Many apartment owners are plagued by the same canine problem: their dog barks and whines the entire time that they are gone.
When your dog can not stop whining and barking whenever you leave the house, this is a separation anxiety problem.
Dogs are pack animals, which means that they have the desire to be with their family all of the time.
Most dogs are fine when they are left alone for a short amount of time, but some dogs find that they have a difficult time being alone, and their anxiety issues can become destructive or can cause you to lose your apartment.
When you are trying to train your dog to self-soothe, start small.
Put your dog into his crate or into the room that you are going to be leaving him in while you are gone and walk away.
If he starts to whine immediately, come back into the room, make him go into the sit position, and give him the command to stay, then leave the room again.
Chances are high that he will once again start to whine and bark once you leave.
Go back in, tell him "no", give him the command to sit and stay and leave again.
This will continue to go on until your dog can sit and be quiet for a few minutes.
Then walk into the room, praise him for not barking, and give him a treat.
This can be a long training process, but don't lose heart.
Soon you will be able to go for longer periods of time without having to worry that your dogs barking or whining will drive your neighbors crazy.
Also, make sure that you provide plenty of toys to help keep him entertained when you can't be with him.
This will help to prevent him chewing on things he is not supposed to chew on.