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Barking Mini Poodle – Need Help
Looking for suggestions around barking. I have a potential client who is looking for help around barking. They have a mini poodle who barks at their boyfriend every time he gets up to move around the house. They have already tried the option of giving the poodle treats when the boyfriend gets up and sits down. Is there any other suggestions you may have?
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10 Replies
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@Cory I moved your discussion here so it doesn’t disappear.
It’s helpful in situations like this to get more information about the dog and the situation, such as whether the barking is fearful or excitatory? How do the people respond? What’s the relationship between the dog and the people? How often is the boyfriend there (it’s different if he’s just a visitor vs. living there.)
Any details you can give will help us help you. Thanks!
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The boyfriend lives there. The barking sounds like it is fearful. They have responded by using treats when the boyfriend gets up and sets down however as he walks around the house the dog will start barking at him again.
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I agree with Catherine. I would need more details. How old is the dog? Did they just adopt. How long has person lived there with dog? Does the dog react like this to anyone else? How does she act when the person arrives? Is it only movement from sitting down? Sometimes adding treats when fear is involved can make the dog feel conflicted if the distance is still pretty close. How would you describe the dogs body language when the reaction starts? I know a lot of questions, but I am trying to put the whole picture together.
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Is the dog afraid of all men or just him? Does the dog have other fears (if so, a referral to a vet/vet behaviorist may help with medication options…) It does get a lot of questions but there’s really no simple answer to cases like this without a decent behavior history work up, including Krista’s good questions below. @Cory
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Thanks for all your replies. I have not meet the dog in person. I have sent a questionnaire over to the pet parent alrqdy to hopefully have most of the questions answered that you have mentioned here. Once I have more information from the pet parent I will provide that information
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Great, @Cory – We’re here to help once you have more info. While you are waiting to hear back from them, you can be thinking about management strategies and enrichment ideas for them. You’ll need both, no matter what direction training takes. Sometimes dogs whose worlds are fairly small are more easily “activated”… looking holistically from the dog’s POV has always served me well. Keep us posted!
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I have gathered some more information from my perspective client. The dog was rescued at the age of 6 and is 11 now. He was used as a stud for breeding prior to being adopted as a rescue. He does take Prozac daily. He actually barks at everyone that may be in the house besides the owner. The boyfriend has moved into the house and is there all the time now.
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@Cory This is great information to gather! These details impact the case. It sounds like this poor little dude has some anxiety issues. Have they seen a veterinary behaviorist? It can be tricky to get the dosage right for medications like Prozac. If the dog has not improved on the medication, they need to go back to their provider or consult with a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist who has more experience working with medications. This type of behavior and situation, where the dog is experiencing enough global fearfulness or anxiety, is outside the realm of our work as trainers and needs a referral back to their medication provider. While there are suggestions we can give, nothing will have much impact until the necessary medication is at the right level in cases where anxiety/fear is this profound.
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Thanks this is very helpful
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@Cory you are very welcome. Please keep us posted and when they’ve consulted their veterinarian to work on the meds, we can circle back with specific suggestions as you learn more.
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