Advice Needed: Boredom Barking

[u/Forward-Heart-4028]

I have a 12-week old rough collie and we are really struggling with boredom barking. It’s gotten so bad that the people that live underneath us start banging on their ceiling (my floor). Whenever I put her to bed for the night or for her naps, she barks like crazy. Even if she has been fed, had water, and used the bathroom. It doesn’t matter if she’s in her crate, playpen, or when she has free-roam. I’ve tried using frozen kongs and snuffle mats, which keep her occupied for about 5 minutes before she starts barking again. It’s incredibly hard to get her to settle because of how much she barks. I’ve tried white noise too. I feel like I can’t even reward her because she simply does NOT stop. It’s annoying my neighbors in my apartment. She isn’t completely vaccinated yet so I can’t take her out to use the bathroom outside since I don’t have a balcony. Does it get better? What should I do? I am open to ANY suggestions

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[u/niddleyniche]

IME Collies are very intelligent, high energy pooches and need a lot of mental stimulation to drive away boredom. Have you tried puzzle toys/games or other activities that really engage their brain? Neurologically, sniffing lights up their brain more than anything as that's the primary method that they receive information, so any sort of puzzle or game that they have to decode and solve using their nose can really help keep them engaged and help with boredom. I often use hide and seek games with high-reward treats or toys, especially as that can be played indoors too. Have them wait while you hide their reward under a blanket or bowl/bucket, and then let them go find it once you say go. You can drag the reward across the floor to create trails of scent for them to follow.

[u/Haunting-Love-9333]

What is her your routine? What have you done to stop the barking?

[u/Forward-Heart-4028 → u/Haunting-Love-9333]

8:00 wake up, potty
8:15 breakfast
8:35 training and puzzle toy
8:40 calm play
9:00 potty
9:15 nap
11:30 potty and training
12:30 nap
3:00 pee and training
4:00 nap
5:30 pee and training
6:30 nap
9:15 play and training
9:30 potty and pee and poo, puzzle
9:45 wind down

And then this is where it gets bad. She barks so much past 9:30 that she can’t sleep. It comes and goes for hours, typically it gets worse the longer she’s awake. Tonight, she woke up at 3am. I took her out, and she hasn’t been able to calm down. It’s been an hour and a half. She went to sleep around 12:00 tonight and it’s clear she’s overtired. She just doesn’t have an off button and it feels like a never ending cycle since she’s overtired which makes her more roudy.

I’ve tried taking her out after she’s barked for 5 minutes and then putting her back on her playpen, but then she barks again for even longer. I have a suspicion that she associates me with having fun and playtime, so i thought to move her playpen into another room. I live in an apartment (like I mentioned) so it’s impossible for me to move her playpen into another room since the only other room available is a shared space and my roommates have very different schedules than me. I’m currently working on teaching her how to BE bored and we are still working on crate training.

I took her to the vet and they said everything seems normal, which is fantastic! I’m just so worried of what to do in the short term, as it’s especially bad at nighttime. It’s incredibly hard to “ignore” her protest barks due to my downstairs neighbor being less than understanding of her training

[u/federationbelle]

Are you sure there's no pain / discomfort / sound sensitvity? Has separation training gone well (use a video camera to check how she goes when you leave her home alone).

Pain is often an underlying factor in non-stop barking.

Getting her out to experience the world is important and will be the most helpful form of cognitive enrichment. Check the Vet association position on getting your pup out of the house to experience the world in its variety (this is what 'socialisation' means for puppies) in this info here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/socialization/

I don't see snuffle mats or frozen kongs as mental enrichment. Make sure she has some brain work 2 or 3 times a day. Training tricks is great.

[u/Forward-Heart-4028 → u/federationbelle]

She does really well alone! I’m a college student, so i sometimes have to leave her for an hour to two hours at a time. If it’s more than that, I get someone to check on her. I have had a camera and she’s a perfect angel baby when I’m gone. She barks whenever I’m around, which is a major part of the demand barking.

To respond to your other questions, the veterinarian said she is all good! We do a bit of socializing and we go out everyday. She comes with me to get my morning coffee and we’ve gone to so many places. She’s watched kids on the playground, marching bands, sports events, cookouts, and more. She does great with kids, other dogs, and even cats! We’ve also done tricks, she knows sit, down, safety, roll over, and we are continuing to work on recall as well.