Barking puppy

frogstar

Hi.

This post is on behalf of my sister who has a 15week old Old Englshsheepdog.

She has already had two of these dogs that passed away (old age) so I think the puppy stage is well and truly forgotten.

The dog is great at basic commands such as sit, wait, paw, down etc.. And eager to learn but problem is barking. Not even outside but in the house will bark in your face for attention. It is very loud too and scary.

How can we kick this bad habit. I know it's for attention but find it very hard to stop. I tried myself spraying water in face today to stop but she seemed to enjoy it and barked more!

Read online that mentioned tapping on the nose but not sure if that's the way to go. Shock collars are a no in anyway.

I know the saying "reward the good behaviour but ignore the bad" but sometimes distinguishing between both is hard. So i think at times she is mistakenly rewarding the barking ( though she may think she isn't)

Any thoughts?? All ideas welcome!! Have a rescue dog myself so missed out on the puppy years (thankfully I think!)

Eta. Puppy is walked regularly, plenty of toys, and playtime.

Cherry Blossom

Remove the pup from the room and shut the door for 5 seconds, if it barks at being put out of the room then leave it out until the barking stops. Let the pup back in after the 5 seconds or as soon as it stops barking (whichever applies). Don't say anything, don't even look at the pup just take it straight out of the room (no attention of any description - positive or otherwise).

frogstar

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Remove the pup from the room and shut the door for 5 seconds, if it barks at being put out of the room then leave it out until the barking stops. Let the pup back in after the 5 seconds or as soon as it stops barking (whichever applies). Don't say anything, don't even look at the pup just take it straight out of the room (no attention of any description - positive or otherwise).

Thanks!

Will get her to try this tomorrow. Was trying to think of something the pup wouldn't like (water didn't work and didn't want to tap her nose). Putting her in another room for a bit sounds ideal

Cherry Blossom

You need to repeat this consistently, but it shouldn't take long for the pup to figure out that barking will only get them the complete opposite of attention. I find it works for pretty much any situation - break a rule for this room and you won't be in the room. When the pup gets back in it can make the decision for itself if it wants to have another go at sitting behind the door or behave. You have to keep letting it back in and taking it out again every time it barks or it won't make the connection.

frogstar

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

You need to repeat this consistently, but it shouldn't take long for the pup to figure out that barking will only get them the complete opposite of attention. I find it works for pretty much any situation - break a rule for this room and you won't be in the room. When the pup gets back in it can make the decision for itself if it wants to have another go at sitting behind the door or behave. You have to keep letting it back in and taking it out again every time it barks or it won't make the connection.

Thanks. Was doing some basic training today with her myself and was very quick to learn (down after two attempts) so this sounds good (and simple)

Another one if you don't mind, when the dog is left outside she constantly bangs the window for attention / to come back in. Any idea on this? I was suggesting to put a barrier up (or a run type thing) so she can't get to the patio door (remove distraction). Anything else she can do?

Cherry Blossom

No ideas on that one, she wants in simple as that. My own dog is happy enough in her run, but is not interested in being in the garden for any more than 15 minutes. It's boring out there on your own!

Whispered

frogstar wrote: »

Another one if you don't mind, when the dog is left outside she constantly bangs the window for attention / to come back in. Any idea on this? I was suggesting to put a barrier up (or a run type thing) so she can't get to the patio door (remove distraction). Anything else she can do?

One of mine did the same, you have to wait until she stops banging the door, even for a second, and walk to open it, if her paws touch the door as you're walking to it, turn around and start again. If it's a glass door, you can just stop dead and wait for her to stop jumping before taking another step. You'll be walking up and down the kitchen like a fool for a while but it usually works within a few days.

Just remember to never ever let the dog in when she's jumping, do not correct the jumping and make an effort to let her in, even if just for a quick treat and a rub when she's behaving herself and not pawing at the door.