How To Stop a Dog From Howling When Left Alone. Bringing your furry friend indoors more often, playing with him, or bringing him for a walk will help keep both of you entertained and is preferable to tying him up outside.
Bring your pet to an obedience training class to learn how true pet lovers reward good behavior and respond politely when their pets misbehave.
When leaving your dog home alone for long periods of time, give him plenty of toys and dog-friendly chew treats that make it fun for him to occupy his own time while indoors.
How To Stop a Dog From Howling When Left Alone
Barking and whining are often signs that a dog is trying to tell us something. Even when we have put them into a comfortable living situation, sometimes there is just some kind of mystery bothering them. Commonly, bored dogs may whine or bark because they need some kind of stimulus in their routine if you’re looking to curb your dog’s boredom-related barking.
To do this you might consider taking him on more walks, playing with toys regularly, or changing up his feeding schedule.
Separation Anxiety
Apart from excessive whining, separation anxiety can be manifested in your dog’s destructive behavior when you’re not around.
It’s as if they just forgot all the things you taught them about appropriate doggy behavior. That distress and the behavioral problem is often not misbehavioral, but instead a real condition like any other illness.
The root cause may be due to hormonal fluctuation or even environmental changes, like a new baby in the house or the death of a friend.
Toys
There are many toys, treats, and programs that can help keep your dog busy when you need time for important things, like yourself.
Kong toys are one toy that can help with this problem because you can put a treat in the toy so that your dog has to work at getting it out before he gets to eat it.
This is a behavior that is incompatible with barking because dogs don’t bark while they’re working, especially if they’re having fun.
Morning Routine
Dogs are very aware of your routines, so they know when you take that special shower where everyone gets extra care or when you have a bedtime routine where everyone rolls up and gets comfortable.
This means they’ll start to identify your departure with these happy occasions, making it difficult for them to remain calm once they realize you’re leaving them behind.
If your dog still has separation anxiety, consider varying certain aspects of your daily routine as a test until they no longer perceive this as a trigger.
Boredom
Dogs form strong bonds with their owners in a short amount of time. When an owner is not around, a dog can quickly become bored and lonely.
The best way to ensure that your dog does not become bored or lonely when you are away is to make sure it has all of its needs met.
Dogs often howl, bark or whine as a means to express boredom or loneliness. For example, they may want to go outside into the backyard but they aren’t able to because the owner that takes them out isn’t home.
FAQs
Why do dogs howl when you leave?
If your dog howls every time you leave the house it might be a sign he is suffering from separation anxiety.
Unlike its joyful, excited counterpart, a dog suffering from separation anxiety will persistently howl as soon as you head out of his sight even if you are only heading out to the kitchen to get him something to eat.
Does howling stress dogs out?
If you come home to find that your dog has been destructive in your absence, it’s safe to say he might have separation anxiety and could benefit from a visit with a pet psychiatrist.
Separation anxiety comes with other symptoms besides destructive behavior and frantic clawing at cage doors or fences while you’re away. It involves pacing, howling, whining even urinating outside the litter box.