Alert barking is hard because she's not barking for attention, she's barking because she's worried about the noise. And, quite often, noises stop on their own, so she thinks that what she's doing is working. The easiest approach is probably to teach a "quiet" cue. Perversely, the best way to do this is to teach barking on cue first! Here's a video: Something else you can do is to set up scenarios which you can control that you know will make her bark. Let's say that's someone knocking on your door. You would knock on the door, she'll bark and then you wait until the slightest small pause, you say "YES!" and give her a treat (make it good, like warm roast chicken). Repeat. You'll find that, over time, she'll start looking to you for chicken instead of barking when she hears that knock. Repeat in as many scenarios that you can set up which mimic the times she barks. Just make sure that every time she stops, you mark it happily with a "YES!" and give her a reward. Even if you're not prepared, still say "YES" then run with her to the fridge to get her a treat.
Thank you very much. I watched the video and read your comment. It is very helpful and I understand the concept even if I hate the thought of getting her to bark more. She is doing much better on not barking at us, just barking now at strange sounds and they all are strange at this point. I see her gaining some confidence and it's only been a week. I will start working on this tomorrow!
I'd try something a bit different, and treat after the knock, before she starts to bark. Only because, this strategy went wrong with my boy! He can be leash reactive, and our trainer told us to click and treat when he stopped barking - unfortunately for him it reinforced the whole behaviour chain. He'd see a dog, bark at it, stop, then look at me for his treat - clever boy! You could try doing this in general, have her sit near you in the house, and if there a strange noises try to give her a treat before she starts barking. You can build this up to using verbal reassurance that you know she's worried but everything is ok. My boy is fine in the apartment during the day, but at night if he hears people in the main corridor he barks - so we shut him in the living room at night where he can't hear the noises, and he doesn't bark! So, if there's a quieter part of the house, it might help you, and her, if she spends more time away from the noises.
Ah, yes, if you're quick enough, then getting in there first would be good - no chance with my boy, though, who would bark immediately there's a knock. I find it very similar, but still a bit different to leash reactivity, as with that you have some warning because you can generally see the dog (or whatever the trigger is) approaching, so you have time to get your marker in first. This is the LAT game.
I just thought, Ian Dunbar does something else; with a barking dog, he sticks a treat on their nose and, once they stop, he gives it to them, gradually extending the time he expects quiet before delivering it. Wouldn't work with a highly aroused dog, though. Another thought is to throw a handful of food on the floor at the instant you knock.
There is no chance of treating her before she barks. It is instantaneous or maybe she is physic as it seems she barks BEFORE the noise. She also pays no attention to a treat as she is barking. Saying no bark isn't helping as she doesn't know what that means and she can't hear me anyway. So while we are working on the issues with trying this training, what do we do WHILE she is barking and barking. I don't know, in the moment, to ignore it, try to shush her, just let it go on and on, drink more? She is going to be a really great dog once we get a handle on this.
Have you tried something really top-drawer like warm roast chicken - preferably with skin, dripping in juices? I wouldn't bother trying to shush her - it pretty much never works. So, choose your method of training and stick with it. In the meantime, either pay no attention to her barking, which is hard and may not work as I've said before, because, if the thing she is barking at disappears, she may be reinforced by her "success". Another option some people have success with is to go to "investigate" the noise yourself - with her if it seems to help. You can say "thank you" before you go to look, then "nothing there", "nothing to worry about", or whatever you want to say when you've had your look. And give her a reward.
Tonight I went to get my phone charger and as soon as she saw it she went into her crate. That is worrisome! She is the sweetest dog and her former home seemed ok but I didn't meet everyone and now I am wondering if everyone was nice to her there. She is learning sit and wait and we will work on snow bunnies ideas. It is a process I know!
It really is very early days! My boy took a long time to settle down. There were lots of little indicators that he wasn't settled in. One of the things we noticed really early is that he never slept very deeply, for example if we walked across a room, he'd wake up and watch us. He seemed to always be on the alert. He also never slept on this back, whereas now his favourite position to sleep in is on his back, legs spread out, tummy to the world! We aren't sure why, but he was also terrified of lots of things. He wouldn't go inside buildings, if I took him to the park the first month or so, he would just stand staring ahead like a rabbit in the headlights - so we just stuck to street walks for about two months. He would growl at us if he had food and we approached. Now, he's generally a very confident dog outside, new buildings still aren't his favourite thing - but he'll go in, and he's a very friendly and trusting dog. He was a rescue, but I'm fairly sure he never had any bad experiences. He was found at 6 weeks old in Greece, and lived in a foster family in Greece until he was 7 months old. I think he might have just lived in their garden, which would explain the fear of going inside, but from the communication I had with them, I think they treated him really well and really loved him! A lot of things just changed with time, and him learning about his new life and starting to trust us. I would be careful about starting training specific behaviours so early on. I also started training Lucky the first weeks, but actually I think it wasn't the best idea. Asking new things of her before she feels settled and safe adds more stress to her day. Also, you want your dog to be feeling safe and positive when learning new things, then they enjoy learning and training, and you get a dog who really loves working with you. If she's feeling nervous or worried about noises, she might not be able to focus completely on training. I would just do things like hand feed her, throw treats for her to chase, play with toys to start with, and if she likes it, give her a brush or lots of relaxing strokes. You can teach sit and wait any time, pretty quickly, once she's more settled.
Also, chewing is great for helping dogs relax. So, I would give her a frozen kong everyday, or other chews that she likes. You could give it to her in the crate sometimes to help build her positive associations with the crate.
Agree with Snowbunny. Not quite the same, but my daughters Westie came to stay with us while they were away. She barked at ANYTHING and my daughter just lived with it. She started to go ballistic at the first squeak from outside, but my dogs ignored her and I "investigated", told her "its OK" then sat back down. It took a little while, but she gradually started to follow the other dogs' example, and as long as one of us looked up, listened and "decided all was well" when she barked, she improved no end. Worth a try. She might improve by herself once she accepts that you and husband are "in control". Also agree chewing helps a lot with anxiety.
She gets a frozen pumpkin kong every morning and a bully stick every evening. She didn't know what to do with either at first but now he has the hang of it and loves it. She has bones too. She is doing better I think.
The message posted twice Sorry, I don't know how to delete this it but since it's here she is doing well with her crate and sleeps all night. She goes in by herself when she is tired and naps.
Thanks, yes she has lots of settling in to do. My last dog was a rescue and he humped everything and everyone and tore up our floor with his nails for months. After a year we could look back and see that wasn't really him but we didn't know any different for quite awhile. We had a chance to get her into basic obedience classes but we are waiting until Jan to take her just so she can settle down but we have to do the sit and wait. She drug my 70 year old husband down the stairs when he opened the door to take her for a walk. So she gets lots of treats to sit and wait before we open the door. She is doing well with that and seems happy to do it. She is going to be a lovely dog. All this barking just took us by surprise.
