# Barking- opposite problem!



## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

Hi all,

Archer continues to do well at 6 mos. There are a couple little things that have reared their head though. I need to continue to work on desensitizing him to having his head touched/worked on, which is harder since he is teething now so I am giving that a bit of a break.

But also- he doesn't yet bark regularly! Now, this is a good thing overall, but there are two issues. I'm planning on enrolling him in an animal talent class so he might be able to do some photo or TV work. I am sure he will need to have a good "speak" command for this. I haven't found a way to teach it! He is very expressive with his whining- and has learned to communicate potty needs a bit with that, but also other things he wants that are not exactly needs! (e.g. my omelette, the budgies, etc). When we are training I click him for noises he makes to get him to offer those, but it is pretty rare. And I usually ignore whining when I can tell it is not for a good reason.

The only times he barks are out of frustration- e.g. a ball under the couch, or at a dog who won't play with him. He might bark when he hears my BF coming home, but barely, and not always. So that is GREAT because he has an impressive bark inside that fluffy exterior! We really needed a quiet dog as we are in a small condo. I have been afraid to let him bark much at all, and when he has, I have basically ignored it altogether and praised him when he has stopped, or when a barking situation comes up and he doesn't do it. 

So I discovered recently that he is afraid of other dogs barking. Not small dogs- just large dogs. There is a Vizla in my building who is maybe 11-12 months. They wanted to play at first but the Vizla's way of interacting involves barking, and Archer just skitters and hides behind my legs when she barks.

I also had a friend over the other night, who is an actor, and is a little odd in that he makes strange noises... and he barked at Archer and actually really scared him. I didn't react much except to just act like it was not a big deal and give my friend treats to give him- but it was the first person I have seen him be scared of! He eventually warmed back up but not if the barking was involved.

Is this what the mysterious fear periods look like? I have heard they go through those at various ages but I don't know what is typical for Havanese. He was scared by an accordion-player at the Farmer's market, too. He was kind of bucking at the end of his leash, so I just calmly stood there and when he stopped, offered treats to stand and listen to the accordion (oh, the things we do for our dogs.  

I'm kind of torn, because I think Archer did not learn to bark because he hasn't heard many dogs barking- his "Uncle", an English lab he spends time with, literally NEVER barks. His half-brother he spends a day or two with now and again DOES bark- he is a bit of a problem barker actually. But Archer luckily did not pick this up.

So I guess my question is: Should I actively try to desensitize him to barking by using recorded sounds and going to dog park and doggie daycare (he has not been to doggie daycare as I feared he would pick up bad habits and he is content to sleep when I am away). Or should I thank my lucky stars he is not much of a barker and hope he grows out of this phase?


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Be careful what you wish for!!! ound:


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

I know! I was happy until I realized barking scares him


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## Miss Rosa (Jan 22, 2014)

*No barking is good sometimes*

My daughter's dog doesn't bark however when she gets excited she whines and it gets annoying. Sometimes you have to ignore her. Take bits and pieces of advice from others and try them, use what works for you. There is no mold for anything with animals or humans. Every one has their own way of learning and behaving.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I think he has a normal bark. New situations would always cause mine to bark. Maddie barks the same way yours does. She loves her ball and if its stuck she barks for me to help. Zoey has the fear bark but I've been working on it for three years she has come a long way. 
As far as teaching speak I have no idea how to do that. You want just one bark I assume. Does she bark for a treat? Mine jump and bark for a carrot. But that is bad behavior. So I have no idea how to make a bark feel like a reward.


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

No he doesn't even bark for treats or anything! I will start looking for any opportunities during training when he makes noise and click/treat those... Maybe that will help give him the idea to offer noises...

But I don't want to reward the "bad" barking.


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## sprorchid (Mar 30, 2010)

does he mimic you? when I taught Ollie as a pup to bark on cue, he didn't bark either. Now I can't shut him up, lol. I really had to work a long time on the bark command, so when he wants a treat he sometimes barks, thinking it will pay.

yeah so I would bark at Ollie and when he barked back or even tried, he'd get a treat or lick the treat. even now he some times has a hard time getting his bark on.


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## Naturelover (Nov 30, 2013)

Well he doesn't mimic me, but I just found out he will mimic my friend who has a convincing dog whine and bark after years of living with her Corgi. I told her when I am ready to train him to speak she will have to come back and help us because she is the only person he vocalizes for! I think I will wait till he is a bit older before I start rewarding noises now that I have some idea of how to induce him!


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