Barking behavior problems....

[Kelly123]

out of the blue ollie has become obessesed with birds and aeroplanes, and even i they are just a dot in sky the will bark like crazy! this has come from knowhere! whats going on???

[Sue R]

Kelly - I think we need to know a bit more about Ollie and his situation before anyone can offer much help.

 

How old is he? Is he kept mostly in the house or in a fenced yard or a kennel outside? What other "entertainments" does he have - regular walks, exercise, toys, playtime with you or other dogs, etc.?

 

My first thought in reading your post is that he is a dog who is developing an obsessive behavior, possibly out of boredom. If that's the case, the situation that is allowing this behavior to develop and continue needs to be remedied.

 

If he's left outside on his own a lot, he needs to be housed/sheltered where he won't be seeing the planes, etc. If he is bored, he needs to be exercised both mentally and physically more so that he has something "worthwhile" to keep his attention, develop good behaviors, and tire him out ("a tired dog is a good dog").

 

Let's hear more about his situation and, hopefully, folks will be able to help you with some good advice. Best wishes!

[Kelly123]

Ollie is just over a year old. He has 3 to 4 hours walks every day, one morning and one evening and training classes once a week. he is on a waiting list for agility but whenever we have the chance, normally once a week we have some fun with a tunnel and some jumps in the garden. I work from home so hes rarly left alone although we have no problems with separation anxiety, and is always either in the house or in my back garden, but never shut off and secluded if you know what i mean. He has company daily in the form of my two rabbits who he plays with and they play with him. I've no idea why this has started, it kind of began gradually with the odd bird and has now gone bannanas!!

 

Hope this helps you to help me!

[Shetlander]

So this happens when you are outside with him or when he's outside by himself or both? I would discourage the barking by taking it as a cue, "Oh, it's time to go in" and heading back inside for a few minutes, then going out again to see if he can focus on other things. My sheltie was a nuisance barker, but a combination of positive reinforcement (kibble or treats) for coming when I called mid barking jag or stopping on her own mid barking jag or stopping before she started on a jag would earn her a tidbit each time. If she did go on a jag or didn't respond to my call, then I put her inside. This worked really well and she is now the quietest of my three! She is extremely food motivated so that helps.

[Kelly123]

So this happens when you are outside with him or when he's outside by himself or both? I would discourage the barking by taking it as a cue, "Oh, it's time to go in" and heading back inside for a few minutes, then going out again to see if he can focus on other things. My sheltie was a nuisance barker, but a combination of positive reinforcement (kibble or treats) for coming when I called mid barking jag or stopping on her own mid barking jag or stopping before she started on a jag would earn her a tidbit each time. If she did go on a jag or didn't respond to my call, then I put her inside. This worked really well and she is now the quietest of my three! She is extremely food motivated so that helps.

 

 

Ollie is also food motivated so i'll definatly give this a try. Its both when he is on his own and when im with him! Luckly my neighbors are really understanding so we can work on it!