barking

gilda25 · 11-14-2005, 07:03 PM

We've had our dog now for about a month a half. Up until recently (and by 'recently' I mean about a week or so) he has been barking over things he never used to bark at. He rarely even barked at the beginning... but now he's become a bit of a barker and i dont know why.

For example if we're eating on the couch he would start barking (even if he's already eaten), or if we're just sittting on the couch and (we think) he's barking b/c he wants up, or if Im on the computer and he's on my lap sometimes he'd bark. It used to be that if I just ignored him then he'd eventually stop but that doesnt seem to work anymore.
Is there any reason why his behavior (w/ barking) would change? By the way, if its any help he's 3 months old.

Barrett · 12-01-2005, 03:38 AM

Ahh, I think he simply found his voice. Both of my pups barely made a peep as youngsters. When they turned about 3-4 months of age they found thier singing voice and it's been doggy opera ever since. This would be a great time to start teaching you pup the command " Enough" or "Stop". Teach him "Enough" barking by distracting him with a noise or hand movement when he is barking and the second he stops say "Good Enough" and give him a treat. It will take a while but eventually he will get the idea that he needs to stop barking when you ask him too. He is just a baby so keep up with this for a few months and be very consistent. He will learn it. I let my dogs bark a few times before I tell them enough. Sometimes I like them to bark, like when someone knocks on the door. I don't want them to think they can never bark.

Barrett

PriscillasMom · 12-01-2005, 06:01 AM

My Papillon is 3 1/2 months old and just "learned" to bark a couple of weeks ago too. She barks at strange noises outside mostly. Also, when I'm home she'll bark when my husband comes up the stairs, but when I come home she doesn't bark at all. I think she's protecting me. (All 3 pounds of her!). Yesterday I took her on her first real walk down the street. She barked her head off at the fire hydrant which she had never seen before. Too cute! I've been using the word "hush" when she barks and she seems to be catching on.

mrsgrubby · 12-01-2005, 09:30 AM

I agree what the others said, however if your dog is barking becuase he wants attention from you, then he is being rude in my opinion. Would you allow your child to come up and scream in your face, HEY MOM, GIVE ME ATTENTION NOW?

I don't let my dogs bark at me to get things they want. They have to "do stuff" to earn the things they want.

It sounds to me like it would benefit you to do a search on NILIF and implement that in your house. Then your puppy will get into the habit of doing stuff to earn your attention.

gilda25 · 12-01-2005, 10:57 AM

Phew! well Im glad to hear that this is mostl likely a puppy stage.

I'll start teaching him that he does not get rewarded if he barks... just a matter of being patient with it. LOL.
Thanks for everyones input!

***Carrie*** · 12-01-2005, 09:35 PM

I think everyone gave you such good information. Mrsgrubby is so right on about the "demanding" kind of bark. The pup should earn a lot of what he likes, needs etc. I think NILIF is a great thing to help teach manners and show your leadership. However, unless you're having the beginnings of a leadership problem where the dog is starting to show some "aggression," carrying that NILIF to the extreme is really not necessary or IMO a good or natural thing. I mean....everytime you want to give your dog a cuddle or pat, you don't need to make him perform something. I cuddle and fuss over my dogs all the time, to the point of neurosis and they're not demanding or aggressive. But they are taught manners and expected to go along with the program. So, I hope you get the feel for what I mean.

Barrett has a good way of distinguishing between unnecessary barking and natural, wanted barking. Enough is different than "no." No means barking is a no no. Enough means that barking is fine, but now it's enough already. LOL. But of course, the dog doesn't know what the word, "enough" means. So, you have to distract the dog and do something so that it stops barking. When he does stop, pair the word, "enough"(firmly) with that silence. Don't say it while the dog is barking at first until he learns what the word is connected to....silence. Then praise right away. But I'd only do that when he's barking at some threat that you determine is not a threat. You decide that. I have this problem with Lyric, my Doberman, not to mention my little opera singer Chihuahuas. I will look out the window and then say in a sing songy, up and down the scale, no big deal voice, "Nah-h! It's nothing. It's all good. No problemo....enough" LOL. It's not the words, but my tone that they seem to believe. Then I walk through the room, more like march and don't forget to breathe deeply and exhale before talking to your dogs. It helps you not feel or sound tense.

If he's yapping at you to pay attention to him, I'd ignore that...no attention one way or the other. If that doesn't work, isolate him for a few minutes. Seperate him from the "pack." Weah, weah, weah. Worst possible thing. LOL.

Anyhow, it's not the easiest thing to accomplish and my dogs are far from Johnny on the spot about it. But they're getting better. Sometimes I say "enough" like I would "No." (very distinctly, seperating the sylables.) LOL. Jose's the most persistant one.

Oh....that barking for attention. I guess I must confess, I do bend the rules there with Jose. He doesn't bark at me in a demanding way, but he gurgles, makes a little howling barky weird bunch of sounds that go up about an octave and back down.... and he's wagging with his rear up in the air. He's talking to me! So, I think it's cute and pay all kinds of attention to him. LOL. I'm trying to get this on command and then I'm going to book him a recording session. It's really quite musical.

gilda25 · 12-02-2005, 08:05 AM

LOL. It never ceases to amaze me what dogs do and why they do it.

If hes barking when it seems unnecessary I say a firm "No" but I havent tried the distraction thing yet, but i'll definitely work on that. He's becoming a little more sensitive to certain noise and I immediately tell him "its ok Reggie" in a soothing voice and repeat it a few times, then i kinda rub his head.

***Carrie*** · 12-02-2005, 09:21 AM

Quote:

He's becoming a little more sensitive to certain noise and I immediately tell him "its ok Reggie" in a soothing voice and repeat it a few times, then i kinda rub his head

If that's working, great. But sometimes that soothing voice can be interpretted by the dog as praise and reward for a behavior or for his state of mind. We can easily, inadvertantly reward dogs when we don't mean to and end up conditioning them to "feeling" the way they're feeling with the slightest trigger... or reinforcing the behavior that we don't want. Sometimes a more firm, confident approach puts the dog at ease....like, it's no big deal. Get over it. LOL.

mrsgrubby · 12-02-2005, 09:43 AM

I was going to post the same thing Carrie said. You may actually be reinforcing your dog to bark at that noise because he can't actually understand the words you are saying, but hears you cooing to him.

A person I was recently talking to was complaining that every dog they owned was afraid of thunder storms. It turns out that they always go get their dogs during a storm and coo to them to calm them down. The dogs think they are getting praised for being afraid.

When a storm hits our house, we play ball and act as if nothing is a big deal. My last two dogs have cared less about storms.

Anyway, sorry to be long winded, I would just be careful so you dog doesn't think you are encouraging barking, when you think you are stopping it.

11-14-2005, 07:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
gilda25 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: California Posts: 80 Rep Power: 58	barking We've had our dog now for about a month a half. Up until recently (and by 'recently' I mean about a week or so) he has been barking over things he never used to bark at. He rarely even barked at the beginning... but now he's become a bit of a barker and i dont know why. For example if we're eating on the couch he would start barking (even if he's already eaten), or if we're just sittting on the couch and (we think) he's barking b/c he wants up, or if Im on the computer and he's on my lap sometimes he'd bark. It used to be that if I just ignored him then he'd eventually stop but that doesnt seem to work anymore. Is there any reason why his behavior (w/ barking) would change? By the way, if its any help he's 3 months old.

12-01-2005, 06:01 AM	#3 (permalink)
PriscillasMom Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 25 Rep Power: 0	Barking puppy My Papillon is 3 1/2 months old and just "learned" to bark a couple of weeks ago too. She barks at strange noises outside mostly. Also, when I'm home she'll bark when my husband comes up the stairs, but when I come home she doesn't bark at all. I think she's protecting me. (All 3 pounds of her!). Yesterday I took her on her first real walk down the street. She barked her head off at the fire hydrant which she had never seen before. Too cute! I've been using the word "hush" when she barks and she seems to be catching on.
PriscillasMom Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 25 Rep Power: 0

12-01-2005, 09:35 PM	#6 (permalink)
*Carrie* Super Moderator Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: north panhandle of Idaho Posts: 7,419 Rep Power: 286	I think everyone gave you such good information. Mrsgrubby is so right on about the "demanding" kind of bark. The pup should earn a lot of what he likes, needs etc. I think NILIF is a great thing to help teach manners and show your leadership. However, unless you're having the beginnings of a leadership problem where the dog is starting to show some "aggression," carrying that NILIF to the extreme is really not necessary or IMO a good or natural thing. I mean....everytime you want to give your dog a cuddle or pat, you don't need to make him perform something. I cuddle and fuss over my dogs all the time, to the point of neurosis and they're not demanding or aggressive. But they are taught manners and expected to go along with the program. So, I hope you get the feel for what I mean. Barrett has a good way of distinguishing between unnecessary barking and natural, wanted barking. Enough is different than "no." No means barking is a no no. Enough means that barking is fine, but now it's enough already. LOL. But of course, the dog doesn't know what the word, "enough" means. So, you have to distract the dog and do something so that it stops barking. When he does stop, pair the word, "enough"(firmly) with that silence. Don't say it while the dog is barking at first until he learns what the word is connected to....silence. Then praise right away. But I'd only do that when he's barking at some threat that you determine is not a threat. You decide that. I have this problem with Lyric, my Doberman, not to mention my little opera singer Chihuahuas. I will look out the window and then say in a sing songy, up and down the scale, no big deal voice, "Nah-h! It's nothing. It's all good. No problemo....enough" LOL. It's not the words, but my tone that they seem to believe. Then I walk through the room, more like march and don't forget to breathe deeply and exhale before talking to your dogs. It helps you not feel or sound tense. If he's yapping at you to pay attention to him, I'd ignore that...no attention one way or the other. If that doesn't work, isolate him for a few minutes. Seperate him from the "pack." Weah, weah, weah. Worst possible thing. LOL. Anyhow, it's not the easiest thing to accomplish and my dogs are far from Johnny on the spot about it. But they're getting better. Sometimes I say "enough" like I would "No." (very distinctly, seperating the sylables.) LOL. Jose's the most persistant one. Oh....that barking for attention. I guess I must confess, I do bend the rules there with Jose. He doesn't bark at me in a demanding way, but he gurgles, makes a little howling barky weird bunch of sounds that go up about an octave and back down.... and he's wagging with his rear up in the air. He's talking to me! So, I think it's cute and pay all kinds of attention to him. LOL. I'm trying to get this on command and then I'm going to book him a recording session. It's really quite musical.
	__________________ Get more out of Global Paw. Check out these great features. Global Paw Book Club -- Art Classes -- Woof Review As a member of Global paw staff my opinions are not necessarily those of the website or the owner. Last edited by Carrie : 12-01-2005 at 09:45 PM.

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12-01-2005, 03:38 AM	#2 (permalink)
Barrett dachshund Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Washington Posts: 2,758 Rep Power: 156	Ahh, I think he simply found his voice. Both of my pups barely made a peep as youngsters. When they turned about 3-4 months of age they found thier singing voice and it's been doggy opera ever since. This would be a great time to start teaching you pup the command " Enough" or "Stop". Teach him "Enough" barking by distracting him with a noise or hand movement when he is barking and the second he stops say "Good Enough" and give him a treat. It will take a while but eventually he will get the idea that he needs to stop barking when you ask him too. He is just a baby so keep up with this for a few months and be very consistent. He will learn it. I let my dogs bark a few times before I tell them enough. Sometimes I like them to bark, like when someone knocks on the door. I don't want them to think they can never bark. Barrett

12-01-2005, 09:30 AM	#4 (permalink)
mrsgrubby Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,476 Rep Power: 144	I agree what the others said, however if your dog is barking becuase he wants attention from you, then he is being rude in my opinion. Would you allow your child to come up and scream in your face, HEY MOM, GIVE ME ATTENTION NOW? I don't let my dogs bark at me to get things they want. They have to "do stuff" to earn the things they want. It sounds to me like it would benefit you to do a search on NILIF and implement that in your house. Then your puppy will get into the habit of doing stuff to earn your attention.

12-01-2005, 10:57 AM	#5 (permalink)
gilda25 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: California Posts: 80 Rep Power: 58	Phew! well Im glad to hear that this is mostl likely a puppy stage. I'll start teaching him that he does not get rewarded if he barks... just a matter of being patient with it. LOL. Thanks for everyones input!

12-02-2005, 08:05 AM	#7 (permalink)
gilda25 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: California Posts: 80 Rep Power: 58	LOL. It never ceases to amaze me what dogs do and why they do it. If hes barking when it seems unnecessary I say a firm "No" but I havent tried the distraction thing yet, but i'll definitely work on that. He's becoming a little more sensitive to certain noise and I immediately tell him "its ok Reggie" in a soothing voice and repeat it a few times, then i kinda rub his head.

12-02-2005, 09:43 AM	#9 (permalink)
mrsgrubby Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,476 Rep Power: 144	I was going to post the same thing Carrie said. You may actually be reinforcing your dog to bark at that noise because he can't actually understand the words you are saying, but hears you cooing to him. A person I was recently talking to was complaining that every dog they owned was afraid of thunder storms. It turns out that they always go get their dogs during a storm and coo to them to calm them down. The dogs think they are getting praised for being afraid. When a storm hits our house, we play ball and act as if nothing is a big deal. My last two dogs have cared less about storms. Anyway, sorry to be long winded, I would just be careful so you dog doesn't think you are encouraging barking, when you think you are stopping it.

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