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Barking at the TV
Does anyone have suggestions on helping me stop my 13 month old Berniedoodle from barking at any animal on TV? He is barky anyway but this is over the top. We work on his barking constantly on walks or when he sees another animal outside – he will leave it and down go the blinds again! My husband likes old western movies and it’s a shame our pup can’t watch them with him. The horses drive him nuts! Meaning bark bark bark at the TV! I’m guessing if I do the SHHH cue – reward him after he looks at me then take him somewhere else is a good first step? My poodles have high arousal rates.
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11 Replies
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Hi Jackie, That’s a frustrating behavior which a LOT of people deal with. I have a few quick ideas for you:
1. Management: ????Do not allow the pup to practice the unwanted behavior. He doesn’t get to be with you in TV land until he’s learned the skills you want him to practice.
2. Work on calm behavior ???? you can cue outside of TV Land. I like Nan Arthur’s Chill Out Fido! and Laura Donaldson’s Slow Thinking is good too.
3. Separate the triggers ????- TV is audio and visual. When your husband is watching a show, have your pup on leash with you in another room and work on calm behaviors, for example. Then, another time, start as far as possible and have your husband mute his show while you work on Engage/Disengage exercises.
4. Once you’ve got a start on some relaxation in the presence of the triggers, work on creating options for alternative behavior. ???? A chew, a food puzzle, a relaxed grooming session – all good options.
Good luck and let us know how it goes! This will be slow work, but worth it as your pup gets older and you can enjoy snuggles during the shootouts. ????
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Thank you! Great suggestions!
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Hey @JCongdon , I’ve worked on this very skill with a number of clients’ dogs. In addition to the great advice Catherine shared, here are a couple more tips:
When introducing an animal on the screen, prearrange to have STILL images, rather than moving. This way, you separate out movement at first. The image can even be a distant one, at first, rather than a close-up. You can also get the still image up on screen for only a brief period of time, at first. (One of my clients had a string of photos that could come up one after the other in a stream on the TV screen, OR when cued by the remote.) Also, you won’t have audio to deal with, which is another trigger than can be separated.
I use Suzanne Clothier’s Really Real Relaxation protocol when working with clients and teach that in the TV room, separate from TV watching at first, so the dog learns a great way to truly relax in that room. I would also regularly deploy calming food puzzles in that room, like a stuffed Toppl.
Interestingly, one client’s dog had learned he’d get attention for barking at the TV (like verbal instructions and then treats — the dastardly behavior chain of naughty behavior first followed by cue for alternative behavior and then treat). She had a lot of initial success by ignoring him and promptly leaving the room at his first bark.
Can’t wait to read updates as you work on this issue!
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I love the idea of still pics on the TV. Thank you for your suggestions. Will get on it!
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Keep us posted!
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Good afternoon I was just wondering if there was an update on the dog that barks at the TV and see what the solution was. I know someone who has a dog that barks at their TV lol and I wanted to share the great information we get from Digging Dogs With my friend. ????????
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@JCongdon – Tagging you… any updates on the TV barking pup?
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He is not barking at cartoon animals or animals that are frozen on the screen. It’s hard since there is seemingly always a moving animal on tv and I have a dog that LOVES to be with us! So the progress isn’t great so far! I do get up and lure him to a treat looking the other way but the poodle in him loves to bark!
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I want to add when I lure him away, I wait about 8~10 seconds before receiving a treat as not to chain the events c
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I am showing my pup dog videos on my iPad. That seems to be working nicely so far. Treating for watching and not responding. The smaller screen is better and I am hoping to work my way back to the tv. Will probably use a computer monitor next.
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ooh smart move, @JCongdon – I love how you “downsized” the trigger here! Let us know how it goes.
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