Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Need dog training advice

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Need dog training advice

    A year and a half ago this little mutt dog walked into my house and refused to leave. I actually found her old family, but each time I returned her, she'd run away and come back again. Finally fed up, I texted the guy and told him I wouldn't return her anymore, but he was welcome to pick her up. He said he'd be there after work that evening, but never showed. This dog did show signs of having been abused (cowering and trembling a lot), but I believed the old family when they said that she was like that when they'd gotten her just a few months prior.

    So, during all this time, she hasn't had much in the way of behavior issues. Even though she's a little ankle-biter sized dog, she's been pretty chill and fairly quiet, hardly ever barking, and rarely even making any sounds at all. That is, until recently. Over the last 6 weeks or so, she's suddenly decided to growl and bark at everything that moves outside. It's getting worse by the day. None of the things I know to do to stop nuisance barking is working. I fully admit I'm not expert with small dogs. I've always had large/giant breed dogs, and what works with them isn't working with her.

    She's otherwise been easily trainable. Housebreaking was effortless, leash training took just a couple outings, basic obedience was less than a week, but this barking thing has me frustrated. She doesn't do it when we're out on walks; only when she's in the house or yard. The street I live in has heavy pedestrian traffic, as there's a lot of people with dogs in the neighborhood, the "downtown" area is blocks away, as is a large trolley station/transit center (and the tracks are quite literally across the street...I don't think you could fit the length of a standard semi truck between the front gate and the nearest rail of the tracks). In other words, the barking goes on pretty much all day every day.

    I've tried doing things like petting her and talking calmly in an attempt to sooth her. I've tried basic commands with treats for getting it right, I've tried issuing the commands with a bit of a sterner voice (but not yelling), but she ignores all of it. If I try to pet/soothe her she gets even more agitated in her attempts to get to the door. She will not be distracted by food. I'm at the end of my ideas here.

    So, I know there's a lot of experienced dog owners on the forums. Any advise would be appreciated.
    At the conclusion of an Irish wedding, the priest said "Everybody please hug the person who has made your life worth living. The bartender was nearly crushed to death.

  • #2
    I suspect she's become territorial. The same techniques that train a big dog to stop guarding territory will work on a small dog: the only difference is that many people don't train small dogs not to guard, so you'll be starting from scratch.

    Other possibilities include boredom, and she's learned that she can make noise!
    Or loneliness, and she's getting attention(!) from the outsiders when she barks.
    Or she's not lonely, just gregarious, and she's saying hi to everyone who passes.

    As I know you know well, figuring out why she barks is the first step to coming up with a long-term solution.

    While you're resolving the reason she's barking, teach her to bark on command. Once she knows how to bark on command, teach her to 'shush' on command.

    Shushing on command, with reward followed by distraction, will hopefully work. But you might have to block her sightlines of the front of the house, if you can't resolve it any other way. Or maybe as a part of the training process. Shove tall furnishings in front of the windows.
    Seshat's self-help guide:
    1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
    2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
    3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
    4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

    "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

    Comment


    • #3
      She's not big enough to see out the windows, and she start's barking at the train while it's still over a block away. Maybe I could invest in doggie earmuff?

      Seriously though, I think you might be onto something with teaching her to bark and then shush on command. I'm pretty sure that this is a territorial thing...or little dog syndrome. My running theory is that she's finally getting over some of her fears from having been mistreated before I got her, and that she'd been harshly punished in the past for barking, so now that she's feeling safe, she's being more vocal.
      At the conclusion of an Irish wedding, the priest said "Everybody please hug the person who has made your life worth living. The bartender was nearly crushed to death.

      Comment


      • #4
        My suspicion is that she is starting to feel more at home here, and is starting to assert herself as a leader of your household, by being on guard for you. If she doesn't trust your judgement enough to shush when you tell her, it could be the start of becoming a little dog problem. I would step up the obedience work, teach her more advanced commands, and also have her be 'on duty' as much as possible, even a three or four hours per day. If you have her heeling while you are doing laundry, cooking dinner or putting away dishes, have her practising new commands for a couple twenty minute sessions/day, have her 'hunting' while you are at the park for an hour. Be really picky about her performance. Still praise her when the sessions over and she's done well before letting her free, but be really exacting in your expectations while she's working. Don't be harsh or make her doubt herself, but if you have to correct and repeat something 3 or 4 times to make it right, that's ok. Make it clear that you make the decisions. As part of that teaching a command each for bark and shush will get her to understand the decision you are making when you tell her to be quiet.

        As a side note, if you are going to shush her, always praise the first bark for something irregular. If she barks at the regular train tell her to shush, but if someone comes to the door and she barks, tell her 'good girl', if she barks again tell her shush, if she barks again go into correction mode. You probably don't want to stop her from barking entirely, dogs are great at sensing irregularities and her barking could save a life someday - barking dogs have saved people from drowning, suffocating, alerted seizures, fires and burglaries just to name a few.
        Pain and suffering are inevitable...misery is optional.

        Comment


        • #5
          .... and overdoing it. You could be right.

          I think that proceeding as if it's small dog syndrome is a good idea. It can't hurt, and it could not only solve this but prevent future problems.

          If you have the energy, work on treating her for territorial issues and small dog syndrome, and when giving her her daily dog training, work on 'bark' and 'shush'. That's my advice.

          If you don't have the energy to do them all at once, do them as you can. But I suspect that daily obedience training is going to be a must.
          Seshat's self-help guide:
          1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
          2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
          3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
          4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

          "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

          Comment


          • #6
            No question daily training will be a must. I agree with the possible problems. You have to start working on the problem now.

            Also, make sure the dog knows you are the alpha. The dog may be trying to assert dominance now that she feels more secure. She's the omega; treat her as such (that doesn't mean with holding love, it means you give it on your schedule and not hers).

            You can try an ultra sound device either on her collar or hanging from a wall. It makes an ultrasonic noise when she barks. It won't stop the first bark (which is good) but may stop subsequent barking as the noise becomes unpleasant (but not harmful) to the dog. Humans can't hear it. They don't work with all dogs; I've had mixed luck with them to train my neighbor's dogs. The benefit if it works is it will train the dog even when you're not home.

            Lots of exercise will help; tire the dog out. That will make training easier; the dog will be too tired to resist correction and it will become an ingrained habit. Small dogs often have lots of energy and need lots of activity to tire them out so they don't get bored and start to misbehave.
            They say that God only gives us what we can handle. Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad ass.

            Comment


            • #7
              If you haven't, I'd check with your vet first. Make sure there's not a health-related issue going on. Without seeing exactly what she's doing it's hard to say if it's alert barking or fear/anxiety barking. Consulting with a private trainer wouldn't be a bad idea if you can. Look for someone with a CPDT certification and make sure they use positive reinforcement methods. It may only take a session or two.

              After that, you can try clicker training and then playing a game called "look at that." Some dogs get so keyed up that almost nothing you do will get their attention away from what they're barking at, but a clicker can cut through and at least get them to pause for a minute so you can redirect them. Start by getting her to respond to the clicker. A few times a day grab a handful of treats and click the clicker and give a treat. Every time you click the clicker, she gets a treat. That is the only rule. When you can click and she looks at you to get her treat, you've primed it enough. Next, find something she normally barks at and back up far enough away so she doesn't react to it. Start small, though. You can probably enlist the help of your kids to walk up and down the front walk. Click-treat for not barking at the thing and slowly get closer to the thing and work up the distraction level. At first, you'll have to be quick and don't expect for her to be able to go for more than a second or two and keep the sessions short. But the idea is you want to reinforce calm, quiet behavior. If she looks at something she would normally bark at but then turns back and looks at you, JACKPOT LOTS OF TREATS. If the train comes at a regular schedule, give her something to do around those times: a Kong stuffed with goodies, a game she likes to play, training exercises, whatever. If she's eating, she's not barking.

              You may want to invest in a Thundershirt as well. If her barking is anxiety-based, this will help calm her down. Don't be afraid to use her leash in the house either. If she gets going, just grab the leash and take her to a quiet(er) spot in the house until she calms down. Don't close the door, though. That makes it worse.
              I am no longer of capable of the emotion you humans call “compassion”. Though I can feign it in exchange for an hourly wage. (Gravekeeper)

              Comment


              • #8
                I've taken a little bit of everything. When she starts barking and rushing to the door, I've been standing in front of her and staring her down. When she quiets, I lean down and pet and praise her. The last two trains that have passed, she's only barked once then settled back down. The barking when People With Dogs pass by has been less successful, but still some improvement. This is only after a day and a half, so I'm going to continue doing this and as long as she continues to improve, I won't do anything else.

                Her basic obedience is quite secure. She doesn't do tricks, but she does do all the basic stuff with no issue. There hasn't been any deterioration of her behavior in that respect, so I'm not particularly worried about a health issue.
                At the conclusion of an Irish wedding, the priest said "Everybody please hug the person who has made your life worth living. The bartender was nearly crushed to death.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Barking at other people with dogs is a whole 'nother ball of wax and you will likely never get it completely trained out of her. I have hounds and really they don't bark that much considering they're hounds. That is unless there's a small furry creature they've caught the scent of, or there's another dog. I usually have to bring them inside when the neighbor's dog is out or they just won't stop.

                  Breaking their eye contact with whatever they're barking at usually will do the trick there. We use it a lot in our group classes by putting dogs behind blinds (tables on their sides so the dogs can't see out) if they get too overstimulated.
                  I am no longer of capable of the emotion you humans call “compassion”. Though I can feign it in exchange for an hourly wage. (Gravekeeper)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    We've managed to calm our little mutt terrier from most of her nuisance barking. She still barks to tell us Extended Pack is coming, or to tell us Someone Is In Our Yard. The first is sheer excitement and eagerness, the second is valid alert barking.

                    But People With Dogs is nigh-impossible to train her out of. I won't say impossible, but I do claim nigh-impossible. People With Dogs is just too damn exciting.


                    And yes, this is even after we've taught her to stop the alert barking one a Human Pack Member is handling it. Vi just finds People With Dogs to be So Damn Barkworthy.
                    Seshat's self-help guide:
                    1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
                    2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
                    3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
                    4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

                    "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      People With Dogs...

                      I don't know if it will help any, but I've managed to get our dog to understand that barking just for barking is an outside thing. I tell her 'go outside to bark' when she's getting all excited over someone walking a dog, or riding a horse down the street or the like. And she seems to understand; I tell her that and she scurries off to the back door, rushes out when I open it, barks her silly head off for about 30 seconds, then goes and digs in her hole. 5 or 10 minutes later, or longer sometimes (depending on the weather outside), she scratches to come back in.
                      You're only delaying the inevitable, you run at your own expense. The repo man gets paid to chase you. ~Argabarga

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X