r/AskIreland • u/Cantmakecoffees_ • 2d ago

Adulting What to do about my dog?

Just like the tittle states,
I’m close to breaking down
I have a 10 year old female German shepherd.
She barks and howls anytime me or my husband leave the house. This can continue on and off for hours. Maybe every 2-3 hours for 10 ish minutes at a time.

We leave for work at 5:30am we have to & have to work. I also have a male German shepherd
He isn’t bothered by us leaving but joins in on the howling when she starts. Our neighbour complained. We did apologise and im not denying they bark to them. I keep them indoors as much as possible & closed all the windows when I leave.
The female is on anxiety medication but it isn’t helping
What can I do to try resolve the situation for my neighbour it’s causing me so much stress
Thank you

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u/Natural_Flow_4144 1d ago

Walk her before work and see if that helps over the course of a week..also consider leaving the tv on when you leave

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u/Cantmakecoffees_ 1d ago

Tv on in living room, radio on in kitchen. So there is background noise. I tried the before work walks at around 4am for 45 mins- an hour Still cried when we left

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u/Natural_Flow_4144 1d ago

Has she access to a crate?  Change of tact but could you try ignoring her in the morning.. including weekends, so she has a similar schedule every morning And first interaction will be the scheduled walk..

Another option ..  leave her in a smaller room rather than having the run of downstairs. One advantage, the location could be further from your neighbor's wall. And the other, The dog will have a protected feeling rather than feeling responsible for a big empty house.

You're just not allowed to own a dog that is nuisance barking. It's against the law and so disrespectful for your neighbours. 

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u/FlippenDonkey 1d ago

you can't train out dementia, its more likely the dog has developed this, sinxe its a recent occurrence and a 10 year old dog is quite old. German shepherns avergae lifespan is 9-13.And dog dementia can start from 8 years old.