Dog Community

The natural barker

Posted : 2/3/2008 9:38:20 PM

Preface: I take responsibility for all of my dog's shortcomings - I am now looking for a way to correct myself so that she can succeed. I don't blame her for her behavior.

Lilly, our mini schnauzer, is now 18 mos. old and is finally learning some self-control. I don't know if long-puppyhoods are normal among small breeds, but seriously, for the first 15 mos, asking her to "leave it" was only successful if I launched myself across the room to land between her whatever it was she was intent on getting. But, the past three months, a lightbulb seems to have gone off in her head and she is exhibiting good "leave it" and "drop it" commands, about 90% accuracy.

One thing that we have struggled with getting her to self-control is her barking. I understand that schnauzers are naturally "barky" breeds, so I don't expect her to be quiet all the time, and to her credit, a "3 bark rule" in the house generally works well. However, if she is meeting someone new or we are out for a walk and see another dog across the street, she seems like she can't help but let out a ten or so high pitched squeal-barks while thrashing around like a fish. Trying to lure her away with treats doesn't work very well, and of course once her arousal level reaches that level, it is very hard to get her attention back. My main concern comes from the idea that I would like to take her through Dela Society to get certified as a therapy dog eventually; one of the requirements is that when they dog meets a stranger or another dog during the test, they must not be overly-vocal.

Given her breed and her age, what can I do to help reduce the excited barking? Or is this just something that is in her blood? I am thinking of trying the advance-retreat method: walking her near a new person before she reaches her arousal threshold (say 30 feet away), and then walking away from the person before she gets too excited. Over time, I would hope that we can increase her threshold but I'm not sure if this is realistic. For what it is worth (even though it is still my fault), she has been like this since she we adopted her at 7 wks of age...

Ado

Posted : 2/5/2008 12:55:45 PM

Personally I feel that you have a self- control, lack of focus, non socialized and non training issue instead of a breed trait issue. I would start by training focus games like 'watch me' in the home, at the same time I would teach self control games. It is reasonable in some situations for dogs to bark but training them to stop is the key when asked with a simple and quiet 'enough'.

Have you attended any basic obedience classes? Even if you have, it sounds like you need to seek the help of a good trainer.

Good luck

RescueSheltie997

Posted : 2/14/2008 6:52:38 PM

You need to interupt and redirect before the barking sends her into a tizzy. That means being aware of the triggers, and ready with an alternate. If it is seeing another dog, then turning and walking the other direction should work... physically make her look away and ask for a sit or down that you can praise her for.

stormyknight

Posted : 2/14/2008 7:47:02 PM

Ado
Personally I feel that you have a self- control, lack of focus, non socialized and non training issue instead of a breed trait issue. I would start by training focus games like 'watch me' in the home, at the same time I would teach self control games. It is reasonable in some situations for dogs to bark but training them to stop is the key when asked with a simple and quiet 'enough'.

Have you attended any basic obedience classes? Even if you have, it sounds like you need to seek the help of a good trainer.

Good luck

She has been through a basic obedience class and we have socialized her like crazy (having been warned that schnauzers can be trouble if not socialized). I know it is my own fault for letting her get away with it for this long (or ignoring the problem rather), but wasn't sure if anyone else had a breed "known" for being vocal and how they have curbed that behavior. She does need to go through an advanced class though...

RescueSheltie997

Posted : 2/14/2008 8:46:43 PM

I think my Sheltie would qualify as one of those. Wink

corvus

Posted : 2/15/2008 3:13:57 AM

Penny's a natural barker. I got her barking under control by teaching her to bark on command, and then teaching her quiet on command after that. As has already been mentioned, it really helps to make a move on it before it takes hold of her. Penny starts up when she's very excited, such as when we are gettin ready to go for a walk. If I tell her quiet the moment she starts up, then call her over to me and get her to sit right next to my feet, I can stroke her as I'm getting ready, which seems to keep her calm. If we get going and she starts barking, I stop, call her back over to me, and we don't go anywhere until she's sitting quietly by my feet. It's hard for her, though, and I let her get away with it sometimes.

What really helped, actually, was whispering and saying "shh" when we were about to go do something outrageously fun without the other dogs. For some reason she seemed to get that whispers and small, quiet steps meant she needed to be quiet herself and then we'd go do something fun by ourselves. To this day she's still quite responsive to the whisper, but it doesn't work so well when she's already barking!

Ado

Posted : 2/15/2008 3:16:33 PM

stormyknight
Ado

Personally I feel that you have a self- control, lack of focus, non socialized and non training issue instead of a breed trait issue. I would start by training focus games like 'watch me' in the home, at the same time I would teach self control games. It is reasonable in some situations for dogs to bark but training them to stop is the key when asked with a simple and quiet 'enough'.

Have you attended any basic obedience classes? Even if you have, it sounds like you need to seek the help of a good trainer.

Good luck

She has been through a basic obedience class and we have socialized her like crazy (having been warned that schnauzers can be trouble if not socialized). I know it is my own fault for letting her get away with it for this long (or ignoring the problem rather), but wasn't sure if anyone else had a breed "known" for being vocal and how they have curbed that behavior. She does need to go through an advanced class though...

Hi,

Sorry I have been a bit blunt but I do have a breed that many people claim are natural barkers and many of the dogs just don't shut up. And many of those people say things like, 'its a jrt, they bark' etc. In my opinion it is a training issue, yes it is completely exceptable for a dog to bark but you can train them to stop when you ask of it. I expect my dogs to bark, but I also have trained them to stop with a quiet 'enough'. And it can be trained with Positive methods etc

Good luck