my 7 months puppy barks at everything - please suggest some ideas

    • Silver

    my 7 months puppy barks at everything - please suggest some ideas

    Hello everyone!
    I have 7 months old Pomeranian who barks at every dog and person he sees. This problem started about 2 months ago and I have tried pulling on his leash, firm "NO", spraying water bottle..and nothing seems to help him.
    He has already completed puppy obedience classes and he was extremely shy there and would not socialize with any dog (basically just hide behind the chair) - he wouldn#%92t bark though. After couple weeks of completion of those classes, he started barking at every person and dog when we go for walks. It is rather embarrassing to take him for walks now, because he starts barking uncontrollably.
    I really don#%92t know what other method to try with him - he will not listen to me when I tell him to sit outside, because he is too busy barking at people.
    Please suggest some ideas - I really don#%92t want this to get worse.
     
    P.S. He is also getting neutered this Friday, so I hope this will calm him down a little.
     
    • Gold Top Dog
    My boy - a pekingese has the same problem.  He barks and lunges at every dog when we go for walks and doesn't listen to any command.  I have to restrain him from lunging and keep stuffing treats to his mouth until the other dog is in remote distance and he calms down.  It is really embarrassing.  I don't know how to improve the situation either.  He is 4 years old and neutered.
    • Gold Top Dog
    When I was at the dog run, a guy was telling me how these small dogs always barks and stuff.  I looked at him like, sure....blah.... [:D]  JJ isn't much of a barker, though she would sometimes bark at dogs at the dog run or when she felt like any of the family member is talking in a loud tone.  (hehe)  But this is what worked for me, what worked in training her......
     
    Good Girl : In every thing she does right, I learn that making a big deal of it works.  She would ignore treats but she loves the attention given.  So treats wouldn't work on her half the time.  I would give her kisses, hugs, dance around, nice tasty treats, tell her how good she is and yes I would even host a doggie party to show her that she did something good and mama's happy.  (haha)  Clearly JJ know's the difference and she would choose to be a good girl rather then a bad girl.
     
    Bad Girl : I give her the eye contact, avoiding to blink as much as possible.  Stare into her eyes, look super serious and upset.  I would stay still, go down to her level and just look at her for a minute or two, or sometimes even 10 minute.  I then would tell her it's not acceptable, mama's not happy what whatever word like no, ?? and etc.  Of course I got her to sit down first and just get her attention.  She then give me this sad puppy look, soften up and make this whimper noise.  [:D]   Sometimes I tell her to sit, stay after staring at her and telling her I'm not happy.  It's like telling a kid to sit on a naughty chair for misbehaving.  [&:]   I need to make my point across to her, she got it and then she know when mama looks unhappy, nobody is happy. 
     
    I'm not quite sure if stuffing treats in the pups mouth until the dog leaves is sending a good message to the pup.  I wouldn't do that because I think that giving treats when doing wrong is telling the pup it's doing something right.  I only reward JJ if she does something good.  Bad behavior don't deserve any yummie goodies.  [:)]
     
    This is only my experence, and I know every pup is different.  [&:]
    • Gold Top Dog
    We had two Pekes, one-a little alpha female and the other, a wannabe alpha male.  The female was a bit barky while at home, but the male was barky wherever we went.  He wanted to kill every other dog he saw. 
     
    The only difference between the two of them was that the male came from a puppy mill, the female from a show quality breeder.  They were both trained with the same methods, and had the same environment...with the exception that the male didn't like to be touched...especially by any other dog. 
     
    We tried every thing to get Sammy to at the very least tolerate the sight of another dog...to no avail.  So I do know what you're going through. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    I have exactly the same problem with my 7 1/2 month old cairn/cocker mix.  She barkes/lunges at people on walks, as well.  However.  I've noticed something.  She's gotten a bit better because I start calmly talking to her and telling her, "don't bark ... " when people are approaching, or we're approaching a yard with a person in it.  She may bark once or twice, but I tell her to sit and then when she's quiet (and only when she's quiet) I give her the treat in my hand.  I will admit I have to show her the treat to get her attention though.  On the other hand, it is a little confusing and scary/embarassing because sometimes she won't calm down unless she's allowed to sniff the person's feet/legs, etc.  So, considering there are people scared of dogs (even little ones), it's hard to let her run up, while barking, to sniff someone.  But with the three walks a day just to practice no barking ... it's gotten better, she starts to get the idea towards the end of the walk.  Hope this kind of helps?