# BARKING--NEED ADVICE!



## lonnieluv

Lonnie is 3.5 months and we have had him for 4 weeks. He is a love, but he is a BARKER!! His litter-mates were not but he is and he also seems to have a stubborn streak.

He does NOT bark at people, other dogs, animals in the yard or when people come over.

He DOES bark about 2 out of 5 times he is left in the crate or expen. He does not like to be left alone and clearly has some separation issues. He has a piercing bark that is ear-splitting! 

This happens most often when I have to put my children to bed and I have to leave Lonnie. Ironically the other times I leave him, he's totally fine with the crate routine??

What I do is--give him a special treat (kong with cream cheese, turkey tendon, bully bite) but that only lasts so long. When he finishes the treat then he starts the incessant barking. I would take him with me to put the kids to bed, but he isn't potty trained enough.

As soon as he sees me return, the volume goes up till he is released. If I sit with my back to him and say "shhh" he quiets for a second (literally only a second or two), but if I say "good boy" he just perks up (if he had started to relax) and freaks out again and the barking is taken to a new level.

I am so upset over this as my last dog hardly ever barked and this is making us all a little crazy. 

If you have advice that would be great!!!

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!


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## davetgabby

Sounds like request/demand type barking. Here is an article I wrote on barking. 

How can anything so important to our relationship with our dogs get such a bad wrap? On the Richter scale of annoying behaviours by dogs it can be a ten. Barking is one of our dog's most important means of communication. If we try to curtail much of his barking we are isolating his attempts to talk to us. Barking ,like growling is something that we need to pay attention to ,and not sublimate like many people do. When we look at barking we need to look at the whole situation and try to discern what our dog is trying to convey to us. First listen to your dog and then try to determine what he is saying and then and only then can we ask for a cessation or an alternate behaviour. . Barking is sometimes a symptom of a problem—for example, fear, boredom, or stress. If you fix the problem, the symptom will likely go away. However, if you simply treat the symptom, the problem will just show up in a different form which may be even worse. Treat the problem not the symptom. We have undoubtedly selectively bred guard dogs to enhance their tendency to bark, but perhaps we’ve unconsciously bred all dogs to use barking as a method of drawing attention to their body language, If dogs didn’t live with us they wouldn’t have developed the paedomorphic tendency to bark. If we hadn’t impoverished their body language they wouldn’t need to bark to tell other dogs that they are excited or angry. If we paid their real communication more attention, they wouldn’t need to shout to make themselves understood. "Previously, other researchers thought domesticated dogs barked primarily for our benefit, since neither adult wolves nor feral dogs bark."We think barking existed in the ancestor of the dogs, but the present form of variability and abundance of barking is the product of domestication in dogs," Pongrácz says that domesticated dogs must have learned how to bark to other domesticated dogs later, as a form of communication additional to visual and scent cues."



Not all barking is indicative of an underlying problem. Sometimes they are simply saying hello , who's that outside, let me in the door ,or it's time to eat. First,we have to listen to our dog. then determine whether barking was an appropriate response. Perhaps limited barking is all right under certain circumstances. It's your responsibility to define an appropriate response in each situation. So why do dogs bark? Dogs bark to ALERT us, to REQUEST things from us, because they are AFRAID, or because they are BORED.

REQUEST BARKING is the result of our intentionally or unintentionally reinforcing one of our dog's other types of barking. It is usually just one bark ,followed by a pause and then he waits for your reaction. I think you've all seen this. They all do it, or they wouldn't be dogs. If they get no reaction ,they will repeat their plea. This can really escalate into nuisance barking. ANY sort of attention, ie. looking at, talking to, yelling at, is still reinforcing. Most often it is attention seeking. And punishment is certainly not an option because in most cases what we consider as punishment , actually is reinforcing for a dog ,in the way of attention.
Examples include door opening ,begging for food, wanting to play etc, etc, etc. A dog would have to be pretty stupid not to have discovered that this experiment usually works. We are WEAK . How many of you have had company pay attention to your dog when he barks. I think all of us. The best way to keep this from becoming a real problem is simple. Ignore them when you know it's one of these request type pleas. Another type of learned barking can be from previous experiences. A dog may get excited with car rides. He's learned that getting into the car can mean good things or sometimes bad things. This can lead to a learned form of barking that is even more irritating as this is usually an excited form of barking with much more vocalization. Remedies for this are more complicated. But I know we've all seen this in our dogs many times and yet we somehow are overpowered by our desire to love and acknowledge our dogs. With their requests for attention we need to realize that too much of anything is not good. Pay attention but watch out ,attending to every cry for our attention can lead to a very demanding and annoying dog. Even the Havanese. Never let a barking dog out of his crate. Always wait for a lull of at least ten seconds. Ignore any dog who barks at you to get what he wants. If you have been reinforcing it for a while, the barking will get worse before it goes away. The dog will be frustrated at first. The behaviour will go away by stopping reinforcement. This is called "extinction" and the ramping up of the behaviour before it goes away is called an extinction burst. Pay attention to your dog when he's quiet. Failing to do so is also using extinction, but this time to get rid of our favorite behavior lying quietly at our feet. Teach your dog that this can bring out the treats.

ALERT BARKING Wake up mom and dad I hear someone outside at the door. And hey there stranger I'm on to you. Alert barking serves two purposes ,one to notify members of the pack that there is potential danger and two ,to let the invader know that they have been detected. This tends to be a mid-to-high pitched bark, delivered in bursts of short barks. It indicates something new or interesting, but not necessarily threatening. We've bred dogs to do this over the generations and an example of this is The German Shepherd dog. Most people don't mind this eary warning signal from their dog. The problem arises when your dog does not stop barking. You can’t teach the dog to stop barking unless he is barking. How do you do this? You will need someone to help you.
1. Ask your friend to stand outside your front door.
2. Say, “Sparkey, speak!”
3. Your accomplice rings the door bell.
4. Your dog barks.
5. You say “Good boy!”

After about six to eight repetitions, your dog’s going to anticipate the door bell ringing after you say, “Sparkey, speak.” So now when you say “Sparkey, speak,” your dog barks on cue. Now you can teach him to shush on cue:
1. First, cue your dog to bark: “Sparkey speak"
2. Say, “Sparkey, shush!”
3. Put a delicious food treat in front of his nose. (He’ll sniff the food treat and stop barking because he can’t sniff and bark at the same time.)
4. The dog shushes.
5. You say, “Good shush!” but don’t give the treat. The longer you hold on to the treat and the dog sniffs it, the longer he will be quiet. Repeat the speak-shush sequence over and over so that the dog learns to speak on cue and to shush on cue.


FEARFUL BARKING Barking occurs when the dog is fearful or unsure about something that is happening. It's the dog's way of saying: "Back off—don't come any closer." This is much more serious than alert barking because the dog is saying that he is afraid and therefore potentially dangerous if approached. This type of barking can last until the perceived threat has left. Here is where your dog may need to be socialized more. Expose him to lots of places, experiences, sights and sounds and make it all fun. If he's afraid about traffic, hand feed him his meals on the sidewalk. Start on quieter streets and progress to busier streets as he improves. It takes a while to improve fearful adults so be patient. This type of barking can 
be self reinforcing. He barks at a dog walking down the street and the dog goes away. MAGIC.

BOREDOM BARKING can result when your dog is not being mentally stimulated. The dog barks compulsively.To control this take your dog for a good walk in the morning and they will be more likely to rest until you come home. You should also make sure that your house is sufficiently enriched with fun toys and puzzles to keep them entertained when you are not home. Try putting some of your dog’s daily food allowance into a Kong toy or treat ball so they have to work to retrieve their snacks. Keep their toys in a toy box and alternate the toys they have access to each day. Hide their toys and some treats around the yard to encourage them to forage. If your dog has any play mates in the neighbourhood you might alleviate boredom by inviting them over for the day.You may also consider organising a 'dog walker' to walk your dog in the middle of the day while you are at work or a 'dog minder' to keep your dog company when you are away for long periods. You may also consider utilising your local 'doggy day care' services.


Take the time to characterise your dog’s barking habits – does he bark at people passing by? Ask your neighbours whether he barks while you are away from home – does he bark all day or only some of the time? If necessary, manage the problem with help from a behavioural specialist. It is also a good idea to take your dog to the vet for a full health check to make sure there are no medical reasons for his behaviour. Never try and modify your dog’s behaviour by punishing him.
Anti-barking collars constitute a form of punishment and are an unreliable remedy – they do not address the cause of the problem and are easy to abuse. Your dog will be punished for every bark, some of which will be appropriate, and he will not learn an alternative, acceptable behaviour.


You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” ? Winston S. Churchill


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## lonnieluv

Thank you!! Yes, just spoke with a trainer who said almost the same thing! She also said he is likely jealous that I'm with my kids since he doesn't always freak out in the crate. We will try putting him in a crate in my daughter's room for bedtime routine to see if that helps.


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## lonnieluv

Ha! That didn't work. He just barked in the crate. Not sure what to do. I can't be with him every minute I am in the house...


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## Genie1000

Lonnie sounds like Penelope's clone. We have tried everything to get her to be ok being in her room without us. If I leave, high pitched piercing bark. Relentless. I can't get anything done and my head hurts almost constantly. 
We have found a doggy day care and will be interviewing them next Monday.
I wish you luck!!!!


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## lonnieluv

Genie1000 said:


> Lonnie sounds like Penelope's clone. We have tried everything to get her to be ok being in her room without us. If I leave, high pitched piercing bark. Relentless. I can't get anything done and my head hurts almost constantly.
> We have found a doggy day care and will be interviewing them next Monday.
> I wish you luck!!!!


Eek! When he's not barking I adore him but then wonder how I can live with the barking for 14 years. Ideally he can come with me wherever I am in the house...but not till he's fully House-trained.


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## krandall

Both Penelope and Lonnie are still very young puppies! They will learn. Don't assume what you have now is the dog you will have in 2-3 years. There is a reason puppies are so darned cute... It keeps us from drowning them! 

Just imagine how many people would have kids if they were "stuck" with two year olds for life... Not very many. This is the same. They DO grow up, and the effort you put into training them now, will be paid back many, MANY times with the pleasure of a wonderful companion over the next 15 or so years!


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## Genie1000

Thank you, Karen! That is reassuring. I guess my biggest fear is that we aren't training her correctly with regards to the barking. 
She's amazing in every other respect. She's smart, sweet and adorable, but I can't be with her 100% of the time and when I'm not right there with her, she's yipping.
Is ignoring it the way to go? We've tried leaving and returning and increasing the time gradually. The barking just doesn't stop....


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## lonnieluv

krandall said:


> Both Penelope and Lonnie are still very young puppies! They will learn. Don't assume what you have now is the dog you will have in 2-3 years. There is a reason puppies are so darned cute... It keeps us from drowning them!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just imagine how many people would have kids if they were "suck" with two year olds for life... Not very many. This is the same. They DO grow up, and the effort you put into training them now, will be paid back many, MANy times with the pleasure of a wonderful companion over the next 15 or so years!


Thank you for saying that!! Really needed to hear it! Working on the training and have a trainer coming later this week!


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## lonnieluv

Genie1000 said:


> Lonnie sounds like Penelope's clone. We have tried everything to get her to be ok being in her room without us. If I leave, high pitched piercing bark. Relentless. I can't get anything done and my head hurts almost constantly.
> We have found a doggy day care and will be interviewing them next Monday.
> I wish you luck!!!!


It's really rough, isn't it?!! I just feel so desperate when he's like that especially because it makes everyone in my family nuts and stops me from spending time with my kids! ?


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## Genie1000

What gets me most is that she really gets herself worked up. We put a camera in her puppy room to watch what she does when we leave..... she will grab her expen in her teeth and pull it. She pants and gets really upset. I cannot imagine that is good for her.
In addition to puppy school, I am asking her vet Friday about a behaviorist coming to the house to help us. 
I just feel really lost. She's awesom when she's glued to my hip, but that isn't practical.


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## Melissa Brill

*barking*



lonnieluv said:


> As soon as he sees me return, the volume goes up till he is released. If I sit with my back to him and say "shhh" he quiets for a second (literally only a second or two), but if I say "good boy" he just perks up (if he had started to relax) and freaks out again and the barking is taken to a new level.


If I had to guess I'd say that he's getting what he wants - your attention - even though that attention is only a 'shhh'. I'd suggest no words at all. Sit with your back to him, if he barks, don't say anything. When he relaxes, is quiet either take him out or give him a treat (still not saying anything).

When Perry is in his crate he won't bark (well, ok, he does when I leave him if I leave him in his crate off schedule) and is quiet when I come to take him out, but he'll be all excited, so I wait til he's calm, open the crate, let him out (no talking) and then I don't talk to him or even pet him for a few minutes until he's calm and not in 'just got out of crate' mode.

When we're in the US we have an expen (wish they came in smaller panels so that it was easier for us to bring one here) and Perry will bark when I leave the room (even if someone else is there) - having problems with this because I know he continues because my Mom or someone will tell him to 'shh' (I'm guilty too because I've come back in the room to tell him to quiet down and then left again - so he got what he wanted). When I come to get him out he'll be excited-whining and jumping around and I'll just stand there looking at him til he calms himself down and sits quietly, then I'll take him out. He now knows that's what he has to do (even if it takes him a few minutes to be able to do it).


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## Melissa Brill

*glued to your hip*



Genie1000 said:


> What gets me most is that she really gets herself worked up. We put a camera in her puppy room to watch what she does when we leave..... she will grab her expen in her teeth and pull it. She pants and gets really upset. I cannot imagine that is good for her.
> In addition to puppy school, I am asking her vet Friday about a behaviorist coming to the house to help us.
> I just feel really lost. She's awesom when she's glued to my hip, but that isn't practical.


We worked with a behaviourist when we were in the US a couple of weeks ago because Perry is scared of/ growls and barks at my husband. One of the things she mentioned (that I knew but wasn't dealing with properly) was the 'glued to the hip' part of it. She mentioned (in addition to helping Perry see my husband as the bringer of all good things) that it wasn't good for Perry to be attached to my hip so much and following me around all the time. She suggested that we use a tether method - tethering him (or if you have an expen) when I need to go to another room, instead of letting him always follow me around. He's too attached to me in some ways that makes him more distrustful of (and have no interest in) other people. So, not only is the 'glued to the hip' impractical, it's probably also not good for his long term mental health/ stability 

As for her getting upset when you leave - as long as her environment is safe then I'd say that it just takes time and consistency. When we were working on Perry's separation issues, it took weeks and I didn't think he was ever going to stop barking when I left him, but then suddenly one day it seemed to click and he was fine (though we now have to work on it when it's not on what he sees as the acceptable schedule  - routine mornings when I was going to work = acceptable, no barking; Saturday shopping = acceptable... weekday mid-afternoon shopping when we were on vacation = not acceptable)


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## krandall

Genie1000 said:


> Thank you, Karen! That is reassuring. I guess my biggest fear is that we aren't training her correctly with regards to the barking.
> She's amazing in every other respect. She's smart, sweet and adorable, but I can't be with her 100% of the time and when I'm not right there with her, she's yipping.
> Is ignoring it the way to go? We've tried leaving and returning and increasing the time gradually. The barking just doesn't stop....


Absolutely, you HAVE to ignore demand barking, as hard as it seems. If it REALLY seems anxiety related, and is to improving, you might want to get a good, positive trainer in to see what's going on, first hand.


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## davetgabby

yeah you sound like you are going through an extinction burst ... https://aniedireland.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/barking-mad/


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## Genie1000

Thank you for the article. It does sound like Penelope in many ways. I haven't looked at all the video clips yet, but I think they will be helpful. 
We have a trainer coming to the house on Saturday. I think having someone walk us through some things will help. I learn best by observing.


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## lonnieluv

We have a trainer coming Saturday too! Looking forward to it! 

I will check out these videos...

Many thanks!

I mean he is such a cutie...he was such a good boy today...because we were all home! Ha!


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## Genie1000

Lonnie is a love! I will be thinking of you both on Saturday!!! Good luck!!!


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## Bnails52

I cant wait to hear the results from his training, i also had a barker, it started when i took her out and she saw the dog next door, they both had a barking match, after that she was barking constantly and one of the resons i was drawn to this breed, ( first one) was because they are not constant barkers. I came on this forum, and someone told me to put pennies in a can and shake it every time they bark, i did that with a plastic bank, it scared her and she stopped barking she is now much better and doesnt even bark at the neighbors dog when he barks at her, i keep telling her no barking and shes got it cookies also help! Good luck. Ps, after a while she stopped just when she saw me pickup the bank, lol took a out a week.

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk


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## Melissa Brill

*scaring them*



Bnails52 said:


> I cant wait to hear the results from his training, i also had a barker, it started when i took her out and she saw the dog next door, they both had a barking match, after that she was barking constantly and one of the resons i was drawn to this breed, ( first one) was because they are not constant barkers. I came on this forum, and someone told me to put pennies in a can and shake it every time they bark, i did that with a plastic bank, it scared her and she stopped barking she is now much better and doesnt even bark at the neighbors dog when he barks at her, i keep telling her no barking and shes got it cookies also help! Good luck. Ps, after a while she stopped just when she saw me pickup the bank, lol took a out a week.
> 
> Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk


While I'm not an advocate of scaring them to stop them doing something, I do occasionally use a squirt bottle (which I think makes Perry pause more than scares him). It's also funny what will do the same to a dog/ scare them... for example, if my Mom's dog won't listen to my husband, he picks up his lighter... and if that doesn't work, he flicks it on. My Mom's scotty hates it! He'll stop what he was doing and look away (not really scared because he won't run away, he just looks away - you know the 'I can't see it so it doesn't exist' strategy). He's never been hurt with a lighter, so no idea where that wariness came from. Of course, this is the same dog who will completely freak out if you use the pencil sharpener (old fashion kind from many many years ago at school that is manual and you turn the handle on the side).


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## njsmommy

Karen hit the nail on the head when she said the dog you have today is not the same dog you will have in 2-3 years. Patiently engaging the behaviors you want WILL pay off. When we first got our puppy and we would leave the home for a bit, he would completely freak out when we would arrive home...trying to get out of his crate....barking, whining, even peeing himself, all because he was overexcited that we were home. We had gotten to the point that we would carry the entire crate outside (with him in it), because we didn't want him piddling all over the kitchen floor. Our puppy good manners coach kept saying to keep him in his crate until he quieted down, not even speaking to him while he was carrying on. Over time, we started seeing that he would quiet down faster, knowing that he would then be released from his crate more quickly. Now, 15 months later, we can come home, even move around for a bit, and he just lies quietly in his crate, watching us and knowing that we'll let him out in a few minutes. The other thing is that he has now gotten to the point where when the doorbell rings, he'll run to the door and bark, but as soon as we open the door and greet the person, he immediately stops barking, as if he senses when we are relaxed with the person entering the home, it's okay for him to relax too. He has matured into such a lovely dog, and I am so grateful to our excellent good manners coaches for their outstanding training advice and for saving my sanity when I thought our puppy was going to drive me mad!


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## krandall

njsmommy said:


> Karen hit the nail on the head when she said the dog you have today is not the same dog you will have in 2-3 years. Patiently engaging the behaviors you want WILL pay off. When we first got our puppy and we would leave the home for a bit, he would completely freak out when we would arrive home...trying to get out of his crate....barking, whining, even peeing himself, all because he was overexcited that we were home. We had gotten to the point that we would carry the entire crate outside (with him in it), because we didn't want him piddling all over the kitchen floor. Our puppy good manners coach kept saying to keep him in his crate until he quieted down, not even speaking to him while he was carrying on. Over time, we started seeing that he would quiet down faster, knowing that he would then be released from his crate more quickly. Now, 15 months later, we can come home, even move around for a bit, and he just lies quietly in his crate, watching us and knowing that we'll let him out in a few minutes. The other thing is that he has now gotten to the point where when the doorbell rings, he'll run to the door and bark, but as soon as we open the door and greet the person, he immediately stops barking, as if he senses when we are relaxed with the person entering the home, it's okay for him to relax too. He has matured into such a lovely dog, and I am so grateful to our excellent good manners coaches for their outstanding training advice and for saving my sanity when I thought our puppy was going to drive me mad!


This is wonderful advice. I really would advise against penny cans or quirt bottles. Scaring (or even just startling) your dog out of barking, at best, is only effective temporarily, and, at worst can cause some pretty bad fall-out behaviors. (such as the puppy associating the scary noise or bad experience of getting squirted with YOU rather than with the barking, and then becoming afraid of you. Then you've got a lot bigger problem on your hands.


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## Genie1000

The behaviorist came today and spent over three hours here. She checked out our setup and it was really helpful for me to watch how she handled Penelope's barking etc with the clicker. I learn best by watching and do I feel a lot more confident in how to handle separating.
She also helped with the interaction between Penelope and my daughter's dog, Paul, a 12 year old Chinese crested powder puff. Circumstances look like Paul will be living with us come August.... so it's nice to have some professional help with all of this.
I hope Lonnie's trainervisit went well!!!


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## Melissa Brill

*scaring*



krandall said:


> This is wonderful advice. I really would advise against penny cans or quirt bottles. Scaring (or even just startling) your dog out of barking, at best, is only effective temporarily, and, at worst can cause some pretty bad fall-out behaviors. (such as the puppy associating the scary noise or bad experience of getting squirted with YOU rather than with the barking, and then becoming afraid of you. Then you've got a lot bigger problem on your hands.


I completely agree and that's why I only use the squirt bottle when he is fixated on the door and he never sees that it's me squirting it  But yes, it's not something that I advocate doing often.


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## karidyne

Genie1000 said:


> Is ignoring it the way to go? We've tried leaving and returning and increasing the time gradually. The barking just doesn't stop....


The leaving and returning only helps if he isn't already upset and if you return before he gets upset. Migo had a tough time too at first. I could only move a few steps back without him getting upset. I took it very slowly at first but once he caught on it went by pretty fast. I could leave the house for an hour on our second day of training.

The demand barking really sucks. I almost resorted to ear plugs because Migo has a horrible ear-piercing bark. Luckily he stopped this before our neighbors complained. My advice is to expose him to several situations. When I thought he was over it I had a morning where he was in his travel crate for about ten min while I searched for my work ID. He barked the entire time! He also barked quite a bit during our first visit with a lady who cares for him some days. It's like he's a different dog when this happens, so I'm trying to expose him to as many new environments as I can.


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## Lilysmom

Oh I'm so glad for this thread. I haven't been on in a few weeks and I came to look for specifically this topic. Lily - my former so shy little puppy , is now 7 mo now and has really come out of her shell. So much now as soon as someone comes over she has this LOUD piercing bark and will follow them around to get their attention but won't always let them let her right away. She used to run from strangers terrified. The worst of her barking is she will bark at any noise or person she sees outside. Once they are gone , it stops. She does not bark when she is outside walking really or with people now outside, she just wants to be outside or is just super nosey. Ha. I am really glad she is growing up not so terrified like she used to be with training and exposure we have done , but this barking And I work from home and am in the phone some. And it can be quite distracting. I have tried the shaker penny's and water squirt bottle and neither work. She just keeps on barking. I guess I need to try the ignore and will do the shush that was explained. Great advice. Here's updated pic.


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## Melissa Brill

*different places*



karidyne said:


> The demand barking really sucks. I almost resorted to ear plugs because Migo has a horrible ear-piercing bark. Luckily he stopped this before our neighbors complained. My advice is to expose him to several situations. When I thought he was over it I had a morning where he was in his travel crate for about ten min while I searched for my work ID. He barked the entire time! He also barked quite a bit during our first visit with a lady who cares for him some days. It's like he's a different dog when this happens, so I'm trying to expose him to as many new environments as I can.


Oh I can totally relate to this! When we first got Perry (and came back to Kampala), we had issues with what I think was a combination of separation anxiety /demand barking when we'd put him in his crate and leave him (never more than a couple of hours). With patience we moved past that and now we can put him in his crate when we go out and he just chills out til someone comes back for him. However, when we travel to the US it's a different story. Last time we were in DC I was worried that he'd bark in the hotel (and we'd get kicked out) so we arranged for daycare for two of the days, but then one evening when we wanted to go out for dinner I figured it would be fine to leave him in his crate - after all, he's over the barking right? Nope. No idea how long he was barking but he was definitely making a lot of noise by the time we got back (with chances that he was barking almost the whole time). AND when we're at my Mom's and we leave him in his crate while we go out he starts up almost immediately. So, in our case, learning that someone will come back and not barking doesn't necessarily apply in other locations. It could be because they have difficulty transferring learning from one situation to another, it could be because anxiety levels are already slightly higher anyway because of the change in environment or it could be because they just like to drive us crazy wink2: probably not, but it definitely feels that way sometimes).


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## HavaCoco

I am bumping this very old thread. What ever happened with Lonnie and his barking? Did things improve? Did the tactics and advice given work or did you try something else?


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## Marni

I suggest you put barking in the search engine, or start a new thread. For the most part, barking is natural for your pup and his way of warning trouble is just outside the door, window etc. Also, to let you know the chewy is between the sofa cushions and needs to escape, etc. Be very careful in trying to extinguish such a natural behavior. When you raise your voice and hiss, "Hush", doggie thinks you are barking along with him/her and must think something evil is afoot as well. Hitting pup with a stream of water may create a fearful pup, may not. 

Barking is natural to dogs, but not to cats, gerbils, birds or amphibians. All of which also make wonderful pets. :|

Many people are successful in teaching the "speak" command and then training to not speak. 

Just understand doggie is doing something natural and that he won't easily stop the behavior, whereas shouting at a barking doggie or squirting him with water may be easily controlled.


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## FutureHavMom

This is a great thread! Our 9-month-old has always been a barker, but it's gotten worse lately. We've started working with a trainer because he now barks (sometimes aggressively) at random people on the street and at people who come into our home. He also barks aggressively if we're outside and he sees a dog but doesn't get to say hi to it. We've started working with a trainer and we're slowly seeing improvements. We aren't trying to stop him from barking. (We like that he alerts us to things.) Rather, we are trying to teach him 1) that it's not OK to bark and lunge at strangers and 2) that it's not the end of the world if he doesn't say hi to every dog he sees outside. Slow and steady progress...


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