Advice for a newbie

[damosound]

Hi, We need some help please with our 10 week old Springer, pointer cross
( Dexter )that we've had for a week. He's a bright well behaved pup that has his basket in a roomy but cosy utility room. There is no problem with him going into his basket and he does of his own free will. The problem is that we have a gate to the room which we try to close when we need to keep him out of the way or of a night but he barks the house down day or night as soon as the gate is closed. Even when we put him the other side to clean HIS room he goes mad barking. We've tried the ignoring bit but he's got great stamina and will bark for more than an hour when for our own sanity we've had to give in.
Is it going to do him any harm if we just leave him to see if he does finally calm down or is there a cut off point where we should intervene. Many Thanks
Damian

[nick_j007]

What a shame I typed out a decent response last night and it seems not to have been attached Probably my fault as it was late.

Introduce a crate over a few days so you have a smaller space to control.

Once going to bed though I do not return until my time to wake up and get on with my day. Others advise keeping the dog by your bed, but I fear separation anxiety can be encouraged this way. When by the bed you can let out as needed for toileting, but again the dog may not settle and can get you up and down needlessly.

Ensure the dog has had toilet opportunities last thing at night, and leave it with a small stuffed Kong to distract your leaving. Avoid allowing it to drink a lot before bed time as this will help ensure a quieter night.

This can take a few months to conquer, but stick with it!

The other point to make, is that I make a golden rule not to return to noisy dogs. Wait for some quiet and then return in a calm manner, though at nights I do not return at all...it will not harm the dog

Best wishes,

Nick

[damosound]

Thanks Nick, it's reassuring to know that leaving him to bark wont harm him. Last night he went in his crate ( Left it open )and shut the door to the utility room. He barked a good bark for about 35 mins then got fed up and was quiet until I took out about 2 hrs later. Even though we make sure he's gone to the loo before we go to bed and do the 2-3 hr loo run in the night he defecates outside of the room once or twice a night. Is this because he's distressed or that he sees the outer kitchen as the garden?
Cheers and thanks for your help
Damian

[nick_j007]

Well if you go one big step further and close the crate door you are very likely to find he does not poo during the night. I strongly advocate closing the crate door. You'll thank me in the long run

What are you feeding him, timings and how often please?

Best.

Nick

[damosound]

Hi Nick, again thanks for the reply. We are feeding him 'First Class
Hypoallergenic Puppy' at 7.30 am, 1pm and 7pm he snuggles with us till about 11 then it's out to the garden for toilet duties and then into his crate. We tend to give him some warm goats milk at about 10.30 am and about 4pm.
Cheers
Damian

[nick_j007]

That sounds ok to me, though I might be inclined to drop the milk. A well balanced diet should contain all the calcium he needs and too much can be as bad as too little.

Keep me (us) posted.

Nick

[damosound]

Thanks again Nick. We are slowly using less milk. The cage door closing was a bit of a disaster, not only did he bark the street down but managed to rip through the thick cardboard I'd used to make the cage a bit smaller and cosier.It's strange if we leave the utility door open and close the kitchen door he sleeps soundly and doesn't bark, it's just cracking the poo ing in the night .

[nick_j007]

You're in a catch 22 you see

I would remove the cardboard and so on. I did reduce my border terriers crate once as she was pooing one end and sleeping the other. Though terriers are in a league of their own
When I did this I used 22mm MDF and snug to the edges inside the crate. Drilled holes around the outer edge so i could zip tie the board against the crate bars...it was solid as you like.

So, remove the card board as that was never going to work, and I personally would indeed go back to plan A, and lock the door at night and let the barking commence. DO NOT RETURN AT NIGHT.

Neighbours. Purchase a crate of wine and a pack of ear buds for each person and hand it out with a smile and appreciative hand shake.

The barking should virtually stop after the third night in my experience.

Guaranteed if you stick to it.

Good luck.

Nick

ETA.... Combine this with the tips from my first post re Kong, blanket and so on.

[Popsmom]

Hi. The crating definately works and you need to close the crate door at night. Nick is correct. We had 3 nights of barking and whining and I was the same thinking of the neighbours!!! On the 4th night she cried a bit when we put her in the crate for about 10 mins then that was it. Never heard a peep and on the same night she kept her crate clean and has done ever since. She never goes out in the night for toileting and is happy to go out first thing in the morning. It is just perseverance and not returning to them however much you want to. Good luck and i'm sure all will be fine once in a routine.