Hello all. Gunnar is now 14 weeks and is really overall a good boy, however, within the last week he has found his voice and will sit at your feet and bark for no reason. Sometimes these barking sessions last up to 20 minutes to one half hour. In between barking is the whining like there is no tomorrow, or he's just lost his best friend. I am the major contributor to his training and spend at least 10-15 minutes outdoors fetching, recall, sit, stay, etc. I do this towards afternoons till evenings like 4-5 times. There is someone home all day with him but not as much activity. Puppy class starts in about 4 weeks. My granddaughter, (9), with special needs has hard time letting him rest when needed. So the barking and whining, is he to stimulated to late in the day and should it be spread out, or is this normal 14 week old behavior? Thanks, sorry so winded. Have a wonderful day or evening.
Hi, what does Gunnar do during the rest of the day? Is there anyway that you can seperate him from your granddaughter for his rest times? I understand this may be difficult, especially if your granddaughter finds it hard to understand that Gunnar needs his rest. Is she able to get involved with some of Gunnars training/play and care? You could try spreading his training/play sessions throughout the day rather than all in the evening. I use to do short sessions of play aka training, throughout the day to occupy my puppy then put him in his crate for a rest. Have you tried giving him a frozen Kong to occupy him when you are busy or needing time to relax? At 14 weeks my pup still needed lots of rest, if he got overtired he was a bitey monster . I was glad to see the back of that stage.
Thank you for the reply. Yes, I've tried to get her to let him rest. It's a challenge for sure. I may try crating for some much needed rest. I guess I just feel guilty putting him in before bedtime. Thank you again.
Don't feel guilty about crating him. The crate isn't just for bedtime - most of us use it as puppies safe place for when they have to be left alone or when there are children around and puppy needs to sleep. There I one rule - when puppy is in his crate he is left alone so you will need to work with your granddaughter on that. With the barking, how are you responding to the barking? It will be easier to make some suggestions with a little more information
I agree with @MaccieD. It would help you pup feel like the crate is a quiet, good place to be. We initially fed our pup in there, introduced new toys, fed chews etc. Our one golden rule is that she is never disturbed in there. When she was stung by one of our bees recently, the first place she ran to was her crate, poor thing!
My 2 love their crate. It is their safe quiet place. we have placed a blanket over it so that it is dark and snuggly. What about placing him in it with a frozen Kong, that's what I do with Poppy. She has a good chew then a snooze. So Do not feel Guilty.
Hi Gunnar's Mum, Just what everyone says really. Luna is 17 weeks and when we were about your stage she was very bitey. I had to really mange her rest times so she didn't get over stimulated thought the day. Ate weekends, particularly, when the children are about the whole time, this means lots of crate time. So she would be crated most mornings during busy getting ready for school times and in the afternoon for an hour while I try to supervise homework and make tea. Also this is her zommie hour so it calms her down. At the weekend she often has some crate time in the middle of the day too, much like you would give a baby a lunch time nap. We have seen a real improvement the nipping has pretty much stopped and although she is still a bouncy pup with lots of energy I find her much easier to deal with. I do training just twice a day, once in the morning no once in the afternoon except Monday's and Tuesday's (Monday she has puppy class and Tuesday's s her day of structured training.) I usually put her Kong in if she is in for an hour or so usually with kibble, nana and cottage cheese. So, don,t feel guilty everyone needs time to think!
Thank you all so much. I really appreciate it. @MaccieD, at first I would just ignore him, sometimes get up and move out of the room. He would follow and as soon as I sat, he was at it again. I've now been giving him a stern "NO", and he stops and looks surprised, then barks again. I'm hoping this to shall pass as with all his puppy antics. I think it's becoming more people training in my home!
Hi there, I'm glad you've had replies to reassure you about crating Gunnar.Your crate is a brilliant tool for managing lots of different situations....when it's handled right,it's a place of pleasure and safety for your dog and also will give Gunnar a little bit of space for himself. If you are struggling with youngsters understanding about the need for space it's a very clear indication of a separate area.....when pups in his crate he's a no go! That's easier to understand than ,just let the puppy alone for a while x
I tend to steer clear of saying "no" to my dogs. They simply don't understand the word, said in a stern voice then they would understand the stern voice, and be hesitant certainly, but it wouldn't modify an unwanted behaviour, maybe for an instant because they become unsure of what you want. It may also run the risk of creating a sort of "ping pong" effect, he barks, you say "no" he barks again...you say "No" a bit more sternly and hey ho you are both barking at each other! Just something to bear in mind. I think there may be an article that captures this point but darned if I can find it! Distraction by giving your puppy some thing else to do or maybe some quiet time is needed, easier said than done, when my chocolate was a pup he was a nightmare! Even now at 2.5 years he still drives me to distraction at times!
Kate @Beanwood has given good advice on the use of 'No'; as far a dog is concerned it is just a word but when he barks and you respond vocally he is getting a response to his barking, which is what we want to prevent. I've recently read Turid Rugas' book Barking: The sound of a language. One of the actions she advocates to stop a dog barking is the use of a hand signal, a hand held with the palm showing vertically to the dog (rather like a wait/stay hand signal that many of us use). So when your pup barks at you try standing, use the signal and turn your back on Gunnar wait a short period and then turn back and perhaps engage him with a little training to divert his attention. I haven't used this myself as my dog isn't a barker but it can work because you are giving your dog non-verbal signals that the barking doesn't get him anywhere. He barks and you dis-engage. It's easier to train our puppies than it is the humans around us, family members and visitors are bad enough but the outside world can be a real challenge
This is why I truly love this forum. I get so much out of reading all of the posts. I share these at least 5 times a day with the family, especially my granddaughter. Everyone and everything makes having a puppy that much more enjoyable. Thank you all so very much.
My youngest teen, Emma, regularly nicks my iPad to read the forums here. We really appreciate all the help and advice.
My OH yesterday asked a question about the puppies ears, I said I didn't know the answer...he said "well check your Labrador forum or website then"
