Anonymous wrote:
Bark collar. DCUM is passionately against them, but they are NOT cruel - they will save your sanity and your dog's sanity. It's not fun for him either, to bark endlessly! This is anxiety barking, not barking to communicate "beware, stranger at the door" or "I just saw my friend, I'm so excited". This is repetitive anxious barking that is really bad for dogs.

Always test the collar on yourself first, to see how mild the electric shock is. Try it at the lowest setting first. It took my dog TWO barks to understand he wasn't supposed to bark. He received plenty of praise and treats when he stopped barking. I've never used the collar since, and it's been so many years, I don't even know where it is!

Don't kill yourself with sleep deprivation for some unreasonable "shocks are cruel" principle. Dogs don't learn the same way we do, especially for anxiety barking. The collar will save your life.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t believe in crating dogs, just like I don’t believe in CIO. Just because we in the developed world do things for our own convenience doesn’t make them right.
You should have never gotten a dog with 3 young kids imo. Involve your dog in your life. It’s cruel to train someone to like their prison cell.

Anonymous wrote:I am really sympathetic and not opposed to bark collars, but not for a six month old puppy getting left behind downstairs. Your expectations are unreasonable. Not unreasonable for life! If that’s what you need, rehome the dog.

Otherwise for bedtime I would do a short leash attached to your waistband and just let the kids adjust. Or a baby gate across the door in your room, and the dog stays in there. Being able to see and hear you all may be enough.

For the night, I don’t really think it’s reasonable to ask the dog to sleep alone and perhaps more importantly, there’s nothing you can do about the barking from upstairs. I’d put the crate in your room. Do a pee just before you go yo sleep and if there’s any noise before 6, shake a can of pennies or a quick spray from a spray bottle. No positive attention for barking and absolutely don’t get up.

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is my future, complete with the three year old who LOVES coming into our room at night! Our standard poodle is only 9 weeks (we just got her yesterday) and obviously we are very early into crate-training, potty training, all the training. She's quite content to be in the same room as us, but she whines and barks a lot in the crate and her pen. If we leave the house she settles in the crate okay, but if she knows we're here she whimpers and barks. We are also going to try to keep her only on the main level and not let her upstairs in bedrooms or in basement where all the kid toys live. I know I need to stay consistent for this long road ahead of us, but it's really daunting.