Learned barking from another dog

[IndysDad]

My 8 month old Indy, was great about not barking. Could take her to Pet Smart, let her meet other dogs and people, she never barked at home when people would walk by, but now, after her first obedience class and interacting with a German Shepard puppy that did nothing but bark, Indy is a baking machine.Any help or ideas on what to do would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and there's no aggression or anything behind her barks.

 

[Roxiesmommy]

No Bark

When we got our first Boxer, we did not want her barking and disturbing the neighbors. We got a spray bottle and filled it with water and a little bit of vinegar. Every time she would bark we would spray her and say no bark. Well, it worked too well. She got so she never would bark at all.
Our second Boxer we decided we wanted her to bark (at least when someone comes to the door). So we didn't use the spray bottle. And instead we had a neighbor below us call the police because of her barking.
There must be a happy medium.

 

[Sansal]

Could you tell us a little more about when/at what she is barking?

 

[IndysDad]

She barks at people, which she never did before. In the car as we drive by them, as they walk by the house, pretty much if she sees them she's barking, at all times of the day, morning noon and night. And when we first took her to Pet Smart with us, she never barked at people or at the other animals, now she barks incessantly at the first sign of a dog and I either have to completely block her view and get her to focus on me, or take her to another aisle, which is what I usually end up doing. I tell her No Bark, sternly, but she ignores me. It is just a recent thing, but I'd like to nip this in the bud.

 

[Sansal]

Instead of asking her to focus on you start rewarding her for looking at whatever triggers her - sounds counterintuitive but it works. She is still young, I would start putting a lot of effort into her training now and hopefully you will be able to turn things around pretty quickly.

Check out the following resources for more information


Clicker Training 'Look at That' LAT Game -teaching dogs to focus and eye contact - YouTube

http://controlunleashed.net



Does she get enough exercise and socialization with other dogs?

 

[IndysDad]

She wasn't socialized at all with other dogs before I got her. She stayed at home all day by herself. Which is one reason why I wanted to get her in obedience class at Pet Smart, I knew there would be other dogs for her, little did I know she'd pick up bad habits . As far as exercise goes, she gets played with quite a bit inside, but we had snow outside for so long that I didn't get out with her as much as I should. The snow is finally melting though and I plan on rectifying that ASAP.

And thank you for that link. If nothing else, it gives us another game to play together.

 

[Jwelch]

Compressed air

There is a compressed air spray can that has no smell but does produce a loud hiss sound. It comes in a red bottle and is sold at Petco and Pet Supermarket, haven't seen it at Pet Smart. We used it on PJ early in the game to keep her off the counter. Make sure to put it behind your back or around the corner so they do not see it. Once PJ got to see it it was over and would not work anymore. Also the stuff that comes from computer stores has a smell and also will not work. Good Luck!

 

[TwoDogs]

Barking is usually a symptom of something else--in an undersocialized 8 month old dog I'd be thinking either low-impulse control and frustration intolerance or anxiety and apprehension over a perceived threat.

The problem with shaking cans and using spray air is that they don't do anything to help the root of the problem. At best all they do is teach the dog to quiet when they see the spray bottle or hear the noise but by then they've already done the barking. And what happens when you can't get to the spray bottle, shaky can, or compressed air in time? Do you want to have to carry a spray bottle with you at all times--in the car, out on walks, etc? Wouldn't you rather create a dog that doesn't feel the need to bark in the first place?

A better approach is to teach the dog what they should be doing and reward them highly for doing it. Work on exercises that teach impulse control. Give the dog structure and a clear set of expectations so that appropriate behavior lets them earn the ability to get to greet people and/or dogs.

If it turns out that it is apprehension, nervousness, or fear that is the root of the behavior then desensitize your dog to the things that trigger the behavior. Acclimate them to people and dogs walking by them over time. Pair the trigger with good things to change your dog's emotional response toward the trigger. Work on teaching your dog to switch its focus from the trigger to you to the trigger again and then back to you. Teach your dog to heel on the opposite side of you and to switch sides on cue so that the dog has a more acceptable strategy to move away from people/dogs rather than try to "bark them away". Move them away from the trigger as a reward for looking at but not reacting to the trigger.

Look at why your dog is barking and try to change that. You will have much better results than if you spray her in the face or shake a noise maker at her.

 

[IndysDad]

Thanks TwoDogs, what you say makes some sense. I get the feeling that it may be a mix of impulse control and nervousness. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to work on the impulse issues?

 

[TwoDogs]

Impulse control can start with some very basic exercises--leave it for an item in the hand, leave it for a dropped item, wait at doorways until released, wait for the food bowl until released, loose leash walking. These exercises teach the dog the concept of delayed gratification and foster the idea that the quickest way to get something is not to surge, charge, or grab for it. These are the foundation exercises for more difficult leave it and wait exercises and leash manners. More advance exercises would be sit and wait until verbally released as a person they want to greet approaches. "Leave it" for squirrels in the distance or loose leash walking toward a desired goal.

Most people only work these impulse control behaviors at the basic level, at that level they are nothing but parlor tricks. Training a dog to pay no attention to a dog biscuit that you place on the floor in front of them while they are sitting in the living room doesn't mean that that dog will be able to direct its attention away from a jogger. The little living room leave it trick is a great start, but it needs more work around distractions to make it useful in the real world.