Help! My dog barks constantly when he is left alone

catlou

sarabe wrote: »

I have to admit I don't watch her programme catlou, since watching the very first episode where she was dressed as a dominatrix and spouting all the hierarchy drivel. That was enough to put me off forever.

I have heard though that she went and educated herself and changed her outlook and that she is now very good. Anyone who promotes positive reinforcement gets my vote.

And yes Chandi is brill. All done with clicker and +R.

Thanks Sarabe! Think she has now ditched the dominatrix :eek: she's looking far more demure now days.

Stupid question regarding Chandi what do you mean with the "+R" with clicker - reward I'm guessing?

sarabe

catlou wrote: »

Thanks Sarabe! Think she has now ditched the dominatrix :eek: she's looking far more demure now days.

Stupid question regarding Chandi what do you mean with the "+R" with clicker - reward I'm guessing?

+R = positive reinforcement

sickofusernames

Don't use silly expensive/cheap dog tasers - they're only human, well canine! They're barking for a reason, not because they're being stupid. We live at the back of a rail line and there's lots of foxes and rats rummaging about so it's par for the course for our dog to be letting us know there's something about even though we don't know it.

Know your dog, don't always assume there's something wrong with them, they're probably more intelligent than some of us plebs. ;-)

I know when my dog wants to come in, I know when my one neighbour is in the garden (she always barks at him, lol) and I know when there is a cat, fox or rat about.

Kimberley

The collars do not work anyway. What will be will be. If i'm told to rehome her then thats what I will have to do. Shame really because my mums JRT is very quiet. How can you stop a dog barking in the house through excitement? They don't just bark through being bored.

sarabe

Kimberley wrote: »

The collars do not work anyway. What will be will be. If i'm told to rehome her then thats what I will have to do. Shame really because my mums JRT is very quiet. How can you stop a dog barking in the house through excitement? They don't just bark through being bored.

You need to look at the whole picture.

What is your dog getting excited about?

What do you feed her on and how much exercise does she get?

I have very relaxed dogs indoors and highly energised ones outdoors but that is because we don't do exciting things indoors.

All play happens outside. All energetic training happens outside and calm, quiet training inside. Dogs that are over the top at feeding time are fed outside and whenever I have the time they are fed from my hand so that the energy and excitement is under my control.

If it really is going to come down to you having to rehome your dog then surely it is worth considering trying to overcome the problem.

Have a read through the training articles on this site.

http://www.naturaldogblog.com/learn-the-basics-of-natural-dog-training/

Clicker training is also a great way to teach impulse control.

Once you have a dog that is a little bit more relaxed indoors which is easy with the help available above then one way to teach a dog to stop barking is to backchain it.

So you first of all teach your dog to respond to a word such as 'enough' said in a nice jolly tone of voice, not a cross one. You start this training when she is NOT barking.

Have some tasty treats and a clicker and pick a moment when she is sat quietly with her back to you. Say 'enough' and as she turns around because you spoke click and toss her a treat. Throw the treat so that she has to turn her back on you to get it and then you can repeat. Turning back to you on the cue 'enough' gets rewarded. If she doesn't turn when you speak then just lure with a treat a few times to start with but not for too many repetitions.

Gradually add some duration to the behaviour by holding off on the click and treat for a few seconds so that the cue 'enough' means turn around, look at me, walk towards me and hang on a minute for your reward.

Then add some distractions, other people, toys perhaps so that whatever he is doing or looking at the word 'enough' (don't forget you are saying it in a jolly voice) causes her to turn and run to you.

Wait until you have a near perfect response to the cue before going to the next stage.

Now when she starts to bark allow her to bark twice.

First bark - thank her. Put your hand on her and tell her 'thankyou' second bark, say 'enough' and run out of the room into another room hopefully with her in hot pursuit and give her a jackpot reward.

Kimberley

Thank you Sara I will try that

CompBunny

Hi there,

My dog is a 5 year old terrier rehomed 4 months ago from a family that didn't have time for him anymore. He is very loving, but he has one big problem...seperation anxiety:o

If he is left on his own he barks non stop the whole time we're out. I know because my neighbours on both sides (we live in a semi so it must be bad if the unattached neighbours can hear him!) have mentioned it.

I've tried using Kongs, leaving the TV on BBC News 10 mins before I leave and not turning it off, toys, shutting the curtains, shutting him in the kitchen with his bed toys and bowls, scent blankets, not making a fuss of leaving the house or returning and a combination of all of these things...nothing works:eek:

Its got to the point that I have to take him everywhere with me now, because one of my neighbours says his barking gives her a headache:( I don;t know what else to try! Even when he is left its usually only for ten minutes! Apart from one time he was left for two hours because I had a car full of people to pick up from the airport.

Has anyone got any ideas? I'd really appreciate your help:o

Thankyou x

PasturesNew

Record yourself chatting... and play it back on a loop.

Flibertigibit

My daughter had this problem with a rescue dog and he is cured completely now, but ti takes time. You have to set up a routine, put him where you want him to stay, put on your coat etc. and say a phrase (she uses "I'll be back" but obviously the dog doesn't know what the actual words mean!) and then leave the house, initially just for a few minutes, then go back in, take your coat off but don't fuss the dog. Repeat several times a day, slowly increasing the time you're away. Yes, it is a pain, and she felt a right idiot standing outside her front door with her coat on, but it worked in less than 2 weeks. Now he can be left as long as he needs to be. Other than that, just google "separation anxiety in dogs" and you'll get loads of advice.

sleepystar1975

Have you tried DAP?
Not only is it fab for calming dogs during fireworks, the packaging says it's good for anxieties.
Here's some more info....

http://dogappeasingpheromone.com/