Anxiety Of Whining / Barking - Living In A Unit

[BT-Argo]

Hi All

Please dont attack me.. its a genuine concern... can people help me out possibly with any advice or their situation

I dont have a dog yet and it will be a while before i do purchase one .. I live in a unit and i am allowed to have a dog as its been approved. ... my biggest fear of getting a puppy / dog is that it will whine / bark all the time or on a long term basis...

Maybe i am overeacting... I know in theory what to do i.e training, toys etc etc. and when i do get him I will be with him for the first 4 weeks and train him to be on his own by leaving for small amounts of time and crating during the time when i am home for short periods so he can get comfortable in the environment etc.

Long term though we both work.. different hours which is ok so the dog would not be alone more than 4 hours to a max 8 hours on occasion.....

Can people especially those living in units let me know if they have issues with this or is it a training aspect and i am just overeacting?

Thanks

Curious.

[Muttaburra]

Curious, your post asks some very sensible questions.

The fact that you are in a unit does put some extra pressure on you to have your dog not bark, although this problem often arises with people that keep their dog in a backyard too. The issue and solutions are the same.

I have two JRTs living with me in a unit, and have no problem with unwanted barking, so it can be done.

A lot of barking problems start with separation anxiety, these will then evolve into dogs barking out of habit or because it is "fun", or if they are bored or lonely.

So my suggestion would be to concentrate on learning techniques to deal with separation anxiety in a dog. The other aspect is exercise, which will help relax the dog. You could perhaps, after studying a bit further, draw up a schedule of how you are going to settle the puppy and the goal to be achieved and reviewed at the end of each week.

Alternatively you could go for the lounge lizard type of dog, like a rescue greyhound or another breed of dog that has a relaxed personality. The main advantage of considering a rescue dog for your situation is that there are hundreds to choose from, and if you go through a rescue group then the dog will have been in foster care. The foster carer would have a pretty good idea of whether the dog has barking issues and if it is adapted to unit living. Many JRTs are adapted to unit living, as well as other breeds, so you could contact Jill, from JRT Rescue on this forum, or try Cordelias Rescue also on this forum. These two are based in NSW.

[Mum 2 Bailey n Chelsea]

Hi There,

My eldest dog Bailey was raised from a puppy in a unit so I know alot about the subject )

I'm not going to say it was easy because it wasn't but the fact that you will have 4 weeks off to settle the pup in is awesome so I think you will be fine!!

O.K, so do you know your neighbours and get on well with them? When we got Bailey I just told all my immediate neighbours that we were getting a puppy and he may cry a bit in the first little while. Bailey did cry at first but not for long so I think you should be fine. In the time you have off just build the pup up by just leaving for 10 mins and then increasing it from there. The pup just needs to know that you will be coming back!

We gave Bailey access to the living/kitchen area when we were not there, we left the T.V on for him for company and I scattered the floor with toys for him to keep him occupied. I also left him with kongs and treat balls.

Bailey adapted to living in a unit very, very well and although it did take a while to get him toilet trained we did eventually and it was great!!

Bailey has access to the balcony as well and we ended up getting a dog door put in so he could come in and out which was fanastic!!

Honestly I think the pup will be fine! You just need to willing to spend as much time as you can getting the pup used to it.

Its great that you are getting yourself organised, feel free to PM me with any other questions.

Mel

[Ah Ngau]

I think it also depends on the breed too. My golden retreiver seldom barks.

I live in a unit and was worried about the same problem too. So I did use the techniques you mentioned. I also took a few weeks off to make sure he settled in.

He was so silent to the point where my wife and I were worried that he could have a medical problem so he couldn't bark!

We learned that he's okay when he got a tennis ball stuck under the cabinet and asked us to get it for him! Man, he has a very LOUD bark.