Queen of the Castle

I think a little patience and understand would go a long, long way here. Barking in the middle of the night is a trial for you, I'm sure... but won't it be worth it to show your rescue that she's in a secure home with leaders she can trust?

Thanks, Jones, for the advice.  I think you misunderstand my intentions, though.  I'm not trying to get her to stop barking for my sake, necessarily (although it is a drag to wake up several times a night, so that would be a wonderful benefit).  I'm trying to be the leader in this situation to show her, right off the bat, what is acceptable and what isn't.  This is all in the hopes that she starts to see me as the one in control and relaxes into my leadership.   Given what I've read about dog behavior (which isn't as extensive as many folks here, I admit), one must set boundaries and limitations for the dog's sake. I get the sense that she has never had an owner who showed any leadership.  I also get the sense that, when she barked, her previous owners did the "it's okaaaayyy pookey, it's okaaaaay" which, unbeknownst to them, expressed to her that she was doing a GOOD thing. 

To be honest, I would love to do nothing but kiss and cuddle her for the next three months and hope that the barking, nervousness and aggression gets better (it would be so easy and nice to do this!!), but I really want to do what is best for her--not what is easiest for me, ya know?  If you kind folks were to tell me that this is the best avenue for her--I would take it without hesitation.

I'm growing a bit confused, though, as to what (if anything) to do.  Is the barking a situation where I must show leadership?  Perhaps I have been too hasty in trying to address this right away?  Should I go ahead and ignore it?  My gut tells me that it wouldn't be smart to ignore it, although it might be the easiest for me.  I am, of course, very open to the opinions of others.

Well, I think you're right that soothing her would backfire... ignoring probably would help though. I'm no expert on dog rescue, but everything I've read suggests that it's best just to let the new dog be for a while until they settle in. I think it was Suzanne Clothier, but I'll correct myself if necessary once I check the book, who rescued a particuarly stressed out and troubled dog, and when she first brought him home she completely ignored him (except for feeding and walking) for a couple of weeks until he was ready to come to her.
 
I appreciate your attitude about being a leader and setting boundaries, however, I think brand spanking new rescues are a special case. [] At any rate, congrats on finding her and I hope you have a wonderful time with both your dogs!

I think brand spanking new rescues are a special case.

Yeah, this may be true.  Does anyone know of any good books that specifically deal with rescues? 

Okay, after poring through my 'dog library' I have to correct myself - I was thinking not of Clothier, but Jan Fennell (The Dog Listener). I actually don't love all of her training techniques, BUT she is very leadership-oriented, yet non-confrontational, non-violent, and practical.
 
She writes in Chapter 5 of this book about adopting a badly abused JRT she named "Barmie," who had a tendency to run away and seemed a little human aggressive. She was just beginning to implement her Amichien Bonding technique with her dogs at the time...
 
There were days when I just wanted to cuddle him and tell him he was all right. But instead I decided not to invade his space and just to leave him alone. So he just sat there under the kitchen table glaring. And I just carried on around the house as normal.
In everything I had read and seen, it was agreed that it takes forty-eight hours for a dog to suss out its environment. Then it takes about two weeks for it to sort out its place in its new home. [...] So for the first two weeks I continued in this vein, effectively leaving him to his own devices. Whenever I did speak to him, I did so as kindly as possible.
 
About a month later Barmie initiated a game of fetch with her but was a little screwy with the rules. She enforced them through PR, by responding to him when he did things the right way, but turning her attention to another dog when he was misbehaving.

Thanks so much, Erin, for taking the time to find that.  I'll have to pick up that book.  I like the idea of being practical, non violent, but leadership oriented.  That is just how I would like to be with her.  []

The salient difference with Scout is that she already wants to be in our lap all day and is already incredibly lovey.  So, the ignoring wouldn't work.  She would just crawl up and expect to be loved!![]

Well, I am happy to report that the barking has settled down to a large degree.  There has been no barking at night for the past two nights!  This is her 7th day with us and things are going so much better than I expected!

I can tell that the discouragement is working.  Now, when she hears a sound, she perks up and immediately looks at us as if to say "if only you weren't here I would be barking my ass off."  []  But she doesn't.  She stops.  []  I praise her like crazy when she does this. 

I stopped the alpha rolls and implemented the spray bottle. The great thing is that I've only had to use it once.  She's really been listening to both of us (we both implement corrections with her). 

The one thing that bummed me out is that last night, when I came into the bedroom, she started barking at me, as if she were protecting my partner.  Now, I don't mind her protecting us--but why would she protect my partner from me? She did this twice.  It makes me feel creepy as if she doesn't trust me or something.  She never shows any other signs of not trusting me.  She crawls right into my lap for love all the time and although I have seen her flinch when some people put their hands too close to her face, she has never done this with me.  She does seem to have a special attachement to my partner--and this started right from the moment those two met. I don't mind the special connection, but the barking makes me sad.

Do you all think I should worry about her barking at me like that?  Does it mean I'm doing something wrong or threatening to her?