Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Priss, Charlie & Kaylee (PK) on April 5, 2013 at 2:18pm

I would suggest the distractions and "puppy pushups", but you are already trying those. Have you tried using a frozen peanut butter Kong or some harder to eat treat before she starts barking or say after she quiets down? You could also try teaching "Speak" and "Quiet" to her so she know what you want. Not that at this stage she has much self control.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Beth on April 5, 2013 at 3:03pm

I would up the rewards for quiet attention.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Diane on April 5, 2013 at 3:15pm

I'd second the frozen peanut butter kong!    That was a life-saver for us... We adopted Chewey when he was just entering his (terrible) teenage years and the first entire 6 week class he did nothing but bark at the other dogs, etc. whenever we weren't "doing" something active, e.g. just trying to listen.     It made it hard to hear what the trainer was trying to tell us (not to mention I'm sure it was incredibly annoying/distracting for the other students which made it even more stressful). 

Fortunately he eventually grew out of the behavior, but in the meantime the frozen kong was like a giant pacifier...  I felt a bit funny about it at first (because I wondered if it was maybe rewarding bad behavior) but I decided not getting what we came to the class for was worse and the trainer thought it was fine to keep him occupied/distracted.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Becky Focht on April 5, 2013 at 4:48pm

Thank you for the suggestions, the kong it is.  Our obedience teacher also suggested teaching "speak" and then "quiet.  Diane, it's like you are reading my mind, that's exactly how I feel in class.  It's very distracting for others and for me because I'm so into trying to keep her quiet instead of paying full attention to the teacher.

 

Not to sound dumb, but do I just cover up the kong hole with peanut butter and then freeze it?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Diane on April 5, 2013 at 6:40pm

Ours also recommended teaching 'speak' and 'quiet' - but unfortunately that wasn't very practical to work on when we were trying to listen in the class.   Believe me - I know exactly how you feel!   I swear I used to be absolutely exhausted when we were done with class - felt like I had just worked for 12 hours instead of taking an hour long  class with a 25 lb dog ;->   It got a whole lot funner and more relaxing once we started doing this...

We got a fairly good sized Kong - the one that looks like a triple decker (rather than just the round one with a hole) and stuffed it completely full of peanut butter  (not just on the top) and froze it.  That kept him entertained for a good 15-20 minutes which given that we were practicing, etc. some of the time was usually enough, although I have to admit I think we started off bringing both "just in case".  The round one would also work fine, you just can't stuff it quite as full and Chewey was able to clean that one out pretty fast.   Needless to say on class nights we cut back on his normal dinner quite a bit...

Good luck, you'll have to let us know how it goes!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bogart the Cardigan on April 6, 2013 at 6:23pm

I noticed that Bogart sometimes was barking in class because he was thirsty.  With all the treats you get at obedience class I guess a dog can get pretty thirsty!  So I bring a paper cup and a water bottle.  But bottom line, Corgis are "barky" by nature. At the dog park, my dog is the only one (usually) that is barking, except when our Corgi friends come to meet us there, then the three of them sound exactly alike, bark, bark bark!  It is their instinct.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Beth on April 6, 2013 at 7:34pm

The kong with peanut butter is a good intermediate step, but you really want a way to signal to your pup that she needs to watch you and not bark when other dogs are moving and she is not.  Trust me, if you are on a walk and someone has a barely controlled dog lunging and barking at the end of a leash, the last thing you want is for yours to start barking back.  Being able to call your dog's attention off what others are doing could literally save her life.

Pick a phrase (preferably two or three syllables) or use her name and get her to understand she is to look at you when you use it.  Many use "watch me" but since I have two dogs, I don't use that.  For Maddie (who is more of a problem with this sort of behavior) I use her name in a sing-song voice, repeated about three times.  For Jack, I simply use "leave it" because to him, that command means "don't sniff it, don't eat it, don't pee on it, don't roll in it, don't stare at it."   

Basically you start by waving treats in front of your face and using the command, and gradually fade the lure (but always reward the correct behavior). 

A squirt gun is ok to interrupt the behavior as long as you follow up with then getting the desired behavior and rewarding it heavily;  it is very hard to extinguish this sort of barking with punishment unless you are willing to go to a much stronger level of punishment than most of us pet owners would want to use.   

In class, it may be a sign of boredom, or that you are asking her to pay attention to you for longer than she is capable of. I have found that many, many trainers ask way too much of dogs in terms of attention span.  If possible, bring a tug toy or something (just not a squeaker) to play with her between tasks, or ask if you can exit the area a few times and give her some breaks outside the ring where she is allowed to wander and sniff and just be a dog.   I really, really wish I had been more insistent with my agility trainer on needing more breaks, but that is another story.   Most classes are an hour and that is very long for most dogs.  Jack will blow me off.  Maddie, who always wants to be good, visibly starts to wilt.  

• ▶ Reply