My pup Cooper (almost 8 months) loooooves people. When a group of friends come to the house I try to keep him in his area so he won't jump on them and lick their faces! but he starts to bark very loudly because he wants to be with all of them.....I have tried putting him in his crate and he barks, put him outside on the deck and he barks.......Is this a training issue that I have neglected? Once I let him out to be with all of us, he stops barking. But he can also be a pest and "greets" each one with a jump and a lick! Do any of you have a similar problem? I DO want him to be part of the party but he is not yet a "gentleman"....he needs more training before some friends will be comfortable with him walking around and sniffing at their wine glass, etc. If you have had this experience, please reassure me??? Thanks a bunch.
Re: Barking when a party is going on! Don't worry, I don't think you've neglected anything Our dogs always throw up unexpected training challenges and we just tackle them as they fine along Would it be possible for one person to be the puppy wrangler and have him on lead during the party, teaching him to sit when he goes up to people? The wrangler should have lots of treats, and should get him to sit before he gets a pat from anyone - as he's sitting the treats should be flowing into his mouth at a rapid rate, to keep that sit. Gradually you can reduce the rate, as he gets better at controlling himself. Guests need to be told to immediately turn away if he breaks from his sit (or stand or lie down - doesn't matter as long as his paws are all on the ground). This is how we have approached it - basically using it as an opportunity to teach good behaviour at a party (because we ultimately wanted our dogs to be able to be left to wander round a of party). Does that sound like it might be an option? What are you ultimately wanting to aim for? If you do ever shut him away from guests don't ever let him out in response to barking. That would be a big reward for barking. Just wait till he is quiet, even for 5 seconds, before letting him out
Re: Barking when a party is going on! Rachael's advice is spot on Yvonne,we also made use of Kongs and hidden cardboard boxes with kibble in ....We put Dexter behind his gate until everyone has arrived and I now close the door over...this is more to do with visitors not following instructions to ignore him if he's barking ....once everyone has arrived ,when he's quiet he comes out and I give him a kong and he gets on with it,by the time that's finished,he's comfortable with everyone being there and has got control of himself We've been lucky though,one of the benefits of Dexter not being a huge 'people' dog ,we didn't have a huge amount of mugging guests for attention. Since we've had him though ,the days of our big parties are over.....we've probably only had a max of 12 at any one time and that's for dinner or a bbq ,thinking back to some of our past 'Do's' I'd fear for how he would cope......my biggest challenge is him having access to food ,he'd make himself sick hoovering up from people's plates if we had a big party dinner or a bbq keeps us sociable but the food opportunities under control....if you don't count people trying to feed him : The cardboard boxes I'm talking about are the little nespresso tubes....I save them all up ,even now and hide them around the garden if he's a bit restless .....Dexter is 2 now so,we have the advantage of being able to give him a really good walk before we've got visitors coming over and he will pretty much settle down and do his own thing now ..... One of the best things I ever trained Dexter to do is to sit on a mat ( well it's his white blanket really) ....wherever we eat ,whatever I'm doing I can move it about and tell him to lie down on it and he will ...he can be a bit restless if he hasn't got it as if he doesn't know what to do with himself ....that might help you too x
Re: Barking when a party is going on! Thank you Oberon and Dexter. Great advice. I DID mess up by letting him meet everyone while he was barking like mad.....didnt know how to "shut him up"!! Was truly embarrassed that he acted this way....these were my neighbors, not the friends that have come many times for dinner and know my pup well and he knows them. Strange how he acted different with those that he has seen but not often. Your advice is spot on and will go into effect for Thanksgiving Dinner when I have 20+ that he has only met once or twice!!!
Re: Barking when a party is going on! I only invite people to Charlie's house who don't mind having their ears licked - or are too polite to say they do. Everyone else I meet down the pub, or go to their place. ;D
Re: Barking when a party is going on! [quote author=Yvonne link=topic=8456.msg119667#msg119667 date=1414252441] I DID mess up by letting him meet everyone while he was barking like mad.....didnt know how to "shut him up"!! [/quote] You haven't messed up,you've got time to sort the arrival part out ....it did take me a bit of work and time but it was in my own interests to sort it out .We live away from our families so we have A LOT of visitors staying in the house and passing through .This time last year I felt massively under pressure to get a cue trained to stop Dexter barking as we had a young relative coming to stay who has special needs and is terrified of dogs barking ???.......I was in such a flap I was jumping from trying one thing to the next..... First I was trying to get Dexter to sit on his bed in the kitchen when the doorbell went ( which starts barking) someone going to answer it and me clicking and treating him for staying on his bed and being quiet..... This only worked when I had an assistant....if I didn't ,I had chaos going on at the front door,Dexter off his bed,barking his head off ,me trying to contain him ,clicker and treats ,trying to get a 'quiet' hand signal trained....we were a mess ;D I had to get something that worked for me when I was on my own ..... I started with an assistant....doorbell goes,I say to Dexter,'in your room' take him to the utility room that is gated to the rest of the house and click and treat him for 'quiet' .....assistant tells visitor to come in and ignore the dog,assistant ( let's name him Chris,my husband ;D ) settles visitors in,(I'm highly unsociable dealing with Dexter) once Dex is quiet,he is allowed out ..visitors told to ignore him....he comes in ,mills around has a sniff and I give him a kong and that's it.....peace reigns.... In the early stages if I didn't have Chris at home and the door went I'd still say 'in your room' put him behind the gate and throw a handful of kibble in the room,close the door on him and deal with the welcomes.Dexter didn't come out until he was calm and consistently quiet and I mean if he did one woof as I opened to door or went to open the gate,I closed the door on him for a couple of seconds ..... Now 12 months on......door bell goes and Dexter jumps up and runs to his room ,( don't even need to say'in your room' ) tail wagging all expectant of treats......he still has a shout when he hears strange voices....I don't mind that but I've got a 'quiet' cue and a fingers on lips quiet hand signal that is really reliable.....he does still to a muffly wuff when he really can't help himself ;D..... I'd say encourage calm and quiet for your guests arrivals....( don't forget though,dogs do and possibly should bark when someone is coming into their house ) have distractions in the form of attractive toys ,kongs etc prepared for occupying them through your party and try and get settling on a mat trained.....also,don't forget,you will have a percentage of your guests who want to and enjoy wrestling ,leaping ,cuddling and having their ears licked by your dog and that's ok too ;D x
Re: Barking when a party is going on! Asking my dog to sit when visitors arrives is just about the hardest thing I could ask of him - he is a people dog, he loves people. He SO wants to interact with them. He is also a largely silent dog, and has never been allowed to go to the front door when people arrive. So the "only" "problems" I have are over enthusiastic greetings and ear licking - these are only problems if people don't like it. A behaviour that is "compatible" (but acceptable) with what he wants to do, rather than "incompatible" with what he wants to do, is to have him "carry and show". He LOVES to show people an item he is carrying. My visitors say "oooo! Big strong boy!" And he trots off, very proudly, to get praise for carrying his mongoose/camel/alien sea creature from the next person....
Re: Barking when a party is going on! As to having "another person" doing the wrangling while the other intertains the guests is not possible.....it's me, or me! But having him on a leash/lead and introducing him to each guest and not letting them pet him until he is sitting and calm is great! I love that. Makes so much sense....I could control him somewhat in this manner instead of letting him run wild through the livingroom and greet everyone with a jump and a good licking! I also like the "go to your room", throw a handful of kibble for him, will have to come up with a signal for him to be quiet.....finger to lips would be good..... Think I will try this out with close friends, letting them know that it may take some time to answer the door when they ring, that I am settling my pup, and I know they will be a great help because they want him to be successful in his training. This barking when people come to visit is new to me (and him)....my vet tells me he is now a "teenager" and he has selective hearing (the pup...not the vet....it's a "she") and many things he obeyed before will have to be gone over as if new to him! They are so darn smart, aren't they??? It's almost as though they have a book in their brain that tells them "this worked last time, so let's try it again" or, "this didnt work but if I make a slight change it may work"!! Thank goodness for this Forum....I have learned so much from it and love reading all the problems we each have, depending on our pups ages! Thanks again for your responses.
Re: Barking when a party is going on! Practising with friends is a great idea I'm sure you'll find that your pup will improve once you show him what you'd like him to do and make it worth his while with tasty treats
