why would my dog start barking when i leave?

[blueknight]

she has never done this before, now when i leave she barks constantly. when im home with her she never does

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. She either wants to go with you...

Or she doesn't want you to leave...

:shrug:

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[Skittles]

3. does she bark just when you're leaving

do you know if she keeps barking when you're gone?

[flvegan]

5. Sounds like separation anxiety.

Have you had any significant changes in your life recently?

[blueknight]

7. yes

i have not been working as much lately, been staying home more

[flvegan]

9. How long have you had the dog?

Is he/she also destructive when you leave? Have accidents?

[blueknight]

10. no

she is not destructive at all. and when im home she dont make a sound

[MadMaddie]

8. Dogs are like children

They get seperation anxiety, they get sad when you aren't there.

Talk to a trainer on how to help your dog adjust to you not being there all the time.

We have two dogs and they keep each other company.

[GCP]

11. She's lonely

Is there a doggy day care or dog walker you could use?
It's going to drive the neighbors nuts if you let it go on.

[pitohui]

12. how do you know she barks constantly? is she gaming you? (one small idea)

i found that by sneaking in/out of my home, i learned that my parrot was only "barking" (he copies the neighbor's barking dog) right before i entered and/or right after i left -- NOT "constantly"

the plan was to guilt me by making me think he is out there crying all day

you could leave a sound activated recording device to see if the "barking" really goes on for more than a few minutes after you leave -- in that way, you would have an idea if you really have an issue or if your doggie is just trying to play you for some extra attention

i don't know how common this is, but my next door neighbor's dog and my parrot both do it, they are NOT constantly barking, they are carefully timing their "barks" to create guilt and get one over on their people

with parrots, it is better to let them cool off and then reward them w. attention when they are quiet, otherwise you are accidentally training them that a "bark," yell, or a loud "get the hell over here" is the way to get your attention -- i respond to polite, "hello" but if i'm barked up when i come in i now give him a little time to cool off, to get immediate attention he knows he should say "hello" -- of course dogs can't talk but you get the idea -- don't accidentally give more attention to the behavior you want to extinguish -- it's a drama reward (you should double check this advice, it's standard for parrots but i just don't know much about dogs)

[lukasahero]

13. We're working on the same thing

My little one is starting to show signs of separation anxiety. She's always been a scaredy-dog (with good reason) but we've had construction folks traipsing through the house a lot lately and she's starting to turn into velcro-dog. She actually scooted out of the house as we were trying to go somewhere last Sunday. (Found her with her butt firmly planted behind the car - take me with you!)

We're going to try a few things and work with her training to build up her confidence. The first thing I've heard to try is to 'teach' her that just because you leave, doesn't mean you won't come back so we'll start by walking out the door, waiting 10 seconds and come right back in. She doesn't start barking right away so if we come back in before she starts and treat her, we're hoping she'll start to realize that if she sits quietly, we'll come back and give her a treat. Then we'll start to stretch the amount of time we're 'away'...

We're definitely working with her training though just to build her confidence in general... Right now before we leave, we're playing with her hard so she's pretty pooped when we're gone...

Good luck and let me know if you get any good tips via pm or something! I could use them as well.

[SoCalDem]

14. Arf Arf = Come back.. Woof Woof = Take Me

:)