My 2 year old lab is a lovely dog in most respects, however about a month ago he started coming in to the living room when we are both sitting down and barking for attention. He wants us to play with him or train him He isn't crate trained but we have been putting him in the kitchen for a few minutes with the door shut, we have tries ignoring him but neither seems to work. I am sure he realises what he is doing is wrong but he wont stop, when he is barking at us we don't play with him or do any training Can anyone help?
If he always does it at the same time of day, perhaps you could preempt the barking and have a little play / training session at that time, before he starts barking. Molly has at least 2 hours of off -lead exercise a day but still likes a short play with me in the early evening.
Do try to go with Joy’s suggestion. I’d be adding in an extra couple of short training or game sessions spaced throughout the day - maybe early afternoon and early evening. Just 5-10 minutes each time. You can just do this in your house - don’t need to go anywhere special. I think your dog is bored and needs a bit more to keep his brain busy and his day interesting. If you give him what he needs before he starts becoming restless it’ll be a win win for both of you. He’ll be happier and you’ll have more peace and quiet.
Yup, agree with the above. He doesn’t “know what he’s doing is wrong”. He is barking (if you’re right) because he’s bored and needs stimulation. It simply means he’s reached the extent of his tolerance for being settled and needs some company or something to do. You can extend this over time, but the best way of doing this is pre-empting it with a play or training session. What does his daily schedule look like?
We had this with our old lab when he was younger. For us it was always in the evening when we wanted to chill for a bit. But I honestly found that 20 mins or so of games would fill his attention pot up. I used to hide a toy in another room and then send him to find it. Or throw a few teddies and he had to go and pick up the one I asked him to. Anything really that we both found fun and often stuff that I did sitting on the floor - so I had no excuse not to do it even the days I was worn out!!
