Barking

[Leap-Year-Dog]

I think this should go under obedience. Okay, so - so far River has been very good for a puppy. She has also been very good with everything I've been working on (sit, down, leave it, up, off, touch, etc) but she has one problem, kind of. She's not that much of a barker EXCEPT for when I go over to my brother's place. My brother has this Jack-Russell irish shortie and she does not particularly like playing with River, so she generally ignores her. River is very friendly and playful - so when she wants to play with another dog and they ignore her, she tends to get noisy - she barks at Hannah (the Jack-Russell) a lot and honestly I wouldn't even care that much because she tends to only do it when playing but I don't want it to get worse and I want to be able to bring her to my brother's place without annoying him and his girlfriend with her constant barking at Hannah, especially since Hannah is starting to get fed up with it and striking out a little. So any advice on how to rid her of this behavior (or will maybe will it go away as she gets more used to Hannah and slightly older)?

 

 

I've tried telling her No or Quiet and generally, just from my tone, she'll stop for 30 seconds to a minute, but then she'll start again. I've also tried distracting her with other things - like toys and generally that will work for a while. but she would rather play with the other dog than the toy, so it doesn't last. The best technique to keep the place quiet is to work on other obedience while I'm there - like sit, down, up, off, etc and then because she enjoys doing that stuff so much, and because of the treats she'll usually stay focused on me for that but I can't do that the entire time I'm over at my brother's so that's not a long-term solution.

[pammyd]

I feel your pain

Ben doesnt bark much at all except when we are in agility class then its all the time

I tried lots of things like you

What I found best was working on a stay

I put him in a down and get him to stay and then reward at random intervals

so he is working (and quiet) but I get some time to actually think about what I want

also whenever he barked I was making him do stuff - not ideal I realised cos he was getting attention but now when he barks he then makes eye contact with me, slides into a down and then stays there waiting for his treat

cheecky and funny - but at least he is down to one bark at a time

Of course to start with I didnt expect long time stays - 10s reward, 30s reward, 20s reward then do something else for a wee while then stays again

At the end of the day what I wanted was a dog who was at my feet and quiet (like everyone elses!!) but I had to train it like any other trick

 

also if the quet is working for 30s then reward at 20s and again at 10s - really let her know that being chilled and quet is what you want

 

HTH

[Leap-Year-Dog]

Thanks for the advice! I've just barely started working on Stay with her but I'll try that, also as a way to just practice stay once she has it down a little bit.

[Guest maya's mom]

We are beginning to have barking problems with our 6 month old. She is fine on walks, when she sees or is around other dogs, etc. But when she is in the house and hears a noise and she can't "see" anything associated with it, she barks. A LOT! We started using the shaker can method, and it is working really well. We just took a soda can, added some coins to it, and duck taped the top. We made a few and placed them around the house. When she lets out the first bark, we shake the can to startle her, and say "Quiet!". When she is quiet, we praise her. "Good quiet", etc. Now, if she starts to bark, we jsut pick up the can and she stops! She knows she hates that sound! Maybe that will work for you.......

[bexie]

Maya's mom: Do you want her never to react to noises or to learn which noises to react to? Personally we want Molly to learn which noises to react to so she still tells us when there are people in the driveway or other really weird things going on. The bigger deal you make out of her reaction--and the more noise you make--the more you are telling her there is something to worry about. I have had a great deal of success by telling Molly quite calmly that there is nothing to worry about. It is especially effective if I get up and go look where she is barking. If there is something she should be barking at, we use "That'll do" (actually our danish variant that translates to "that's enough") so she knows she did what she was supposed to and will do it again. The important thing when she shouldn't be barking is to show her that I am aware of and in control of the situation so she really has nothing to worry about. With time, she starts filing away those situations as "not to bark at." For example, she no longer barks every time the dog next door barks if I am with her or if she is inside. If she's outside alone, she'll often still bark but then I just calmly bring her inside.

 

Leap-Year-Dog: Two ideas for you. 1) Take a portable crate with you or use a car to give her "time outs". When she starts barking, totally ignore her but calmly put her into the crate or vehicle for a little while. A few minutes later when she is calm and relaxed in car or crate, bring her back out. Repeat as needed.

2) Teach her the appropriate behavior. Any time she is quiet and behaving properly, praise and treat her for it. Use click and treat if you clicker train but otherwise voice cues work fine. If she seems to have trouble figuring out what to do with herself, teach her. Put a leash on her so you can limit her actions and encourage her to lie down near you. Don't use a formal lie down command, but some sort of settle down or relax command if you have one. Otherwise just help into a relaxed position. Give her enough leash to be comfortable but not enough to go make trouble. As soon as she settles, praise and treat and pet her. With time, she will slowly learn that the appropriate behavior is to lie there and be quiet and you will be able to extend the time between treats and praises and gradually phase out the leash.

 

A combination of the two is often a really good choice. Try #2 but if she can't settle down with help and just keeps barking, use the crate time out. Cover the crate if needed to help her settle down and keep the other dog from teasing her. Then after a break, try again. Do NOT pay any attention to her when she barks. Even scolding her and telling her to be quiet is attention. When she's having this much trouble with behaving appropriately, it is best to ignore her completely. Later when she is in control of her behavior, you can use a quiet command to manage occasional slip-ups.

 

 

When Molly was a puppy, I had to spend a lot of time teaching her appropriate behavior when I worked at home during the day. It took even longer to manage behavior in the evenings and weekends when my husband was home, because he had trouble with ignoring noise and whining. But with a lot of effort, a covered crate, and sometimes covering my ears when needing to lie down for a while, she is now able to behave properly in both situations and at my in-laws on visits. The essential rule is only giving attention when the dog is behaving properly. That's why you have to crate calmly and ignore the dog in the process when you do do time-outs.

 

Also it will get worse for a little while before it gets better. The dog is used to it working so while try harder before finding out that getting noisier doesn't work and giving up. You _must_ remember to give the dog praise and attention when it behaves properly, even though at first it will only be for an instant.

 

Another point: If your dog is having a really bad day and it seems like nothing is going right, make sure that you take it out and put it through some things it can do well so you can give it positive attention and praise. Even if the praise is for something as simple as eating its food, playing nicely with a toy, or pottying where it should. BCs are so sensitive that they get trapped in negative behavior if they don't get positive feedback and feel like their people love them. Just a few moments of positive attention can really turn a day around. They thrive on pleasing their people and feel like a failure if they can't do that at all.

 

Good luck to both of you.

[pammyd]

Lovely advice - esech the last bit

I rem my friends were having trouble with their teenage collie

then they realised that all day every day all they were saying was how bad she was

they started agility training with her and seen what a great dog she could be as well - and cos she was getting praise for dooing good things then she worked harder to get praise

 

I dont like the rattle bottle idea either - barking is natural and your dog should not be afraid to bark, and alert barking is helpful. Just thank her for telling you

 

 

Just a wee brag/light at the end of the tunnel

Took Ben to the vets today - and - he didnt bark once - he lay at my feet and watched everything that was going on without a peep!! - so it does work if you work at it