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Thread: Barking!

  1. #1
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    Barking!

    Kimber almost never barked. Stormy, on the other hand, is turning into quite the barker. She barks in the crate (of course), barks at her toys when she gets frustrated, play barks with other dogs, fine. But the thing I want to decrease- she barks at us to try and get things.

    For example, last night I was heating up leftovers to eat; she had a toy to play with to keep her occupied in the kitchen with me. Once she realized food was in play, though, she followed me around barking at me. She also likes to spontaneously sit, and if we don't treat her right away, or she only gets one treat, she barks.

    What I'm doing: Mostly I ignore the barking. Every now and then I say, "hush" and when she quiets, I give her a treat. But that usually just pauses the barking, and I also don't want her to think barking leads to treats.

    Other ideas?
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
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    Miss Kimber, CGC, 6/15/2005-1/27/2018 forever in our hearts



  2. #2
    Senior Dog MightyThor's Avatar
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    Oh boy, following. Barley is also a barker. Thor is practically a mute (when he barks it is definitely worth checking out why!) so I have no experience with it. And he does it in so many circumstances that I don't want to shut it down entirely, but I need to shut down the type that you describe - the "give me a cookie NOW! Play with me NOW!" bark. So far I've been working on the command QUIET but it lasts 1/2 a second since he has the teenager attention span and stubbornness right now.

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    I don't typically have barkers here, but when they decided to exercise their opinion, I teach them "Speak". I get them to bark on command, then it isn't a big leap to teach "No Speak" or no bark. Like other behaviors, it takes time, but it works. This age is where the puppy develops self awareness, and independence away from the litter, so they push boundaries and manipulate their environment (and you!) as much as they can, so when they bark, deflect and do a training session, some puppy push ups, leash work sit stays etc... instead, so they get the opposite of what they want, treats, play, pats, or you could crate them so they learn self control. The barking for attention will only get worse if you don't nip it in the bud now, they will escalate their behavior to get what they want if it works.

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  6. #4
    Senior Dog zd262's Avatar
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    Bubba barked so much as a puppy to get things he wanted and I really can't stand barking dogs. When he was in his crate or playpen if he barked I would say "quiet" and rattle the cage gently. If he was quiet for 15 seconds I would let him out and give him a quick play even if I needed to put him back in. Then I slowly upped that 30 seconds, and then a minute, etc. Then I started using the "quiet" command out of the cage or playpen and would mark it and congratulate like with his other commands. He's been my only barking dog, and also he's a very hardy dog so a cage rattle didn't bother him. If you have a sensitive dog I probably wouldn't do that.
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  8. #5
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    With frustration barking, I feel like it's often either the dog doesn't know how to win or the dog is somehow being reinforced for the barking, so they do it, then get mad because it's not working, and it's a vicious cycle.

    Often times barking is a "start behavior" which means that dog barks, owner tells them to lay down/quiet/sit/etc. then treats. So, the dog learns that barking starts a behavior chain in which they receive a reward. Or maybe attention.

    Some puppies grow out of it. Presto seemed to. As a baby puppy in training he did bark a few times and I thought it would be an issue. The last couple of times, I quietly and simply left the session and went into another room. He never did it again, but I'm not sure if he grew out of it (it was tapering off anyway), figured out what he needed to do to get the cookie, relaxed because he knew I'd deliver, or if that worked because he quit barking entirely (play, training, etc.).

    What works for a lot of dogs in the kitchen is a mat behavior. They figure out "this is what I need to do to get food" and then you extend the time between treats, slowly (though you may have to re-up your treats, especially during adolescence when their brain turns to mush temporarily). You don't have to give the dog the food you're cooking, you can keep a bowl of kibble on the counter, or you can do something like cut up veggies. Or maybe it's the mat plus a stuffed Kong or high value item.

    Finally, if you're giving her treats for doing things without being asked, you might stop that, because it sounds like that is causing some frustration since you really can't logistically give a puppy a cookie each time they do something good. Maybe when she offers a behavior, you use praise and pets. When she does something you cued, give her food. And, do more training time with her to give her opportunities to earn cookies. Clickers work well for puppies that bark, too. It's provides clarity.

  9. #6
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    "Leave it."

    Once she knows this command, you will find it to be so versatile.

  10. #7
    Senior Dog Jeff's Avatar
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    Hemi was a barking puppy, he would bark and bark and bark, I would ignore it. When he finally stopped barking, they do eventually give up. Then and only then when he has quit happy voice, Oh Yay your being quiet let get you a treat.

  11. #8
    Senior Dog bmathers's Avatar
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    Diggity has a funny bark. It’s very different from Sprocket who did single, ear-splitting barks. She’d pause between barks, even if just for a second or two. Diggity does rapid-fire, multiple barks in a row and points his head up as he’s doing it, like wooo-wooooo-woooo-woooo-wooooo!!! It cracks me up!


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  12. #9
    Senior Dog Meeps83's Avatar
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    Bear was a barker. Maverick never was. When Bear barked for something I’d praise Maverick for how good he was and for being quiet and I completely ignored Bear. Since he imitated everything Mav did (he still does) he quickly learned hat being quiet got him pets or treats or verbal praise.


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  13. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shelley View Post
    I don't typically have barkers here, but when they decided to exercise their opinion, I teach them "Speak". I get them to bark on command, then it isn't a big leap to teach "No Speak" or no bark. Like other behaviors, it takes time, but it works. This age is where the puppy develops self awareness, and independence away from the litter, so they push boundaries and manipulate their environment (and you!) as much as they can, so when they bark, deflect and do a training session, some puppy push ups, leash work sit stays etc... instead, so they get the opposite of what they want, treats, play, pats, or you could crate them so they learn self control. The barking for attention will only get worse if you don't nip it in the bud now, they will escalate their behavior to get what they want if it works.
    Stormy knows “SPEAK.” How do I springboard this into No Speak?
    Stormageddon, Princess of Darkness, aka "Stormy"
    Birthday 9-13-18, Gotcha Day 11-11-18
    Hidden Content

    Miss Kimber, CGC, 6/15/2005-1/27/2018 forever in our hearts



 



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