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Help for Dogs Who Bark at the TV!
Cricket, the poodle mix I’ve been posting about lately has the annoying habit of barking at animals she sees on the TV screen. In her case, I think some of the why behind her reaction stems from a lack of confidence. When she’s unsure about a sudden and surprising appearance of something, her go-to behavior is to bark. According to her mom, Liz, she especially hates seeing penguins on TV!
Another case I had with a similar barking-at-TV issue involved a lab named Cato. He was a young, highly energetic boy who was in need of additional exercise and enrichment in his daily routine. But even with those additions, he still barked at animals on TV. I quickly discovered that he had learned his barking would engage his mom, Sara, who would begin giving him cues to settle him down and then reward him. Cato loved that attention and so he quickly learned that barking at the TV started that sequence!
The first thing I had Sara try was to walk out of the room on the very first bark. Lo and behold, Cato quickly stopped barking when she left. But we still needed to help him learn how to calmly and quietly accept the sighting of other animals on the TV screen when Sara remained in the room.
What steps might you suggest when working with a client who has a dog like Cricket or Cato?
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