Your dog has learned to stop barking on command but hasn't been taught the self-control and discrimination necessary with regard to appropriate barking. A good approach is to first teach your dog when she should bark, and when to stop. This is done by setting her up with stimulus you will consider alarming, which justifies her alarm barking. The only acceptable prompts I allow my dogs to bark at are people making contact with our house or car, or when I first suggest they bark, with commands such as "Who's out there?" and "Speak." To teach appropriate barking, expose the dog to a bark-producing catalyst, such as a training "helper" knocking at your door. When the dog barks, state "Who's out there," praise the dog and allow the barking to naturally dissipate. When she does stop barking, name her silence "That's enough," or something similar. Repeat this setup several times in a row, until she is barking confidently. Now, instead of waiting until she barks herself out, ask her to stop, mid-bark, by saying "That's enough." If she barks again, do not repeat yourself or look at her; simply shake a pop can with 10 or so pennies in it while simultaneously giving a mild leash correction. The combination of a leash correction and the shake of the penny can will interrupt her attention and cause the sound to represent a correction. This will allow you to shake the can and have it continue to work to interrupt her behavior impersonally when she is off-lead as well. The instant she is silent, praise her enthusiastically. Once you and your dog have gotten a handle on permitted barking and stopping on command, the next step is to teach her when she shouldn't bark at all. Permitted barking is stopped with a command; inappropriate barking becomes misinterpreted as permitted when owners ask their dogs to be quiet when they shouldn't be barking in the first place. The dog infers it may begin and the owner will tell it to stop, rather than learning not to bark at all in reaction to certain stimuli. Because you ask your dog to stop each time she begins to bark, she never learns not to start barking at certain things. To teach a dog to not bark at all in certain situations must be done after the teaching of appropriate barking, or the owner risks inhibiting the dog's barking altogether. Once a dog has learned to bark at a person touching the door, and to stop barking on command, have the person walk past the house, making no contact. This is not something that should provoke barking; if allowed the dog will become a terrible nuisance, barking at every sound and everything that moves. Teach the dog not to bark by impersonally correcting it, with no command to stop, and without any attention. Cause inappropriate barking to backfire with a shake or even a toss of the penny can. By saying nothing and not looking at the dog, the owner allows the dog to conclude its barking at passers-by causes the distracting correction. It will reduce behaviors that have directly negative results, without requiring the owner's intervention. You may have to carry a mini-penny can, made from a small can or plastic bottle with pennies in it, in your pocket on walks. Praise your dog's silence and refuse to acknowledge inappropriate barking, and your dog will soon be showing good self-control!

People who viewed '6-month-old Labrador Retriever/Doberman Pinscher/Rottweiler cross started barking at everything' also found interest in following articles . . .

Category:

• Aggression

• Home
• Educational Library
• FAQ
• Hospital Listings
• Submit
• Contact