Hello, I'm new to the forum but i finally have a question about my puppy Sooty. Sooty is 11wks so hasn't been out and about much as he isn't fully vaccinated. However, he went for visits to my children's school twice last week so they could both show their classmates for news and also had a visit to the vets for his 2nd vaccination. On his school visits when he was down on the ground in the classrooms he was very well behaved and his normal self but out in the playground afterwards (the bell had gone so kids everywhere) when he was stuck being carried he got so excited and did lots of barking. At the vets also with lots of other dogs around he was so excited wanting to play and started barking lots again. I know this is very normal behaviour for a puppy but was wondering if there are ways to teach him to not bark so much when he meets new dogs etc. We also have another puppy, a dalmation who is 10wks so he plays with her without the super excited barking but i'm hoping i can teach him how to not bark so much when he meets someone new. He's not threatening or vicious in any way just excited. Would you suggest trying to avoid highly dog populated areas initially and then trying to use distance. I.e. when walking try teach him to walk calmly with a dog a fair distance away and then as he shows he's calm slowly over weeks reducing the space. I guess this would be hard to do as i can't always control what dogs are out where and when etc. Any tips for how to help him with this would be great. Also what is best to do when the inevitable happens and he gets excited and starts barking. Should i try walk away, or tell him no. I figure when he's that excited it's prob not best to try give a command word like 'sit' or no barking as he would be to excited to listen and i'd be setting him up to fail. Is it best to just walk further away with no commands until he starts to calm and then say 'yes' and give a reward?
Hi and welcome. I think you have answered the question yourself. I would not say anything and me away and reward when he stops. I would ask for a sit so he doesn't think he's getting rewarded for the barking. I took Harley to the local pet shop a lot and carried her around do she could see other pets/dogs and rewarded her when she was quiet. You have described how to deal with other dogs outside.......distance to start and slowly move forward but being prepared to go back if needed. Good luck. Would love to see photos of both pups
Hello there, and welcome. If you think Stanley is barking out of frustration or excitement (not because he is scared etc), and you are carrying him, I would walk away from the excitement. Later, when he is on the ground, and if he does this when he is still (that is, can't access the thing that is making him excited, as he can't when you are carrying him i.e. he is restrained) I think the best thing to do is absolutely nothing. I don't walk away when either of my dogs makes a noise (Charlie whines and Betsy sometimes barks), because I find with Charlie in particular that because he hates inactivity so very much, the movement is reinforcing to him. He also is usually as interested in what is behind me (a new smell, a tree, another person - I live in a busy place) as what is in front of me. So, I do nothing. When Charlie is quiet, I move - because movement is reinforcing for him. When Betsy is quiet, I drop treats towards my shoe - because food is more reinforcing for her. The next time, I don't get so close to the exciting thing before I ask my dogs to pay attention to me, or sit or settle. Then if they do, they sometimes get access to the exciting thing - this works very well with Charlie and the river for example. But once I've made a mistake, and got too close and they make a noise out of frustration or excitement, I do nothing until they are quiet.
Thank you for your replies I guess i will see how he goes. He is very food motivated however i'm not sure if food will beat the excitement lol. I'll have 2 options to try and work with though so thank you. I'll go try figure out how to add some photos
