We're having a slight noise problem with our 14 week old labrador, Ben. Generally he's good, especially at night and doesn't make a sound till his wake-up time. But, during the day, when we try to leave him alone for short periods (even when we're still in the house) he sometimes whines and barks at the slightest noise, and sometimes just doesn't stop. Especially in the mornings. When we take him out of his crate (after waiting for an appropriate period of quiet) he doesn't seem to need anything, and just seems to be doing it for attention. Is this is normal for a puppy of his age? Should we ignore him until he tires himself out? We've been trying to some quiet training with limited success. Suggestions?
I would make the periods that you leave him shorter (just seconds) and, very slowly, build up the time from there. Here is a good article - http://www.thelabradorsite.com/labrador-barking/ And welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Mollie from Manchester UK Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's four years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German. Mollie is my fourth Guide Dog puppy, a black Lab who is nine months old. .
That is what we've been trying ("click for quiet") and Ben is getting up to over a minute sometimes. We're just worried this is an abnormal amount of noise for a 14 week puppy. Thanks for the warm welcome, it's good to find a place to get advice.
Hello and welcome! Does he bark when you're out of the house? My puppy was quite barky if she knew I was in another room, but not if I went out (I could check on cameras I have set up). With her, it was purely frustration and she had to learn, in time, that not everything revolves around her. There is a big difference between being vocal from frustration and from fear of being left, though, so I'd want to determine which it is before thinking about how to deal with it. You can be a bit more hard-hearted about the frustration thing than if it's true separation anxiety. Each puppy is very individual, and it takes a bit of time to learn what they're communicating with different voices and body language; could you hazard a guess as to what emotion is causing his barking?
Thanks! I have a suspicion its frustration about wanting to play. He goes down fine at nights and for afternoon naps when he's really tired. I'll try and leave the house with a recorder in his room to test the theory.
