barking cocker spaniel

I agree that if a crate is not an option, for WHATEVER reason, find a safe room to leave him in.  I find with my dogs that crates are a very loved place, a place that is theirs and theirs alone.  That's my experience not only with the shepherds, but with the cockers, the mixes and every dog I've ever been owned by.  And I did say in my last post that there are ways other than a crate.......

Separation anxiety maybe?

I agree with all the suggestions listed above, most of all with the crating but I live with my daughter who has a 5 year old cocker.  This dog LOVES to bark.  There are two other dogs in the house, one a barker, and one not.  When that cocker gets going there isn't much that stops him except consistent attention from a human and removing him from the room or outside where the thing that set off his barking came from.  Cockers in my opinion are barkers and you have to learn how to deal with your individual cocker's behavior in a way that works for him/her.  The other barker is a cairn terrier and I can use a crate for her to stop her barking because she loves it (the crate I mean).  The lab mix could care less.  He rarely barks unless there truly is something or someone to bark about.  Good luck.

Dogs definitely can bark crated but the 2 salient points are a) She hasn't tried crating -- and b) the report was that the dog problem barking was only when OUTside and when they weren't home -- so proper crate training with the dog inside could well avoid/solve the problem. 
 
To avoid crating, I suggested she keep the dog inside w/doggie door shut and she said it defeated the purpose of the dog door.  So is the purpose of the dog door so it can let the dog out to be miserable or is the dog not house-trained? That doesn't sound like the case. 
 
As Glenda said, leaving a dog outside when I'm not home is never an option -- there are too many predators, it's an annoyance to neighbors (who have reported this to her), and the biggie is that this dog isn't happy.  The bark/pause/bark/pause indicates deliberate barking -- not separation anxiety, altho I think it IS anxiety of a sort because he's calling someone.  But if that IS obvious then why not reassure the dog -- why put him in a situation where he's going to BE punished for simply trying to find them?  I truly don't understand why anyone would do that.  I may be missing something. 
 
I believe she's looking for a bigger 'punishment' or shock rather than elminating/preventing the trauma.  I look at my 8 year old cocker who has been thru all kinds of trauma this year -- no way would I put him in a situation that deliberately caused him grief and caused him to be compelled to do something to receive punishment rather than avoiding the problem.  No explanation forthcoming other than she won't consider either leaving the dog inside, nor crating. 
 
Because I have an 8 year old cocker that I've gone thru heaven and heck for I just can't conscience this.  Before I get mad and ugly I'm just plain gonna shut up.  Therefore, I'm completely done here. 
 

i agree with the seperation anxiety therory...good posts.  i've been watching him more closely today and when i went outside to the garage he got excited and ran to the fence...my partner left the house he went outside and stood on the porch...bark pause bark pause.  i went outside and called him in.  he eagerly came in and i gave him an abundance of attention.  i've been focusing on interacting with him more throughout the day.  i'll do some internet searching on dealing with it.
 
as far as preferences and differences...not everyone believes in crating.  to get angry because someone else doesn't agree doesn't help anything.  i know people that crate their animals at night and then again while they're gone all day.  what seems humane to one may not seem humane to another.  he isn't receiving constant corrections and we happen to be devoted animal lovers.  i hope i'm not giving the impression that i'm not willing to explore options.  i just don't believe that crating my dog is in his best interests.

Another thing you have to consider...a dog's survival depends on it's pack.  And in this case, when you leave it is calling for you. Add punishment of the shock collar to that and the dog is getting a double whammy. And yet it continues to bark, despite the "corrections"...that is how dedicated he is. 

He may not be alone due to the other animals, but you are the one he depends on.

 The dog is definitely not feeling safe while you are away.  Most likely due to the collar shocking him. He could be associating this with your being gone. Not only is the world scary while you are away, but painful as well.

Also, you have to think of the dog's age.  He is pretty much a senior citizen.  Would you leave Gram or Gramps wandering around while you took off?

Put him in his favorite room when you have short time away.  Give him a shirt or blanket that smells like you or/and your partner.  Turn the tele or radio on.  Get him comfy and tell him he is the best dog in the world. Leave treats laying around the room. No collar.
.

He will become accustomed to this "safe place".  Do this on short intervals in the beginning. 

Until he has it totally together,  you could try valerian or calms forte for long trips.

[linkhttp://www.wagntrain.com/barking.htm]http://www.wagntrain.com/barking.htm[/link]
 
here's a link on barking
 
http://www.wagntrain.com/SeparationAnx.htm
 
a link on separation anxiety
 
Good luck. I personally have never owned a dog who liked his crate or thought it was soothing to be locked up in there (jsut something to put up with to humor the crazy humans), and think they are one of the most mis-used training tools ever invented, so I understand your desire to not use one.

I use to have a border collie with horrible seperation anxiety.  She would bark, tear up window treatment, try to dig out of the door - horrible.  At that time I didn't want to keep her crated when I was not home.   I talked to a behavioralist (I worked at a vet clinic at the time) who recommended that, in the morning before I left for work, I take her to do some intense physical and mental activity for twenty minutes (frisby, fetching a ball, jumping hurdles) on neutral territory.  Also, he recommended stimulating her mind by teaching her tricks and doing agility or some fun active sport.   We ended up on a flyball team.  She also became a wonderful therapy dog.  It made a huge difference in her behavior in general. 

However, since then, I made sure that my puppies learned to really like their crate because I do agility and obedience and the crate needs to be a second home when we are trialing.  I feel that it is less traumatic for them if they have to be at the vet or travelling with us, if they are comfortable being confined. Not being crate trained, for my BC, was always a handicap. 

Do you do any special activity with you cocker before you leave the house?  I have a setter and a pointer and just being in the yard, even a large one,  isn't really enough for them.  They really thrive on activities that makes them think, like agility, fetching, "fun" obedience exersizes. After a 45 minute agility class, they curl up and go to sleep.  A two hour run, willy nilly after birds, in the back yard just makes them thirsty []. 

this type of training collar has 18 levels of correction, with an initial warning.  the batteries slowly run down because the collar has the ability to let you know the status of the battery.  when the battery is fresh he doesn't bark.  he only starts barking again once the battery has been depleted.  my guess is that he sets off the warning and lets it reset itself before doing that again to run the battery down.  neighbors only let me know he's doing it because they know i'm very consciencious about my animals.  his battery can last for months, and during this time he doesn't do it.  i know that because i've been working down the road and it's very obvious when his battery is dead.
 
as far as crating or locking him in a room, it's just not going to happen here.  i know there has to be other ways to deal with it.

well...this dog never wanted to play as a puppy...lol...he's into sleeping and eating.  and to sound negative about a suggestion once again, i'm disabled and limited to the activities i can do.  walking him is out and at his age, he's pretty set in his own schedule.  i think he'd give me the "yeah, right" and roll over...lol.  he has an acre to play on and i'm home most of the time.  the pets here are used to almost 24/7 with us.  i was never gone that long before having to do the extended shopping trips to town.  our pets are our babies and very much members of the family.  that's why i'm leaning toward the separation anxiety theory.

thanks...i'll take a look

well, um, maybe just routinely change the batteries every month? simple solution. Mark your calendar.

true, but i guess in a perfect world he wouldn't be confined to a crate/room or wear the collar.

lots of cockers end up getting de-bark surgery or put down for hysterical non-stop barking. A collar is a much better solution, IMHO.

i went through alot of thought before getting the collar.  he's been doing well with the new one.  but i've only been down the road.  i've been giving him extra attention and checked in with him throughout the day.  today i'm going to take a short shopping trip into town and see how he does.  maybe that'll help?