Hungarian Vizsla Puppy Problem.

Question.
My Hungarian Vizsla puppy aged nine weeks starts whining then barking at around 4am each day. He sleeps in a cage in the kitchen, which he readily accepts and during the day will take himself off to sleep there.

The first week we tried to ignore our hungarian vizsla barking, but he just barked until 6am when I got up. I bought an ultrasonic bark buster which made no difference; I've also tried blankets over his cage and leaving a radio on all night.

I now end up getting up as soon as he starts barking (I have two children who need their sleep). I go into the kitchen where I ignore him, put him out, clean the wet paper in his cage, and put him back in there. If I'm lucky he'll stay quiet. I have so far gone out a few times for short periods during the day but my neighbour told me that he barked consistently when I was away. As soon as he hears the keys in the front door he shuts up. Is this a separation anxiety problem?

Answer.
The good news is that at nine weeks of age of your hungarian vizsla you should be able to alter your puppy's perceptions of these situations quickly! Although the principle of ignoring unwanted behaviour is a good one, the problem with ignoring a young puppy that is barking for reassurance is that the lack of any response can increase their feeling of insecurity. As a result they can develop negative associations with the place they are left in.

This negative association may have been further enhanced when you used the ultrasonic bark buster and your puppy's reluctance to go back in his cage shows he is fearful of solitude at night.

The first step would be to install a dog-appeasing pheromone (DAP) diffuser close to the indoor pen, provided that the daytime response to the pen is still positive. The diffuser is a plug-in device, which dissipates a synthetic scent like the one that bitches produce during lactation. It is designed to signal to puppies that they are safe and secure. This should help your puppy to relax and if you combine it with a behavioural programme to alter your puppy's perception of being alone you should be able to improve his behaviour.

Remember that your ultimate aim is a hungarian vizsla dog that is content when you are not interacting with him; for this reason try to ensure that any relaxed behaviour is rewarded. To this end it can be beneficial to endure a few nights of interrupted sleep where you set your alarm clock and come down to the puppy when there is no noise. The association then is that human company returns when he is quiet and relaxed and this learning experience could be repeated during the evening as well with you putting your puppy in his pen and almost immediately returning to him to let him out, provided that he is quiet.

Gradually increase the length of time he spends in the pen before getting some attention from you. Ultimately the aim will be for your puppy to sleep through the night and stay happily in his pen for as long as you see fit. If the whining and barking persists then a more proactive behavioural technique may help and a behaviour counsellor will be able to assist you with this.

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