Barking dog while left alone in the trailer.... - Montana Owners Club

PartyCrashers · 06-06-2009, 07:27 AM

Do any of you have experience with your dog(s) barking when you leave them alone in the trailer?

I have two small poodles....If I take the two with me and leave them alone in the pick-up, then one gets wound up and hoots and howler...this will get the other one going, but then she will howl

Usually all this noise will only last until we are out of site, then they quit.....but it is embarrassing when you walk away from the car ( we usually run!)
We know that the dogs settle down, because we have spied on them many times....we have even parked by a restaurant window and watched from inside (they can't see us of course)They will settle down and lay down on the dash or top of back seat and watch people go by....

We have been camping in our trailer for so many times and always take the dogs.....same thing happens as when we are in the vehicle...they hoot and howler for a few minutes when we leave then are fine....Anytime we go camping and if we leave the dogs alone (for short periods) then we communicate with our neighbor campers and leave our cell phone number....upon returning the other campers have always said the same thing....the dogs whine for a few minutes then they don't make a sound the rest of the time.....

Well not this last Memorial Day Weekend....OMG! they put on such a show when we attended the Mt. Shasta Rally at Lake Siskiyou....I was sooo embarrassed. Thank goodness we were camped next to such great and caring Mocer's who alerted us to the problem....Now the real problem....This is the first time in four years (well almost three for the younger dog) that we have encounter this problem while camping. I am scared if this is going to happen again.

While at the Lake Siskiyou campground it was shared from a Mocer about her experience of an Ultrasonic Bird House bark deterrent. This is used for outside....This company has a Indoor use, I bought it and it does not work. Not the sound part, but the unit is faulty and will only work on the manual button (sometimes)and the dogs do respond to this....So I bought a second unit.....same thing. It is faulty...so I will take them back and get my money back.

The idea of the Ultrasonic units appeals to me (not the collar types)...

Does anybody have experience with this type of bark controllers?

What other methods do you use?....other then "poodle soup"

I need something that can be used when I am not in the trailer.

Many Thanks, Denise

Mrs. CountryGuy · 06-06-2009, 07:42 AM

Tough situation.

We tried something called a Barker Breaker one time, HUGE HUGE HUGE error. Now we have a fur kid that shakes at any noise, I lose a lot of sleep during rainy/thunderstorm weather.

This time, could the fur kids HEAR mom and dad while they were inside and you were out?? Mine will bark if they know I am out there.

Could they SEE you while you were out and they were in?? We crate ours for this reason (and many others), if they cannot see out the windows, they won't know who and what is walking by their unit. Maybe smell who and what, but not see who and what.

Crate training this late in the game may be a real tough road. I always start it from day one, in fact, I will not take a puppy that is not used to crates. They need thier little "den" too, and the crate is it.

I am not a fan of barker breaker type electronics, did not work for me, made it worse, but, when we are desperate fur parents we try a lot of stuff.

Hire the horse whisperer???

PartyCrashers · 06-06-2009, 09:30 AM

Mrs. CountryGuy_
Thanks for your response.
About this last trip when the dogs went crazy...
At first I did make a big mistake. The first time when I left the trailer I forgot to close the blinds as I always do and I also forgot to give them their raw bones (which I keep in freezer, until we leave. Then put back in when we return).

So knowing this....the next morning I did a "test".....walked the dogs, and upon returning I closed the blinds and gave them their raw bones, turned on stereo (low). In other words set up as I have done in the past....I then walked down the camp ground road and stood and listened....OMG! They were terrible...As I stood and listened. The "girls" would carry on then settled down for a moment, then start in again. To me there seem to be a trigger....hopefully not the others who walked by with their dogs....but this did not seem to be the case as a couple walked by with their little dog and my two stayed quiet at the time.....

Then I noticed they started barking as a motorcycle drove by.....then again as another one drove by.

On this weekend their was a motorcycle club that was also camping (maybe 25 different bikes at three different sites) the motorcycles were passing by so much. At times every 15 minutes.

Now my husband has a motorcycle and one of my dogs can hear when he comes, home when he is two blocks away....she will go sit by the front door and whine and get excited, then a few seconds later I can hear his bike coming down the street.

I am crossing my fingers and hoping real hard this was the trigger for the behavior my lovely girls displayed....

I was so embarrassed and since we were at a Mini Moc Rally with 30 other Mocer's I did not want to take a chance and annoy others....so I arranged for my daughter to meet us (She was three hours away) and she came and babysat the dogs and took them back home the next day so I go could particapate in "rally" activities. Bless my human girl!

Because the dogs went home early I did not get to see if we still had a problem when the motorcycle fianlly settled in ( and some left).

So now my problem is to figure this out at home....

We are camping next weekend....so I can see if they repeat the behavior (hope not!).

I have used a crate in their puppy years, but have not for the last few years. ( Nikki just turned 5yrs and Paige will be 3 in Oct.) But I have thought of taking the crate ( and borrowing another) for this next trip and try this method....I would also like to be able to try another Ultrasonic unit in the trailer....but who knows if I can get one in time as I will have to order online.

My biggest worry is at the end of July we will go to Wyoming for my daughters wedding and we will travel with trailer so we can include the dogs in this trip....the dogs will have to be expected to stay in the trailer up to 3 hours alone on wedding day.....so I am now worried about this.

As I said we have not had this problem before in the trailer....Last Memorial Day weekend was a new behavior for them, except the complaining when we first has leave but that has always lasted maybe 5 minutes then then they are quiet. What am I going to do if this is a start of a new habit.?!

Yikes!

It's funny you mentioned horse whisperer....I was on the "Dog Whisperer's" website and thinking I need to visit Borders Books today.

Either that or we will be serving "poodle soup" LOL!

Thanks, Denise

2 Sinks · 06-06-2009, 09:46 AM

Hello Party Crashers...We have never been camping without our Collies,past or present...this dates back to the early 1980's starting with a tent and progressing up to 2 different travel trailers and now the Mountaineer 5ver.

We have had only one incident where a fellow camper told us our Collie was barking and that was Morgan our grand old Collie chum back in 1998.I think we had forgotten to turn the tv or radio on for him so when he heard voices outside he decided to join in the conversation.

Our normal procedure for leaving the Collies in the trailer is first to walk them to get all business done,rain or shine (pooper scouper in hand and plastic bag in pocket at all times) When we get back we towel them off to dry or get mosquitos if any out of their coats,they like rub ups and then its in we go.With the 2 Collies we have now I instigate a quick game of "Upstairs / Downstairs" to take away some energy... 3 passes is plenty.We leave the a/c and ceiling fan on plus turn the radio on real low.I give them a couple of treats and off we go.If its sunny out I pull the shades down.So far this has worked well for us,they appear to nap when we're gone.No complaints so far and from time to time if our camping neighbors are friendly I'll ask them if they heard any barking.

Weather conditions decide what we leave on either ac/fan wise.We don't care for the bark deterrent devices and would never use any.

Hope this helps.

PartyCrashers · 06-06-2009, 10:02 AM

2 Sinks-

We basically do the same as you.....walk, set trailer for weather and outside noise and a special treat and toys.....plus I lay out one of our light blankets for them to claim while we are gone.

If away we plan not to be too long....knowing that it is different then when at home. If we can have them in the pick-up when we go someplace then we take them, but then again the weather decides this as they can't be locked up when it will be too hot.

Most of our away trips from the trailer will be to get supplies or when we attend a rally and we have a group activity at a club house or something then the dogs must be left behind.

In the past the girls have always done,.... just complained when we leave, then settle down and are quiet the rest of the time....we have always made sure we communicate with other campers on what they hear when we are gone and we have never heard of a problem.

I guess time will tell.

Icehouse · 06-06-2009, 10:04 AM

When Little Bit was still with us, she would bark her head off when we left the RV. Our vet told us about a no-bark collar that uses citronella spray no electric shock. I will not use electric shock. We would put the collar on Little Bit and if she barked, it would shoot out a spray of citronella. Dogs hate that smell. It didn't take long till she was trained and the collar was no longer needed. We got it at PetSmart.

The only time we had a neighbor camper complain was in St. Mary's, Georgia. We had gone out to dinner and when we came back the campground owners came over and said the couple who had parked next to us while we were gone came in and complained about the barking. The next day, we witnessed this same man walking around other RV's on their campsites. I really didn't hold much to this man's complaining since he was too close to other people RV's and my dog was doing exactly what she should have.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 06-06-2009, 10:05 AM

2 Sinks,

I know PartyCrashers won't mind tooooo much if I drift off topic, just a little, for a moment.

I have been admiring your Collies. Al and I had a tri color way back in the 1970's. It was the most wonderful dog, gentle, great with 2 little boys who had never had a dog.

I like to say, we now have really really small Collies, snicker, our yorkies.

ookkkkk, topic drift over.

PartyCrashers, maybe that "bike" thing was the trigger, will be interested to hear how your next weekend out goes.

Edited to add: HEY TAMMY!!!! GOOD TO HEAR FROM YA, I know, more topic drift, sorry gang.

PartyCrashers · 06-06-2009, 03:10 PM

Mrs. CountryGuy-

Don't worry about me and drifting off topic.

I look at this as a in person discussion....and you can't always stay on topic...in fact I think for the most part it is normal to skip around...that is how communications stay interesting.

And I agree with you those Collies are beautiful. I also love your sense of humor ( your Yorkies being miniature Collies..LOL!)

....Well today I did return one of those non-working Ultrasonics controllers....

The other one was used for testing...

Here is what we did and what happened.

My daughter and I headed out the front door with the doggies. Getting ready to take a ride in the pick-up.

We let the girls go potty on our front lawn, before getting in the truck....no leash attached.

Well our neighbor kids were out who Nikki adores....Nikki took off to greet them (this always happens)

Welp, my daughter had the Ultrasonic in her hand, she pushed the button and Nikki stopped and turned around and head back to the truck to me....THIS has never happened before (WhoooHoo!).

....Now we are in the truck and I parked at the Pet Store to return the other unit....I get out and the dogs whine and bark....This is usual behavior, even when someone stays in the truck. My daughter is in the truck and pushes the button again...Dogs settle down quickly. She said there was a little whining and first then they stopped. Paige stopped instantly, Nikki whined more and my daughter said she pushed the button three times.....She said BIG difference.

When I cam out of the store the dogs jumped and showed excitement to see me but no noise....My daughter did not have to use the button....again a big improvement.

Nikki ha always behaved this way when I leave the vehicle...she is worst when it is me....not so bad if I am in the truck and someone else leaves the vehicle.

We think Nikki gets Paige wound up. Nikki is the older one by 2 years.

Sooooo...when I got home I got back online and I did order the other brand unit (Goodlife Dog Silencer Pro)'

If this unit does not work as stated then I will return it and I will try the collars....and if that doesn't work....

adopt a dog's might be my next post LOL! Well it's better then Poodle soup.

Still would like to hear from others experience.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 06-06-2009, 03:43 PM

Denise

Keep us posted on how that goes for you.

Another little thread drift. 2Sinks dropped me a line about how they came to get those two beauties. Me thinks it would be a great post, but it is their call. I was very touched to read the story.

Back to your fur kids, snicker, snicker, snicker, I cannot imagine one getting the other wound up!

Trailer Trash 2 · 06-06-2009, 04:22 PM

Partycrasher
My best friend has, 1 yappy little Schnouser, ear perceing, little brat dog, and a standard schnouser that barks at any of Gods little creachers, very anoying too. she solved the problem by buying one of those colars that spray cetinelia when ever the dog barks, no pain no strain it works.

On Edit a picture of the colar.

Icehouse · 06-06-2009, 07:13 PM

Since we are drifting off topic - HEY CAROL!!!!

D and M On The Road · 06-06-2009, 08:42 PM

PartyCrashers..... I certainly hope you get your dog barking under control before your next camping trip as we will be in the site next to you!!

Waynem · 06-07-2009, 04:15 AM

PartyCrashers,

Have you gone to a veterinary clinic and asked about pamphlets to your little problem children? They usually carry free pamphlets for different behavioral disorders.

On the bright side, isn't it nice to know you are missed?

Edited: Oh! Do a search on 'unattended barking dog' and you will get some information that may be useful.

Mrs. CountryGuy · 06-07-2009, 05:19 AM

More topic drift!!

Hey Tammy!! I got that W/D!!

And, to get this partially back on topic,

, I washed dog stuff in there, very handy!

End of topic drift: do they make those citranella collars small enough for yorkies??

PartyCrashers · 06-07-2009, 08:45 AM

D and M on the Road-

What are your plans for your little yapper

exav8tr · 06-07-2009, 12:33 PM

partycrahsers, YOu certanily are not the only ones with this problem. I see this all the time as I walk my Lab that doesn't bark at anyone or anything unless you knock on my door late at night. Many folks don't seem to do anything about it and that really gives a bad name to the rest of us dog owners. I would certainly try the citronella spray first. With the elec shockers the dogs get very used to them and just wearing them keeps them from barking, and I mean without even turning them on. I sure hope you get a handle on the problem before you start geting "Notes from Management" posted on your door...Goodl
luck....

Icehouse · 06-07-2009, 03:59 PM

Congratulations on the w/d Carol! It does a good job washing doggy stuff doesnt' it?

Also, to answer your question about collars being small enough for yorkies, our Little Bit was a chihuahua and we were able to use the x-small collar on her without any problems. It has a buckle (like a belt buckle) and the collars do come in sizes, so you might want to measure your yungins necks before you go to town!!!

Mrs. CountryGuy · 06-08-2009, 02:56 AM

Thanks Tammy!!

Yes, the W/D does good work of the doggie laundry, ohhh, mine too!

X small, OKKKKK, Wonder if the "C" will over power the urge to TALK loudly to Mom (err, me) when I am preparing DINNER!

D and M On The Road · 06-08-2009, 07:30 AM

PartyCrashers:

Hmmm... what am I going to do with my little yappers? Well, I'm hoping that the bark deterrent you get will have a far enough range on it so that each time you hit the button to shut up your dogs, my dogs will get zapped also.

PartyCrashers · 06-08-2009, 06:43 PM

D and M On The Road-

LOL! Margee you are too funny.

Actually with all the advertisements I have read on these Ultrasonic units....especailly the Bird House one for Outdoor use (by Petsafe).

This is what they advertise.....to help keep your neighbors dog quiet. They even show a picture of the Bird House unit up in a tree and a fence with a dog on the otherside of it.

Even thou I am interested in using something like this on my dog....I think it is wrong to buy with the sole purpose to use the unit on another persons dog....I don't know I could be walking on uneven ground here....please don't let my comment open a can of worms.

As for your small yapper....I'll take her anyday! Lucy only barks to warn off people or to annouce her arrival! "Ladies and Gentlemen, Lucy has arrived"!

Bark! Bark!

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