Hello everyone! I was looking for a bit of advice on barking, I'm a little confused about it. Stampy never continuously barks, if he's looking for attention he barks once, waits at least 20 seconds (it varies, but it's generally longer than 20 seconds), then barks again. We never acknowledge him, go to him, or speak to him immediately after a bark. We'll go out after 10-15 seconds of silence, pop into his line of view if he couldn't see us, and only give him attention once he's sitting (he pretty reliably sits when we approach him now). If he barks at us, we silently turn around and leave him alone. For example, today Stampy and I were both snoozing from 7:30-8:30 in the morning. He got through three barks in that pattern I described, before I went to him (after waiting for some silence and a sit), and he's been resting quietly since I left him at 8:50ish. Does that sound like the right reaction from me? See, my concern is that because his single barks are so spaced apart and infrequent I can't figure out if 1) he knows we're ignoring him when he barks, and 2) he knows silence and sitting is what gets him attention, treats, etc. I guess I'm doubting if I'm correctly "marking" silence or if I'm accidentally encouraging barking! Thanks for any advice!
I've never had a barker, but it sure sounds to me that you are doing the right thing. Maybe your boy is just a bit of a talker! I'll be interested to see what other people say. Off topic, but I just love your avatar picture.
I think you are doing just fine. Zaba used to do exactly the same kind of barking if he thought we were a little late up in the morning (his folks got up at 6am, we get up at 7:30). He grew out of it. I think a lot of these morning behaviours disappear when they stop growing. When growing they are always hungry! (I mean genuinely hungry, not Labrador 'I want food 24/7' hungry lol) Mollie does one 'woof' at 7am and is then quiet if she hears us moving around. If she doesn't hear us she listens a while then does one 'woof' again.
