her own shadow. I left off spaying her till she was nearly 4, because I thought she would be traumatised being left at the vet. After she was finally spayed she did become much calmer. I was of course working on her issues in other ways as well, but then, I had been doing that for 3 and a half years ( got her at about 5 months) before she was spayed with only limited success. She ended up as a remarkably calm dog, who I could take anywhere, and I feel sure the spaying helped. I don't know why it did-- I have spayed lots of other bitches and there has been no change in them, good or bad, whatsoever. I have never had such a nervous bitch though, and wonder if her nervousness was perhaps linked to her seasons in some way-- she was very sensitive and maybe found it all very confusing.