9 year old rescue and a question

[Taz_Zoee]

Well, my co-worker went to the SPCA last weekend "just to look". She kept going back to this one kennel with a little whitle poodle mix girl in it. They left...without a dog. In the car she discussed it with her boyfriend and they decided to go back and get her. WOO HOO!!
She is a 9 year old poodle mix. I saw pics and I agree with my co-worker that she looks like a poodle, maltese mix. Or she might even be mixed with bichon. I don't know! Whatever she is she is adorable and now has a new home!!!

Well, here's the question:
When they leave the house she barks her head off. They got a notice from the landlord about it already. (they only got her last Sunday and got the notice on Wednesday I think :rolleyes: )
So, I gave her one suggestion of how to train her not to bark. But I'd like to see what anyone else can come up with.
I think she is just afraid that she is going to be desserted again, because that's been the story of her life.

Can anyone help this old girl stay in her home? My co-worker adores her!! I will show her this thread for any ideas you all have.

Thanks! :)

[Seravieve]

We have our crates in front of a sliding glass door, and when we leave and leave the curtains in front of the door open, the three like to bark bark bark at the birds or squirrels, etc. We close the curtains, and they stay quiet.

Do they crate her? Maybe keep a blanket over the crate? Or I know of these little electronic no bark things. Like a box that emits a high pitch noise when they bark. J's grandma has one for her dachshund... Dont know where she got it though.

I know its hard though, we had a neighbor come over and tell me that our three were barking a lot.. and she hadnt made a formal complaint yet, we live in a townhouse... so we could still do something before she would make a formal complaint. Would be awful if they complained.. as we have three and theres a 2 dog rule.. :rolleyes:

[Freedom]

It does sound like separation anxiety.

First. Do not make a big deal of the dog when you return home. The dog will be excited and obucing and you must ignore the dog and not make eye contact until it calms.

Second. Do not make a bid deal of leaving the dog. No "poor baby, mommie is leaving you now, you be a good doggie." Simply get ready and go.

Third. Practice. Get ready to leaev the house, putting on shoes, gathering up the car keys. Go out the door and away from the house and out of sight. Return after (how long does it take for the dog to START barking? If she starts right away, return after 15 seconds; otherwise, return several minutes BEFORE she starts barking.) Do this repeatedly. Star teh car and drive away if need be. This lets the dog get used to the routine WITH THE RETURNS.

Finally, when the dog is left, she should have something to keep her busy. A Kong with peanut butter has been named quite often. A chew toy. Even more than one!

I AM sorry the landlord is already invloled, as it takes time to address separation anxiety. Is there a family member or friend who can take the dog for the day for a while?

[lizbud]

It might be a good idea to just explain the "we have a new dog"
thing to your neighbors & say that you will be working on the barking
problem. Poor pup will probably need some time to adjust. :( Good
luck on the separation anxiety phase.

[Taz_Zoee]

Thank you all for your replies. Well, another issue with the landlord was they hadn't told them they got the dog yet. But they will be doing everything they need to as far as that goes....deposits and all that.

Seravieve - I'm not sure she's crate trained. I'm thinking not. That is an option.

Freedom - Yes, we talked about your first two things in detail. So she knows those. And your third is exactly what I suggested for her to do. But it will take time to accomplish it. And I'll mention the toys too (although, I am going to share this thread with her :)).

lizbud - Yes, the other night she had her mom watch her. She is already very attached to Jackie, my co-worker. And she sat there watching the door until they came back. I don't think there is someone to watch her everyday though, unfortunately. But we can always make this suggestion as well.

Thank you all for the great ideas. I really hope they can work this out. I don't want Nila have to go back to SPCA. Although I think Jackie will do everything in her power to make sure that doesn't happen.

Any more ideas are always welcome! :)

[Freedom]

Yes, the other night she had her mom watch her. She is already very attached to Jackie, my co-worker. And she sat there watching the door until they came back.

What about leaving a radio on with her? Or even the TV? As she was quiet with the mom, then something which lets her know she is NOT alone and abandoned may help as she gets used to the routines. Bet she learns what time that door opens REAL fast! :)

[Taz_Zoee]

Another great idea Freedom. :) Actually, the roommate even has a dog, but they don't play. I guess the other dog is an extremely overweight chihuahua. :rolleyes:

[loveallfurryfriends]

My dog Smokey is a maltese/poodle mix. He is also quite a noisy guy! Make sure that all the blinds are closed & I leave the TV or the radio on to drown out the noise outside. Hopefully it might help.

[Taz_Zoee]

Well Jackie has her mom watch Nila as often as possible. They just took her to the vet yesterday and she has to have surgery to remove her fangs and most of her back teeth. They are cracked and just not good.
I'm going to see if she can get me a picture to post for you. :)

[Freedom]

Sorry to hear about the teeth but, a 9 year old white poodle mix, this is fairly common. The small white dogs in general seem to have genetic predispositions to bad teeth.

Do you remember back in September when my foster dog, Marlin, had 38 extractions? He had quite a few bad days and even had to return to the vet for fluids and another pain injection, he was so unhappy and getting dehydrated. That was 3 days after the surgery. He was on soft foods for about 6 weeks while everything healed up. I started with canned, then moistened dry kibble with warm water and mixed that in, started reducing the amount of canned food. He now eats dry kibble again. Of course, he scouts around to see if there is anything BETTER available first. :rolleyes: And every now and then he STILL barks at the dish, to see if I'll break down and give him some of the yummy soft tasty stuff. (I don't do that anymore!)

Point being, she and her mom who watched the dog will just need to be patient, the dog will eventually recover!

[Taz_Zoee]

Yes Freedom, I do remember Marlin and his teeth issue. In fact, I told Jackie about it. They knew she had teeth problems, that was one of the main reasons they took her to the vet. She's just nervous about the whole surgery thing, which I don't blame her one bit. But I will reassure her that Nila will heal just fine with time. :) Thank you.