Dog Community

vocalizing during play

Posted : 4/5/2006 12:01:05 PM

Okay, my little chi Petey has always had a problem with vocalization. He was a single pup, and he was given to us at 6 weeks - so he missed those crucial 2 weeks with his mother, so he's never had normal vocalization.

Now, when we added Winnie and Prince - who were young, but had the benefit of being 2 of 3 pups with a pretty good mom - Petey kind of got more of a hang of pack behavior.

But, his vocalization is still bizarre. He doesn't bark at people - but he will bark and howl when he's playing with Winnie. For example, if they're playing tug-of-war and she gets the frisbee from him, he'll stand there and bark/howl at her while she runs off with it. Needless to say, it can be a bit annoying, but I'm not sure if I should or how I could curb the behavior.

Winnie, on the other hand, (Prince has since left us to live with my cousin), vocalizes more like I've experienced with other dogs - she barks at strangers, at kids on bikes and at passing cars (and we're working on the latter two - and she's responding really well to Cesar Milan's techniques).

Any suggestions? Should I do anything about Petey? Is there anything I can even do?

tiffy

Posted : 4/5/2006 6:32:41 PM

My corgi is very vocal during play with the other dogs and the only way to quiet her is to mAke her do a command for me, but usually I just let her play,yeah its annoying, but thats how she plays. Sorry I have'nt been able to help.

Danny

Posted : 4/5/2006 10:28:15 PM

Without hearing the bark it can be hard to tell, but given the circumstances, this seems like normal play-barks to me - which is a completely healthy thing and should not be discouraged. If anything, it sounds that Winnie is the one with the socialization problem.

But you are working on that already (even though many here, myself included, will not find the reference to CM and his "methods" particularly reassuring [

] ).

Good luck!

a_ryan

Posted : 4/6/2006 9:39:36 AM

I've never had dogs that bark during play - of course, this is the first time I've ever had little dogs - is it a little dog thing? Except, my mother-in-law has little dogs and I've never seen them vocalize during play, either. Oh well, I won't stop Petey from barking during play.

I had a behavioral specialist working with me with Winnie, and she was the one who suggested we try some of Cesar's techniques, and it's made an incredible difference. I'd stopped posting on here about Winnie's problems because none of the "traditional" training/behavior advice that I was getting was working. I know lots of people will disagree with his methods, but it's made such a significant transformation in Winnie - she's such a better dog now - that I can't say anything bad about the guy.

Diane Gilby

Posted : 4/6/2006 10:24:37 AM

Barking during play is fairly normal - if it becomes an issue then stop the play, which will stop the barking. I admire Cesar Millan so much - he is sensible and advocates exercise, exercise, exercise and leadership which are critical to good dog behavior.

Why he is disliked by so many of you truly escapes my comprehension - I have been instructing for years and have seen the amount of aggression in pet dogs escalate (up 37%) - because of lack of leadership, confinement, humanizing dogs.

Cesar is sensible and lays the blame for most bad dog behavior where it belongs - on the dog human pack leader.

dianeg

probe1957

Posted : 4/6/2006 10:30:50 AM

ORIGINAL: a_ryan

I know lots of people will disagree with his methods, but it's made such a significant transformation in Winnie - she's such a better dog now - that I can't say anything bad about the guy.

You are right. Lots of people here don't seem to care for ol' Cesar. Personally, I have never watched his show and don't know a thing about his methods, other than what I have read here. If his method has worked for you, I don't think you should care much about what others may think. Whatever method gives you the result you want, IMHO, is appropriate. Keep an open mind regarding training methods, is my philosophy.

Mic

Posted : 4/6/2006 10:58:03 AM

I'd stopped posting on here about Winnie's problems because none of the "traditional" training/behavior advice that I was getting was working

That is kind of a common misconception. Cesar is the one using traditional training. You won't find many "traditional" trainers around Idog.

He is The Boss

Posted : 4/8/2006 4:37:20 PM

My pup is very vocal during play, she's a shepard/husky mix. My brother's gsd is the same way. I'm sure people who don't know them and happen to walk past the yard probably think we are letting our dogs kill each other they are so loud.

I wouldn't say it was necessarily a small dog thinng.. but certain breeds of dogs do vocalize more than others due to what they were originally bred for, at least that's what I've read.