poodle cross howling

Question
I have a 5 year old poodle-cockerspaniel cross who has suddenly started howling a lot when we are not home.  Nothing significant has changed (we've always worked all day and the kids have always been as school all day). Neighbors have noticed a big increase in the howling in the last few months.

Answer
Hello Lynette,
It could be that he/she is just board in the house all day and has picked up this bad habit.  

Try to do things that will keep his/her interest in other things up so he doesn't think about howling as much.

You didn't say if your dog was in a crate or loose during the day.  If he is in a crate, try moving the crate location once in a while to give him a different view of things.  If you keep him in a small bathroom or laundry room, switch where he stays once in a while so it chances the scenery around him.  
You can also sleep in an old tee shirt for a couple of days and put it in the room with him so that he has something of yours that has your smell on it.  Give him toys that he likes to play with, but don't leave them laying around for him.  Put some toys out for a couple of days, then swap them out for other toys and put the old ones up.  Swap them out and he will see them as being "new" everytime that you change them.  
Also, be careful if you give your dog Rawhide chews.  They can choke on them or injure their insides.  Instead, use Pigs ears, or Pork hide as it won't swell when it gets wet.  Natural Smoked bones are also great for dogs teeth and tend to last longer than most other chews.  

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim