Hey guys so I'm really hoping you can help me with this

My sister suddenly moved back home for who knows how long and she brought her dog with her which is fine.  The problem is her dog Keeley has separation anxiety.  We rent a townhouse and upstairs is all carpeted so my parents don't want her up there.  We have a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs but anytime somebody goes up and leaves her alone she starts whining and barking which is an issue.  At night it's even worse because she's alone for hours and she will bark and bark for half the night to get what she wants.

My sister doesn't help at all.  She yells at her to get her to stop barking and if she doesn't she just let's her upstairs to sleep with her.  Frankly, I don't really know how to help her.

Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to help stop this or at least stop the barking?

Bark silencers are wonderful things. But that wont cure the overall issue that she doesn't want to be alone.

Is she crate trained? If she knows that her crate is a safe zone then she could be put in there with blankets and a toy or two over night.

At any rate http://www.gadgetcity.com.au/motorola-bark500u-dog-silencer-indoor-anti-bark-control-ultrason-p-3627.html?cPath=92_226 that's the bark silencer I got because my dogs like to bark at deer in the middle of the night.

I see that Siib did already, but I was going to also suggest a crate! They really work well. When you leave or at night, they can go into their crate with their blankets and stuff and shut the door, and then leave it open the rest of the time so they can go in and out as they please.

Crates are wonderful as long as you teach them that it's a safe zone.

I would never use a crate as a punishment if you want them to see it as a good thing. To help with getting them used to it feeding them in the crate, your sister should put a blanket or a t-shirt that smells like her, and so on in there for a while before you start locking her in to make her feel at home and safe in there. If you rush it, it could just make her resist going in there when she needs too and end up causing more barking/whining issues over the long term.

We used to watch her sometimes while my sister went away and she had a crate when she was younger.  Eventually the crate just disappeared since I never saw it again so she may not still have it but it was used for about a year.  Now of course, I don't how well she was crate trained but I don't think it was that "safe zone" that it was supposed to be.  We only had the crate at our house about 2-3 times and that was mainly because she was in the process of being potty trained but I do remember that she had the barking problem then as well.  She would bark at night and when she was alone so I don't think she was crate trained very well.

I don't know how long my sister is going to stay here for but I really want to start teaching Keeley some basic commands.  I'll definitely look into getting another crate and maybe retraining her for that but ultimately she isn't my dog and I would need to get my sister involved.  As for the bark silencer, I would be hesitant to get something like that because we have an older dog that barks to let us know when he has to go out.

Unless he barks at night too it would probably be safe to use at night, I def wouldn't use a bark silencer during the day if that's how he lets you guys know he needs to go do business.

Have you talked to your parents about this? I'm sure it's irritating them as well!

Maybe she could put a crate up in her room if they're worried about the carpet. That way dog is with her and hopefully stays quiet while she's also doing something to protect the carpet.

Essentially they nailed it on the head. Create training is usually the most effective. 

To try and get your sister to get them a crate maybe you can tell her about all the benefits it has for dogs? Sometime people are more willing to take suggestions if you appeal to the fact it's in the dogs best interest.

I agree with everyone else here. Although, my ex-roommate's dog had it REALLY bad - like she would close the bathroom door and he'd instantly start whining. But she would use the crate as a punishment so he started up the whining while in there too. Woke me up more than once. She wasn't willing to work with him to help him become a confident dog. Shame really.

Something else she can try is graduated trips up the stairs. Include treating her when someone goes up the stairs for periods of time. She'll learn to associate people going upstairs with a positive thing (treats) rather than a negative (being alone). It may take her a while to adjust to it and learn what's what, but continuous and consistent work may be enough to get her to learn to be quiet. Have you tried a Kong filled with peanut butter when people go upstairs?

Ado's graduated trips is an awesome idea, treats & kongs too! Although check peanut butter before giving it to dogs as they're now adding an ingredient that is toxic to dogs. Google it & check labels!!!

She did great last night was as quiet as a mouse!  We finally installed the doggy door that's been lying around so I think that helps some.  I talked it over with my mom a little bit just to throw around some ideas.  If we do the crate training then we would need to find another crate since that other one is gone.  As for the treats, she has a kong but my mom mentioned that she never used it last time we had it out.  I really appreciate the help guys!

Siib I never heard about the peanut butter I'll have to look it up!