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Bark, bark, barking
Hi guys!
Okay I am at a loss. I am working with a little 7 month Colton Du Tulear named Ozzie who well to put it simply just LOVES barking. He just loves it. He excessivly barks when he sees mom and dad, other dogs, other people, when the door bell rings ect.
I have been trying to work slowly at the door rewarding moments of silence and have trained him to “watch”. He is very motivated by treats which has helped him to start to focus on somthing other then barking. We have been running a drill of ringing the door bell and rewarding him when he is quiet. That seemed to be working well, but again he needs a lot of repeation and consistency. On walks he barks at everything so I have been trying to get him to sit and watch me when he is below his threshold. Sometime it works and sometimes he just throws a tantrum. When he does we turn around and walk away and try again. While I know that realistically this training takes time and consistency to curb the behavior, his owners seem a bit discouraged. We have only done three sessions so far so there is still a long way to go.
Any advice or a different technique I could try would be so helpful because he is a tough little nut to crack????
Thank you guys for everything! I hope this thread can help somone else who has an excessove barker too!
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31 Replies
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Omg I just adopted a senior who barks so much I feel you and am so excited to hear what the experts on here have to say:))) something I’ve been working on is teaching an alternate behavior. This way my dog can still communicate with me but In a way that’s less annoying to me! with my guy it’s demand barking so it’s a little different, however I wonder if you can teach a behavior such as picking up a favorite toy or being cued to run to a place or do some agility! Something that can refocus while still allowing the pup to express excitement and energy. Another strategy I utilize a lot is treat scatters so the doggy is occupied searching for treats. I’m a new trainer so I could be off with these suggestions and I’m curious what others think!
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@mtnwolfpup @AnnaBee
OK! Sounds like he enjoys the sound of his own voice, LOL! But, really, this excessive barking behavior is frustrating for everyone around. Argh!
I know you said he barks at everyone and everything, but have you decided out figured out what his motivator/reason for barking is?
That’s great that he’s treat motivated. I do agree that rewarding moments of silence and treat scatters are helpful!
Perhaps having the owner keep a log of what, when and why he is barking, for a full day, would assist you in finding the reason behind it.
Also, what enrichment does he have available?
Also, I know most people think walks are enough, for exercise, but perhaps trying out a flirt pole (you can pair it with his training) in an open room or the garage or outside in yard would be fun?
I’ve had a similar case recently, with 2 little maltipoos…we aren’t even close to being done fixing, but the owner is at least glad with the increments of improvement we’ve done in a few lessons. She agreed not to use bark collars, too.
I’m sure others will have extra to say and help you! Good luck with the case and keep us posted, Sofia!
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First off @AnnaBee …..thank you, you beautiful wonderful person for adopting a precious senior! The fact that someone got rid of their senior has me fuming but at least your sweet baby found a person like you. Secondly, I really love this idea of finding an alternative behavior for them to communicate. Thank you for the idea!!
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Awww yeah Monty is a wonderful dog! He was found as a stray so who knows what his situation is. When our senior axle passed we wanted to give another senior a good home so we got Monty the barker! He’s so much fun and living his best life:))
I also just like adopting the dogs that have a hard time finding homes since I know I can work with them
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He is too precious ????????
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I just LOVE that you do this, @AnnaBee. The world needs more people like you!
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Hi @mtnwolfpup ! Anna already gave you the excellent suggestion of food scatters. If barking happens a lot when family members come home, entering with SUPERB treats already in hand and immediately doing a scatter will help give Ozzie something else to focus on. Some dogs who are toy crazy would also love a toy toss and then something is in their mouth to muffle or stop barking.
If barking occurs when Ozzie is inside watching passersby through windows, that view must be blocked for now. Continued rehearsal of all this barking just keeps the behavior strong.
On walks, there needs to be sufficient distance between him and other dogs or people so it’s easier for Ozzie to remain quiet, and then a steady stream of SUPERB treats flows until the exciting thing is out of sight. This may mean his walks need to be, temporarily, in other locations that allow you to control distance. Once again, if Ozzie keeps engaging in the barking, the habit continues to get stronger.
Let us know if any of his barking is attention seeking — that will require different approaches.
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@virginiad Ozzie is a funny little guy. Totally loves to play! I have been trying to put myself in his shoes to see what in the environment is causing him to bark and I think a lot of it might have to do with play. His mom and dad took my advice and got him a puzzel toy and he has been loving that. I think the treat scatter might be a fun thing for him to try.
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This is such a super topic, @mtnwolfpup – thanks for bringing it up! Barking can have so many reasons, and even for the same dog, if they are prone to be “barky”, they can hit that tipping point in the presence of a variety of triggers, as it seems for this pup.
One thing that comes to my mind, because I’m always thinking about WHY a dog is doing a thing, is: have you stepped back to take a look at the whole of Ozzie’s life? What are they feeding – is it the canine equivalent of Capt’n Crunch, or a nutritionally balanced, lower carb food? What’s his exercise plan? What enrichment does he have? What social opportunities does he have, and what do they look like? Does he spend any downtime with his people, or are they always “ON”, engaging, and exciting him?
Take a look through DD – use the search bar – and find the SEEDS videos from awhile ago, with Kelsey Weber. Also take a look at everything with Bobbie Bhambree on Resilience Rainbow, and Allie Bender & Emily Strong on Canine Enrichment. Each of these interviews we did have a ton of ideas for you.
Sometimes looking beyond training can be really helpful, and a whole lot easier than trying to fix a behavior that stems from some unmet need. Let me know what you think.
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Addressing the environment and unmet needs is really my favorite first approach to many issues and I’ve seen amazing results with just having a calmer life and practicing a lot of relaxation. Energy is great but I think we often think our pups need to be engaged all the time when I believe that can be quite overwhelming and overstimulating for some/many. I get a lot from listening to the Dog Tails podcast from the PDTE (Pet Dog Trainers of Europe) on this matter and highly recommend!
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@AnnaBee
Where can one find that podcast? It sounds great!
Also, love the suggestions from @virginiad @catherine and you about controlling the environment to decrease the behavior.
Will be reviewing this with a few clients who have usually poo-poo’ed the management solution (they like their bay window and for some reason, think the dogs need to see out of it). Frosting the glass (I think they make adhesive glass frost, or something like this) instead of bulky dog gates up there, may help!
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@bernerlabreclectus , there is inexpensive cling film people can easily install on their windows to block the dog’s view and, depending on the dog’s size and vantage point, the window may only need partial coverage, thus allowing sunlight to come through from above.
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Thank you, Virginia! ???? I will be sure to convert them to not allowing the dogs to practice the barking behavior and the frosting is just the solution, I think!
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@AnnaBee Oooooo I am a total sucker for a good podcast. Ha! Definitely want to check that. @virginiad I have the same issue with the management. His mom even admitted she might not be putting as much effort into managing or training. outside of the session.
Hmmm lots of great ideas. Lots for me to think about.
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I’m pretty sure the podcast is available on all the major platforms at least in the US! If you search the internet for pet tails and PDTE it should come up! Also everything the pdte puts out is amazing
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Thanks, @AnnaBee ! I am so excited!
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@catherine I never thought to look through the DD for some ideas. Thats such a good idea. I have been trying to see through his eyes. He LOVES his mom but I think he can get bored and when so they exciting like a walk or someone comes to the house he is like “weeeeeeee, somthing fun is about to happen.” We have been working on mat for when a guest shows up but boy oh boy he just can’t help himself to say somthing.
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Excellent – yep – and I’m pretty sure if you search “Barking” you will find more training ideas than you can try. haha Just goes to show you it’s a really common issue.
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Yesssss! I am a SEED Believer! I have seen it help so many clients already! It’s a great way to take steps toward solving and preventing issues that lead to…other issues like excessive barking, over-excitement, etc. That SEED webinar was one of my favorite things ever!
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Lovely! So glad it was helpful. I know Kelsey loved sharing it with us.
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@LisaOMy what is SEED? I tried to look through the hound table seminars and DD to find it but couldn’t. Very interested to here more!
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Hello! SEED stands for Skills, Exercise, Enrichment, and Downtime. It is a way to fulfill your dogs daily needs based on their individual selves and their genetic background. Developed by Kelsy Weber. I am having trouble copying a link for you… @catherine would you be able to direct her to the PDFs and recap of the webinar? Or can someone teach me how ???? Full disclosure, I am obsessed with SEED.
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@mtnwolfpup @LisaOMy -▶ Here you go ◀– I got this list by searching for “Kelsey” and then looking at forum discussions. This should have everything you are looking for… but if it doesn’t, please let me know! SEED is a great model.
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OMG that sounds amazing! I am so excited to learn more???? thank you guys!
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I feel your pain. My standard poodle barks a lot and now my Berniedoodle is chiming in. I manage it by covering the bottom part of window and doors. When they, bark it is usually alert barking. I say that’s enough, initially lured them to me with a treat, waited a minute or have them do several cues then reward. Now they look at me after “that’s enough” come to me, and I intermittently reward. The fear barking, we click and treat under threshold and go the other way. Poodle does not love other dogs. It’s a lot of work and not a quick fix but it will pay off.
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Ooooh, sounds like you’re doing lovely work with your dogs, @JCongdon !
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Not sure about that but we are tryin’! ????
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I like your process a lot! I think having the dog physically move to you to do somthing else instead of barking helps alot. That is kinda what we are working on Ozzie too, but instead using touch to get him to come.
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There have been so many great points and recommendations made by everyone. As @catherine mentioned the same dog could be barking for different reasons.
While It may seem the dog is barking all the time, even though it can feel that way, it probably isn’t the case. So we need to ask a number of questions:
• When is the dog barking?
• What is the context?
• What happens before the dog barks? (the antecedents)
• What happens after the barking (the consequences)
Basically, as @paula mentioned we want to find out why the dog barks?
There are all types of reasons why dogs bark. There are different antecedents that cause different types of barking. Antecedents are the relevant environmental conditions that set the stage for the behavior to happen. These can be cues in the environment (e.g. a sound, someone opening a door) but they can also be the animal’s internal state as @catherine suggested first looking at the dog’s whole life. For example, if the dog has lots of exercise, if the dog has eaten, what has he eaten, if the dog is hungry, if the dog lacks toys or has nothing to do, those are all antecedent conditions that influence whether a behavior is likely or not likely to happen. Consequences are what happens after the behavior that will either reinforce or not reinforce the behavior
When we think about causes for barking we tend to think about what happens before the barking that causes the behavior (antecedents) but a lot of times it’s what happens after the dog barks that is going to cause future barking to increase (consequences).
We need to ask ourselves how do we react? What is our response? (the consequences)
When the dog barks for attention while Dad’s on Zoom , the dog learns pretty quickly that doing certain things like barking when Dad is on Zoom is going to immediately get someone to get up and do something.
We also need to ask ourselves, what are the environmental cues (antecedents) that might make the barking more likely to happen or less likely to happen:
- Dog sees Dad sitting a the computer dog is more likely to bark
- Dog sees an open container of treats, dog assumes reinforcement is available. When dog doesn’t get reinforcement, he starts barking
- Dad goes to take a shower, dog goes and lies down somewhere else and doesn’t bark (why because Dad has never been able to reinforce the dog for barking when he’s in the shower).
If the dog is barking at things in the environment find out what happens afterwards (consequences) – <div>
- If the dog is barking at the mailman, does the mail man go away?
- If the dog is barking at noises, do the noises stop?
Once you suss out why the dog is barking and in what context, then you can start to address the barking for that particular situation. It is likely you will not address barking for attention in the same way as you would handle warning or alert barking or barking out of fear (reactivity).
The other thing to think about also is that once the barking starts it can become ritualized.
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These are really great questions to ask to get to the bottom of the WHY the dog is barking, and then you can go from there, to figure out a plan. Well done, @doggonespecial
(I’m sending you a private message too – please check your inbox.)
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That is a very interesting point about excessive barking could be the result of what is happening in the future and not just because past event. Thinking about it closer that makes total sense.
When a door bell rings and the dog is initally startled by the noise and barks as a result. They may continue to bark not because of the door bell but because door bells=visitors and vistors =somthing new is happening. Hmmmm you gave me a lot to think about.
I also totally agree with looking at the whole picture and life of the dog.
Thank you!!
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