Dog barks when I leave house everyday

[airborne spoon]

I have an 11 year old beagle/basset and I adopted him about 3 years ago. He's super awesome and a great dog.

But when I leave to go to work he goes ****ing bonkers and doesn't stop barking for 15-30 min after I leave. During this time he tries to make his way to where he last saw me which means he claws the *sugar* out of the door going into my garage. I've solved this by installing a metal baby gate so he can claw at it and no damage.

When I get home be it 10 minutes or 12 hours later he starts barking and excitedly jumping for a good 5 min before he calms down and goes back to just chilling out with me

He follows me everywhere I go around the house and even when I visit family he isn't far from my side.

How can I get him to stop all the damn barking and door clawing when I leave? I've tried some calming chews that do nothing and I can't try any weed based products since they are illegal where I live.

I will be retiring soon and will start living at RV parks and sometimes I'll need to go places he can't come with. Like the grocery store or a tough mudder or something, (I'm single so it's just me and the dog). Leaving him in the shade with food and water is fine and he's cool with that after the barking stops, but it'll drive other people nuts with all that barking. I don't know what to do to get him to stop barking. Someone previously suggested a muzzle but then he can't eat or drink while I'm gone so that wouldn't work.

 

[Yelobird]

Not for everyone but a bark collar solves that fast. Friend raises Beagles and they all have them. Just a thought.

 

[MountainPass]

It sounds like he has separation anxiety. I am very familiar with this as I have two retired racing greyhounds. Aside from the usual things like not making a big deal about coming and going, leaving music or a TV on, or distracting him with frozen PB treats, I have a more controversial method of fixing it. A second dog to keep him company! This worked for me, now my first boy doesn't care if we are there or not because he has his best friend with him.

 

[airborne spoon]

Not for everyone but a bark collar solves that fast. Friend raises Beagles and they all have them. Just a thought.

I honestly never even thought of a bark collar. Maybe just one of the ones that sprays an unpleasant scent instead of the zapper one. I'll look into that.

It sounds like he has separation anxiety. I am very familiar with this as I have two retired racing greyhounds. Aside from the usual things like not making a big deal about coming and going, leaving music or a TV on, or distracting him with frozen PB treats, I have a more controversial method of fixing it. A second dog to keep him company! This worked for me, now my first boy doesn't care if we are there or not because he has his best friend with him.

Leaving stuff on doesn't have any effect as I've done it a few times on accident
I can't get another dog since I'll be living in my car and tent soon I don't want to lose any space.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I honestly never even thought of a bark collar. Maybe just one of the ones that sprays an unpleasant scent instead of the zapper one. I'll look into that.

Leaving stuff on doesn't have any effect as I've done it a few times on accident
I can't get another dog since I'll be living in my car and tent soon I don't want to lose any space.

Leaving treats out that the dog can easily get through the box isn't what he's talking about. A kong toy with PB or some sort of puzzle will engage them mentally which is what that's about... not rewarding them for being crazy via treats.

Don't skate past his advise to not make a big deal out of returning home. This is the single largest factor in separation anxiety with dogs. People want to assign human characteristics and assume it's because they miss you and it really isn't. When you get home just walk in and ignore them. It's not a big celebration where act like you've never seen each other in years. This is the part that causes them to freak out when you leave.

It's the same as people who feed their dogs as a first act upon waking up and wonder why their dogs wake them up earlier and earlier. If you wake up, let them out and make them wait to eat you're not rewarding them for getting up. Dogs are far more simple than we want to think they are.

Getting another dog will just end up doubling the issues until you learn how to properly handle them because the first dog will teach the 2nd one all of the bad habits.

 

[airborne spoon]

Leaving treats out that the dog can easily get through the box isn't what he's talking about. A kong toy with PB or some sort of puzzle will engage them mentally which is what that's about... not rewarding them for being crazy via treats.

Don't skate past his advise to not make a big deal out of returning home. This is the single largest factor in separation anxiety with dogs. People want to assign human characteristics and assume it's because they miss you and it really isn't. When you get home just walk in and ignore them. It's not a big celebration where act like you've never seen each other in years. This is the part that causes them to freak out when you leave.

It's the same as people who feed their dogs as a first act upon waking up and wonder why their dogs wake them up earlier and earlier. If you wake up, let them out and make them wait to eat you're not rewarding them for getting up. Dogs are far more simple than we want to think they are.

Getting another dog will just end up doubling the issues until you learn how to properly handle them because the first dog will teach the 2nd one all of the bad habits.

I don't leave treats out, he only gets a treat when I get one for him.
He doesn't like chew toys of any kind. I've tried ones with treats inside, peanut butter or something on the outside. He'll use it for like 5 minutes max then never go near it again.
I already tried acting like I don't give a damn when I come and go did that for a month straight with no effect.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I don't leave treats out, he only gets a treat when I get one for him.
He doesn't like chew toys of any kind. I've tried ones with treats inside, peanut butter or something on the outside. He'll use it for like 5 minutes max then never go near it again.
I already tried acting like I don't give a damn when I come and go did that for a month straight with no effect.

A "month straight" isn't going to be anywhere near long enough to undo the behavior pattern that has been set. The fact that your post insinuates that doing this for an "entire month" was a difficult task speaks volumes as to what the problem is. Don't take that as a negative so much as constructive criticism because I already knew that was the case, your input just confirms it. Dogs aren't just born with separation anxiety, it's a learned behavior based on interactions with their owner.

When dogs are treated as dogs they tend to be healthier and happier. When they're treated like humans they often exhibit undesirable behaviors that can negatively impact their quality of life. The problem isn't the dog... it's the people. It's hard to not treat them like your child for many and therein lies the rub.

The bottom line is they don't think like us no matter how hard we try to make it seem that way. They need to be treated like dogs (obviously you still treat them well and love them) and you the asserted alpha and they will thank you for it. If it's a celebration every time you get home after being away they get anxiety knowing that any moment you pop through that door it's going to be a party. The anticipation is the problem, not the fact that they're alone or miss you.

 

[Sanderpman12]

Give him a treat

 

[Sanderpman12]

Or get a 2nd dog

 

[1208]

Make sure you give him a decent walk before work so he's tired and wants to rest.