# Barking in Crate



## RafasMommy (Apr 21, 2011)

Hi,
We have a 5 and a half months old Vizsla. We got him when he was 8 weeks old and he has been sleeping in his crate at night since day one. We had family visiting for all this while and he had company when my husband and I were at work. Now that the family has left, he is alone at home for 6 hours. We crate him and have a web cam set up to watch :
Its been three days now, and he seems to be barking a lot. He starts barking as soon as I leave at 10:30am for about 20-45 mins, then goes to sleep. When he wakes up around 1:30pm-2pm, he starts barking again and goes on for an hour or more! Then he sleeps again and starts back up around 3pm until my husband comes home at 4pm.
Before I leave in the morning, I make sure he has finished all his business. 
I'll be happy to hear what other Vizsla owners have to say about our situation and any tips and tricks to make him stop barking would be great!
Thanks


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## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

hi! I think he's probably barking out of boredom. Try to give him more exercise in the morning before you leave him to wear him out. I changed my dog's exercise schedule to try to get him some nice running or swimming before work so that he sleeps while I'm gone. If you haven't already, leave him something to do in the crate (whether it's a toy that dispenses treats, chew toys, etc). I think wearing him out will help both him and your neighbors & if you can manage, getting a dog walker would help, too.


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## RafasMommy (Apr 21, 2011)

Hi Laurita,
Thanks for your reply.
I do take him on a walk/run in the morning. That wears him out for a couple of hours. I work from home from 8am-10am and he sleeps for those two hours like a log! He goes on a walk to the dog park where her runs off leash in the evening for 45 mins to an hour.


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## RafasMommy (Apr 21, 2011)

Oh, forgot to mention. He does have chew toys in his crate. Sometimes, I give him an edible bone to chew one which he loves!


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

You might also try leaving the radio on at a low volume - just loud enough to hear the voices. If he is used to family being around, talk radio might be better than music; you will have to experiment. Some other folks on this forum have used sound machines and have posted which sounds have worked for them. You may want use the search function at the top of the screen to find what they said.

What kind of bone do you leave him? I am always looking for safe chew toys for the crate. Thanks.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

The radio is a good suggestion. I always leave the radio on for Willie when I go out. I turn the volume down pretty low, and tune it to a local NPR station that plays classical music. It is very soothing. Talk radio might be more appropriate for your pup... it's kind of a coin toss.


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## RafasMommy (Apr 21, 2011)

We do keep the radio on... sometimes talk shows sometimes NPR sometimes music.... depending on my mood 
We give him "Boots and Barkley - chicken flavored raw hide twists". We've given it to him multiple times when we are at home and he has never choked on it. He is still in the process of getting his adult teeth, so, he likes to chew on it more than gulp it up! It is sold by Target.
Sometimes I freeze Kong with treats and peanut button with water in it and give that... lasts for sometime. I also have ice chew, which he loves. We are trying every thing, but nothing interests him when he sees us getting ready and leaving  except for the raw hide twists. Hopefully this week will be better than the last. Keeping my fingers crossed!


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Did you taken him out of the crate when he was barking or whining?


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## RafasMommy (Apr 21, 2011)

No, we dont take him out when he barks in the crate. He is in the crate when we are at work, I cant take him out even if I want to


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## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

I would try to experiment with changing up the routine before work. I'm not sure if you give him the same sort of exercise, but try to throw something unexpected in there like a park where he can run off leash and smell new scents. Try to do some mental exercises before work (work on teaching him a new trick or get him to smell a tea bag, hide it in the room, and release with an ok to find it). If you have doggie daycare in your area, enroll him for a day to see how he does in his crate the next day. If those things don't change anything, maybe look into a dog walker. I would think that it would get better with time if he is getting sufficient exercise because these dogs adapt quickly to routine.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

RafasMommy said:


> No, we don't take him out when he barks in the crate. He is in the crate when we are at work, I cant take him out even if I want to


I'm not sure you got my question. : Was he *EVER* let out of the crate when he was making noise? Maybe your visiting family members let him out if he wined or barked. You asked for help, and we are just trying to provide it. The answer to the above question is the key to how you go about solving your problem.


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## RafasMommy (Apr 21, 2011)

@laurita: Thanks for the suggestions. We do go to off leash park in the evenings.. but not every day though. I tried the Busy Buddy toy yesterday and today, and that seems to keep him going. He hasnt figured out how to get the treat out of it yet, but he loves to just chew on the bottle!  I give it to him when I am at home (working) so that he plays with it and not sleeping. He is getting better now a days, with more exercise and also getting used to it. I'll definitely try the tea bag trick. Any other suggestions for mental exercise? 
@Linescreamer: oops, sorry I misunderstood your question. Maybe they have let him out in the past when he was younger... But I had let them know not to, unless he is made to sit in his crate and stops barking and calms down first.


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

RafasMommy said:


> But I had let them know not to, unless he is made to sit in his crate and stops barking and calms down first.


I just want to make sure I understand how this is working: If he's barking and raising a fuss in his crate and you're about to let him out, do you subsequently go to the crate, then actually ask for a sit and wait for quiet behavior, and then let him out? If that's the case, the problem might actually be asking for the sit, since you're now suddenly paying attention to him. The barking wouldn't be about the crate then, but about the attention. To attention-seeking dogs, even a glance in their direction is positive reinforcement. Do you _ever_ look at him when he's barking inside the crate, like when you're getting ready to leave? I would just not even look at him until he's quiet. Pretend you don't even have a dog! ;D


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Yes. What Redrover said. 1st - Understand that they have a memory of an Elephant. 2nd - If he was let out of the crate based on HIS request for attention, you have a long road ahead to train him to now be quiet in the crate. I would say it could take a couple months to get him back on track. 3rd - telling him to sit and calm down is exactly what you shouldn't do. He will continue to bark in the crate if you give him attention or let him out within 5 minutes of his request. Even coming back into the room and staying there, he has gotten his way, and can still be considered a very successfull trainer (human trainer).   I hope this helps. I also understand your frustration. I have 5 humans in my house (every day) to train. The dog is easy.


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## RafasMommy (Apr 21, 2011)

> Pretend you don't even have a dog!


Oh that's hard! Especially with him barking... 
Thanks for the suggestions and human training... since this is our first dog, we do need it.

But the thing is, if we ignore him, he goes on for hours, we've tried that in the past. And these days, I see it on the web cam, when he wakes up and is bored, he starts barking, and he is no more interested in his toy... and goes on and on non-stop. I think he knows that we are not at home.. and still he keeps going on. 



> I would say it could take a couple months to get him back on track.


I really really hope not!


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Yeah, it's unfortunate and a long road, but better to nip this in the bud now than try and wait it out, only to have it still be an issue years from now. You may have to start back from the very beginning with the crate training. I recommend ear plugs or everyone walking around with their iPods plugged in, and if you have close neighbors, offering them a nice bottle of wine or case of beer for being so patient while you get through this.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

A bark collar, *may* shorten the process. Let us know how it's going.


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