Barking is communiocation at it's lowest level in reality most canine language is visual but as an attention seeking device then barking is the preferred route.
The problem with attention seeking is that it is rewarded by our attention, whether that attention is positive or negative is irrespective. Therefore to cut through this you need a device that can appear to come from elsewhere yet have a strong and devicive effect on the behaviour.
To this end I would recommend a noise aversion technique heres how:
Noise Aversion Therapy.
Quite often a simple noise aversion technique can stop many unwanted and irritating behaviours such as jumping up aggression, barking and predatory chasing ie cats or other dogs.
Firstly, you must make your noise aversive device, the best I have found is the small plastic bottles we get water or lemonade in, if they have had something sticky in them wash them out and dry first. Then a third fill them with either small pebbles, coins, dried peas, or anything that really makes a good rattle, screw the top back on, I have found that shingle makes the best sound.
It is better if the owners do not set the bottle, as you do not want the dog associating them with the noise, so the person setting the bottle should follow these instructions. Get some tasty treats cheese, puffed jerky, dried liver or frankfurters, I normally use cheese. Get the dog to sit and put a treat on the floor tight in front of the dog and say "Good" “Take It” repeat this five times, then on the sixth time do exactly the same but this time don't say the "Good" or "Take It". Pretend to put the treat down (The dog will think a treat is there and when it cannot find it will get a feeling of disappointment) as the dogs looks for the treat shake the bottle slightly. Repeat this number of times, gradually increasing the intensity culminating in throwing it next to the dog. This should be a gradual build-up.
Some dogs will stop or jump back in surprise at the first mild rattle this is called a “startle response”. Quickly scoop up the bottle and ignore the dog for several seconds pretending it had nothing to do with you. Do not worry if the dog is not startled at first.
You must sympathise with the dog if it shows a response. You may find that after a couple of shakes the dog will not go to the food and may back away. If that happens call the dog to you, sympathise and give a treat, this will confirm the noise is not pleasant, which is what you want to happen. It is important that the dog should come back to you for sympathy and comfort.
Repeat this until the dog will not go to the food even when you put it down. When that happens, pick up the food and give it to the dog, praising it. The idea is not to make the dog refuse to eat off the floor, but to provide a focused sound aversive for the dog during this exercise.
Once the dog has learned that the shaker sound means "STOP" you can use it to stop the unwanted behaviour. You need to try to read your dog's body language and to use the shaker if possible BEFORE the dog gets well into the unwanted behaviour. Such as jumping up, or In the case of aggression, rattle the shaker as soon as your dog begins to stiffen or tense up, for instance just before cat chasing or interdog aggression
After a while, you will only need a slight shake to stop the dog in its tracks. Be sure to work on obedience and basic training and commands as well, this gives the dog an alternate behaviour that you can then reward. On the one hand, you are using a correction (the sound) and on the other hand, you are substituting a new behaviour. Some dogs are not noise aversive even using this technique.
If that is the case then alternative measures may be required. You can use training discs made by Mikki in place of the bottle, they are easier to carry but not so effective.
Stan Rawlinson (Doglistener)
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