Unusual (dog!) behaviour started over lockdown

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Widgeon

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A bit of a funny one - just wondering if anyone else has been seeing odd behaviour in the dogs with the change of routine during lockdown?

Our little terrier has been used to us going out to work since he was tiny. I took a few weeks off when he arrived and we slowly built him up to being alone in the morning and afternoon by decreasing the number of daily visits he got. He was absolutely fine with this and for three years has been happy with his routine of kibble toys in the morning, sleep, dog walker arrives, big fun walk, sleep, we come home. Whenever I came home early or unexpectedly he would be snoozing on his blankets or sitting quietly watching the world outside the window. He is always happy to see us but never manic, and he's never been much of a barker.

However over lockdown I've been working at home, and often he just won't settle during the day. He dozes, and sometimes he will properly settle, but often he seems on edge. He leaps up to bark loudly at vans driving by, the postman, neighbours standing outside with their dogs, a pigeon landing on the roof, or sometime absolutely nothing (it's a small village so no real background noise). This morning he was having a drink from his bowl when he paused and started to bark at apparently nothing. If he was older I'd worry that he was losing his sight or similar!

When we go out and do the routine of settling him down in his room with his kibble toys and blankets, then he DOES settle properly. He's calm and chilled when we get back, sleeping or looking quietly out of the window. He's also calm and chilled in the evenings when his routine is as normal and we're both in, pottering and watching TV. If he'd been barking at the window while we were out the neighbours would tell us.

The constant leaping up and barking is starting to annoy me and it can't be much fun for him - if I go to the toilet, he will leap up and follow me to the bathroom. I'm going to be WaH until Christmas I think - any ideas for how to get him used to it? I've been in the house during the day since March now. His dog walker is back at work now and he's much happier for having his daily big fun walk with other dogs, but he's still so edgy half the time!

I know everyone seems to say that dogs need lots of company but I feel like ours isn't relaxing when I'm here - because I shouldn't be here and I've messed up his routine. Has anyone else found this?
 
Yep, its as bad for their heads as ours. If he settles on his own pretend to go back to work and leave him in his room as you would normally just "popping home" to check on him periodically as you used to do. Hopefully once he feels like he has his routine back he'll be happier.
 
Mynstrel said:
Yep, its as bad for their heads as ours. If he settles on his own pretend to go back to work and leave him in his room as you would normally just "popping home" to check on him periodically as you used to do. Hopefully once he feels like he has his routine back he'll be happier.
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The problem with this is that he can hear me in the house! At least I know I don't need to worry too much about him getting upset when I finally go back to work.
 
I've not noticed any change but I've kept everything the same. Feeding, walks etc, being separate from them at the required times. Tempting though it is to spend all day with them, it's not fair in the long term and I have one that really mopes if he's with me all the time and then not, so I have to close the door.

The barking of that nature is generally insecurity and he may feel that he needs to defend himself and you from perceived threats.
Is it possible you are exuding worry/stress, that he's picking up on?
 
I think he’s probably on constant ‘guard duty’ because you are there. Terriers especially, like to have a very important job to do and my guess is that he think his job is to guard the house while you are in it. What does he do if you settle down? If he’s used to a quiet house he’s probably also finding the movements and noise is keeping him awake. Is he getting the same level of exercise as before? A tired dog is usually much calmer than one who doesn’t get enough exercise.
 
My dog is the same. I’m working from home apart from one day and he just doesn’t sleep properly when we are home. He is asleep on my lap currently, had to stop work temporarily as work’s network is down, but as soon as I move slightly he’ll be awake and ready to go! ?. I have the radio on whilst I work and that helps him to relax a little bit better
 
My terrier is exactly the same + also, after 3 years of happily being home alone, has serious separation frustration. I don't think it's anxiety per se, but he seems to be utterly furious if he's left out of something or if we look like we might leave the house. He's OK with me leaving, since I always do, twice a day, for the horses, by OH isn't even allowed to get up out of his chair without a full telling off ... we're working on it, but I don't feel we can properly work on it until OH can stay out of the house for a bit longer. He has nowhere to go, working from home, doesn't drive, etc!
 
I’ve definitely seen a change - 2 greyhounds, a lurcher and a terrier who were used to me being at work Monday-Friday with their much loved dog sitter letting them out at lunchtime, and now I’m at home with them all the time ?

I used to feed them at about 6pm or later depending on how long their walk was after work, they now get fed at 1.30pm ? They have demanded to be fed earlier and earlier; to be honest I just cannot stand being barked at by four dogs consistently so I’ve given in and fed them which I know is very bad training ?

George terrier was really in a routine about being left which was great, now he is back into full yap mode if I go out so I’ll have to start again from scratch when I finally go back to work in September time.

George was also very reactive in the way you describe when I was first WFH and it drove me mad.... luckily he settled into a routine quite quickly, he is normally lying next to me as I work and is happily asleep
 
Squee said:
George was also very reactive in the way you describe when I was first WFH and it drove me mad.... luckily he settled into a routine quite quickly, he is normally lying next to me as I work and is happily asleep
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Thanks everyone, this is a relief that I'm not the only one! He is getting exactly the same level of exercise as always, same breakfast routine too. I think CC and Meleeka are right that he's "protecting" us - when he leaps up to yell at vans etc he seems genuinely anxious, he's not just doing it to amuse himself.

Lownthwaite Rob having the radio on is a good idea, I do sometimes have the radio on but not always. I'll start paying more attention to whether having it on correlates with his settling down.

meleeka If I settle down, he does too, until he hears a tiny noise at which point he leaps up. It doesn't make any difference that I'm sat here typing away and not reacting at all to the noise.

While shutting him in another room while I "go to work" is a nice idea, unfortunately it doesn't work in practice as it's a small cottage and I would have to shut him in a bedroom, which is not at all his normal routine.

Thanks all :) I wasn't sure whether I was reading human emotions into a dog by thinking he was trying to protect the house (well, me, because he doesn't do it when I'm out!), but it sounds like it's perfectly plausible that this really is what he's doing.
 
Widgeon said:
The problem with this is that he can hear me in the house! At least I know I don't need to worry too much about him getting upset when I finally go back to work.
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Would a radio in his room muffle things enough to let him think things are going back to normal if you have stuff to do that needs him to be settled?
 
Mynstrel said:
Would a radio in his room muffle things enough to let him think things are going back to normal if you have stuff to do that needs him to be settled?
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It's the layout of the house that's the problem, I would disturb him every time I went to the bathroom or kitchen. But I think the radio idea is worth a go, it should blot out passers by and traffic and help him switch off a bit.
 
Daisy is exactly the same. Far more unsettled and barking at random stuff than she's ever been. I think for her it's a combination of 'protecting' (she never barks if we're not there or if she is out the house) and lack of sleep due to not settling and also the new baby disrupting her night time sleep.

Since we've been home and had the back door open pretty much constantly she also seems to have decided that the garden is part of the house and therefore she can no longer pee or pop in it which is causing even more of an issue ?
 
vallin said:
Since we've been home and had the back door open pretty much constantly she also seems to have decided that the garden is part of the house and therefore she can no longer pee or pop in it which is causing even more of an issue ?
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This is an interesting but unrelated point, I know - but ours is the same, although he's always been reluctant to poop in the garden - it's not new. He will if he is *absolutely desperate* but he has to be desperate! It's an enormous garden, about a third of an acre, but he will insists on walking 20m down the lane before going to the toilet. It's quite useful for us as it means we don't need to worry about searching the garden for horrible piles!
 
Both mine go in the garden now but my younger one previously lived in a house with a concrete yard front and back and was used to walking to a green first thing to clean himself. The first couple of weeks I had to really work on teaching him to go in the garden as he wasn't used to it. We don't do 5am route marches here, this is a 'stand at the door in my PJs and scroll' house ?
 
Would putting him to bed in a crate while you work be of any help? It is something I would try. My GSD switches off in her crate, now with the door open 99% of the time.
 
rabatsa said:
Would putting him to bed in a crate while you work be of any help? It is something I would try. My GSD switches off in her crate, now with the door open 99% of the time.
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That's a really good idea actually, when he starts getting stressed I could put him in his travel crate with a blanket over it. This is how he always used to sleep at night and it's what we did when he got wound up as a puppy so he knows that crate + blanket on top = nap time. Since we moved to a smaller house we don't keep his crate out all the time but we have a big foldout fabric one from when we drove to Europe last summer, I can get that out. Thanks!
 
Did you record his behaviour at home previously when you were out at work? If not, he might have actually been barking etc during the day when you were out but of course you wouldn't know because you aren't there?

I think leaving the TV or a radio on is a good idea, as it will help mask the sounds of the outside world. Try to keep daily tasks as similar as possible to when you were going out to work as routine can provide security for a dog. Is there any way of making a particular room your office and so have a kettle, snacks, your lunch etc in the room with you so you can limit your movements around the house which might be exacerbating any stress.
 
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For all the dogs having a pandemic based existential crisis...
 
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