Help!

We have recently acquired a 5 month old american cocker spaniel puppy (3 days ago). Every night since we have had her she goes to bed in her crate in the kitchen (she is used to this) she barks for hours. We don't know what to do to make her stop. I am at home with her now for a few weeks and she will then have people coming in to be with her and walk her every day so she wont be alone for more than 3 hours at a time. We both work and cant do without any sleep every night. Any suggestions as we are at our wits end. She is also very attached to me and follows me everywhere. If I leave her on her own in the kitchen with a gate up she barks non stop until I go back to see her. I have left her for a few minutes at at time each day and am gradually increasing the time. She wont even go in the garden to do her wee without me going with her. Please dont say let her bark as we she is driving the neighbours and us mad. I realise she is in a new home and with new people but please dont say just let her bark. Is there anything I can do to discourage her?

Hi

OK, I am not an expert on spaniels but what I do know is that she is a young puppy who, at an impressional time in her life, has experienced an upheaval. Therefore she is anxious, which is why she is barking.

I would suggest you take things nice and slowly... Whats the routine before you put her to bed...do you play with her to tire her out mentally first? It might help to do a ten minute training session first as her mind will be active...then feed her, take her outside for a wee and put her to bed.

It would also help in the day if you get her into a "leaving alone" routine. Decide what time you are leaving her then try and follow something like this:

1. A walk
2. 5 minutes of mental stimulation
3. Keep things calm and take her to her bed
4. Feed her
5. Leave her for ten minutes
6. Return and praise. Do not return if she is barking - return when she shuts up

I would also suggest giving her a stuffed Kong, and a jumper that smells of you. My dog even had a hot water bottle at fist - anything to make her as comfortable and sleepy as possible. Once she gets used to it you will be able to cut things out....but, in my experience, a sleepy puppy won't argue too much :)

HTH
Chloe

Thanks for that but what do I do at night - I cant leave her barking for hours.

The point is that you need to get her into a routine where she understands that you are going to leave her but you will be coming back. The best way (in my experience) is to teach her to sleep when you leave her.
Start the new "I am leaving you now routine" as quickly as possible and then it will spill over to cover the night-time period aswell in theory....

She is worried you aren't coming back for her - once she learns you are she will settle...

HI, What was her routine with the previous owners, where did she sleep, was she in the house, or, out in kennels. personally I would not feed late at night as she could leave a mess for you to clean. Are you speaking to her as you put her away for the night, if you are don't, give her a little in a kong, put her in the cage, and cover the cage with either a old duvet cover or blanket, I find this helps and the only thing I say at night is, bedtime, quiet now. and leave. Are their any strange noises in your kitchen, i.e. fridge freezer making noises, this could be upsetting her, central heating boiler going on and off!! all these noises will be new to her, remember she is in a strange home and will have to get used to the different noises. I found taking the pup into my room in her cage helped, because if she made any noise, I could say quietly to her, shhhhhh!!!!!! bed time, quiet, I found this helped. all mine sleep in the room, sometimes on the bed , sometimes in their cages. I would agree on trying to tire her out as well before bedtime. I still stand outside with my pup and she is now 8 months old. If you dont know her previous routine, I would phone whoever you got her from and ask, they could have been giving different commands that you do, if I sell a puppy at 5/6months (very rarely at that age), I would give the new owners a diet sheet, and a list of all commands that I have been using , and also what her daily routine was. It could also be people going past your house at night that sets off the barking, remember dogs can hear noises a lot further away than we can. At 5 months old she will also be teething, starting to lose the baby teeth and the adult ones coming in.

I dont know what you mean by a Kong? She sleeps in her crate which I have covered with a flanellete sheet so it is dark all round her. We leave the radio on for her and she has a piece of my clothing in her crate with her. Her routine was just as I am doing now. She slept in the kitchen in her crate at night on her own and sometimes with the radio for company.

Yesterday she had lots of play time, we went out in the car to the vets and to visit a relative and had two short walks during the day. Before bedtime I walked her for 5 minutes and we played with her for half an hour.

I have to say though that yesterday I tried the advice given to me here ie leaving her for 15 minutes each time on her own and only going back to her when she stopped barking and praising her. Gradually increasing this so the time gets longer and longer. This seeems to be doing the trick as she barks less and less as she is learning that I will come back to her when she is quiet. I reward her for being quiet with lots of fusses.

If she sees me when she is barking I ignore her totally. Last night I actually got some sleep for the first time as she barked for a bit and then stopped and I went in and fussed her for this. She did it twice each time barking only for a few minutes. Then she stopped and went to sleep.

Hi Patmeniko ...have a look here ...it might help explain Kongs more ;)

Kong Homepage

HTH

Melody :)

Thats good news :)

I am still worried about her being on her own for longer periods when I go back to work in a weeks time. I leave the house on a normal day at 8.30am she will have been fed and toileted and played with before I leave. She will have a dog walker come and take her to the park with 2 other dogs for a walk at 10.15am and she will be back at around 11.45pm. Then she will be on her own until I come back at around 2.20pm for lunch and leave at 3.00pm. Then on her own again until I return at 5.50pm. Will this be ok for her as she wont be on her own for longer than 3 hours at a time. I dont want her to suffer and if its not ok at her age (5 and a half months) then I will get someone else to come in the afternoon for about an hour and play/walk her then too. Your opinions would be much appreciated.

Hi

Could you get the same dog walker to come in and spend a bit of time with her in the afternoon aswell?

As she grows she will settle down and you should be able to reduce the amount of times she needs company in the day...but at this age I would try to keep her as mentally occupied as possible during the periods you are away to avoid a destroyed house and a depressed dog. I would also have certain things that you leav here with that she associates with being left alone - a stuffed Kong in the morning... a Pigs Ear (or similar) after lunch...

HTH
Chloe :)