Barking 24/7

Hello and welcome!
 
How much exercise is Marley getting? Does he bark at certain times of the day more than others? Is he barking constantly when you're home? Does he bark at any and everything or is brought on by something in particular?

He doesn't get as much exercise, he is very hard to walk.  Yes, he does bark certain times of days more then others.  He also barks when we are at home, mostly when he is looking out the window and sees another dog or just anyone that passes by. [&:]

From the little that I  know about the breeds of your dog, you have a high energy fellow there. Especially JRT's. I've known a few people with JRT's and it is insane to see how much energy those dogs have. They bounce off the walls and go NUTS if they aren't exercised enough. Bordie Collies too. I had Ash in agility classes and the majority of the other dogs were BC's. Those dogs are meant to run and herd. Same thing, they go nuts without proper exerise. I have a cattle dog so I know from experience what happens when she isn't exercised enough.
 
 I also understand how you would get frustrated at walking Marley if he's difficult to walk. Have you tried a Gentle Leader? That thing SAVED me when I was training Ash to heel. Has Marley been in obedience classes? If not, I would definitely recommend training classes and something like a Gentle Leader.  Your dog probably just has an immense amount of energy that needs to be expelled. Exercise is key though. I really believe that. It could be the answer to your problems or at least calm Marley down a lot. I think it would make your life much easier. []

Another thing to release some of his energy is dog parks. You can just sit and watch while Marley goes nuts with other dogs. It's a great outlet and wonderful at socializing dogs. Marley would get to play with other dogs and run around off leash.

Thank you so much Sylvia.[]  I'll set aside an hour or so to play with Marley and I can do homework later on.  We do have Gentle Leader; but he seems to walk us instead of us walking him.  I'll be stoping by Pet Smart tomorrow to check out their training classes.  We think that Marley is on a sugar rush when he is boucing off the walls. []

JRT/BC?????????

Marley must actually be quite on the mellow end of his breeds if he has not moved on to much, much more ambitious projects than barking all day every day. Most people with JRTs and Border Collies have two lifestyles:

1. Their dogs basically go to the dog version of MIT or Harvard--lots and lots and lots of structured activity, paired with lots and lots of puzzle toys and maybe going to a farm and letting their dogs herd sheep for awhile regularly.
2. Or they have amazing horror stories about the terrible, terrible, amazing havoc their dogs wreak.

I strongly urge you to get more help than a petsmart-type class. This dog is probably smarter than you, and can definitely outlast you. (No offense, it's just that a JRT/Border Collie cross... that's quite a dog)

Marley was born in a farm, that#%92s why he is a mix.
 
He hasn#%92t destroyed anything he has chew toys, I would say that he is great with puzzle toys and playing chase.  We are lucky that he hasn#%92t destroyed anything.
 
Oh yeah that kid is very smart, I just think that the previous owners didn#%92t train him at all, it took a while for him to sit, shake and down; other then that we are still working on the basics. 

One thing I might suggest is see about getting involved with agility.  This mix would be perfect for the sport.  I would look for a trainer in your area that does agility and go from there. 
 
I don't really like most petsmart training corses, they are just not as well orginized as professinal trainers and you never know what you get.  Most of them have some person who has little experaince training run the class.  I sat in on one and I could not belive how horrable the training was, they just let the dogs run around and had almost no control over any of them.  I'm not saying all are bad but from what I've heard about etsmart corses and seen I would not take my dog to one.

I agree with Xebby. Like I said, I had Ash in agility and those border collies looked like they were bred to do THAT! Lol!  And I cannot stress enough how energetic a JRT is. I thought Ash was hyper and needed a ton of exercise until I saw a very stressed owner of a JRT. They are endless. I mean, you really have to go above and beyond with JRT's. Like Fisher said, that's quite a dog you have there. A VERY good training class and some exercise can really change things around for you, I believe. JRT's and BC's are so smart and need to be mentally challenged as well as physically.

That breed(s) needs lots of exercise and a "job" to be happy and use all that energy.  Keep him very active.   

If your dog likes puzzle toys, he is a problem solver, and likely very smart.   These are dogs that do very well with clicker training!  Grab a copy of Peggy Tillman's "Clicking With Your Dog".  If you want to find a clicker trainer, this site has a search: www.clickertraining.com.
If you want to see a video of clicker training in action, go here:
www.clickertrainusa.com.
Clicker training is good mental exercise for dogs, which can tire them out just as quickly as physical exercise, plus has the added benefit of giving you a valuable communication tool that you can use to get your dog to perform desired behavior, and quit doing the things you don't like.

Thanks everyone. [] I#%92ll be going to Pet Smart this weekend to sit in for a training class; I#%92ll also sit in for a Pet Co training class as well.  Once I go to Pet Smart I#%92ll have to buy more puzzle toys for him.  I also think that he would be great at sports, that little guy is great at jumping…maybe Santa can bring him a play set for Christmas. []

Better yet, see if there's a clicker trainer near you that has more experience than the trainers at the Big Box stores.  It sounds like you could use one that is terrier-savvy.

Yeah- I was in Petsmart while a training class was underway and the dude was doing all the stuff they tell you NOT to do in all the books, like saying "NO!" with the dog's name. He treated, THEN clicked a few time-the horror! Look into your local SPCA- we just finished a puppy training class with them and they were awesome. Certified trained trainers, really patient. And a cattle dog mix was in our class- totally out of control in the beginning, but he made some decent progress. Good luck.