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Hi @RADS ! You are to be commended for patiently working with these clients, and they are to be commended for their efforts with Sidney. This is one lucky dog! In your initial post, you noted, In the morning, she usually jumps on their bed to wake them up and bark until one of them gets up to feed her. So, we know this is not a new behavior. Because the dog is already generally anxious, @Abbie ‘s very good tip that could work for a lot of dogs (waiting her out), might create more anxiety and cause problems beyond what we might normally see in an extincition burst. A LIMA approach would have us try other methods if possible, first.

Any chance these folks can afford a Manners Minder or a Pet Tutor? Or if not, can you afford one that you can “rent” to them? If so, we could work on reinforcing alternate behaviors. I would put the machine in place near where the dog is sleeping at night (and kept in place by either a tether or a gate placed further from the master bedroom.) The key would be to wake up before the dog and note that she is quiet, then trigger the remote to feed some kibble for quiet. This would need to be done before the dog is aware the humans are awake, to work best. Rewarding for quiet at increasingly longer intervals, without the humans “present” could turn this behavior around.

If this is not possible, another idea is to go ahead and get up, engage with the dog, again BEFORE she starts barking), and do not feed her. Simply love on her, reassure her and then bring her into the bedroom, where she can have snuggles and petting, but no food until she settles – even a bit – and the say “breakfast” and walk her out to feed her. The food comes after she lies down – even for a moment, at first, not as a result of vocalization. Their breath (slow and deep) and their touch (slow or still or not at all) can help the dog settle.

The feeding itself should be a brain puzzle toy – and this should vary! ACDs are extremely intellegent and my guess is this dog is completely understimulated. Even a working ranch is hardly enough for the normal ACD. They create all kinds of trouble, ???? no matter where they are! They are working dogs, through and through.

If they miss it, either of the above, and the dog starts barking, they can begin walking down the hallway. Pause before coming into view. Whe dog stops – even for a second – click that silence and toss food around the corner (while remaining out of sight). Again, the goal is to reward the silence and create longer intervals of silence over a few (less sleep) days.

Finally, I highly recommend varying feeding times for this dog. There is NEVER a set time for food bowls or puzzle toys. In the evening too – the time should change within a 3-hour window. In fact, I would move toward eliminating the morning bowl as quickly as possible, replacing all those calories with late morning/noon puzzle toys or lawn scatter-feeding, or trick training or the like. But, this will be a gradual shift, teaching the dog that barking isn’t going to work, but silence will.

With a dog that is anxious and frustrated, all this barking is more about trying to communicate that they have a need and it is up to her caregivers to increase her mental stimulation. I would rather frame it as emotional frustration and anxiety for the clients to create more compassion and help them learn how to meet her actual needs, rather than seeing her as a “demanding” dog. Does that make sense?