Just like a little kid
Alwyn is currently 5 1/2 months and although we couldn't ask for a more fantastic pup, we're really REALLY working on the barking issue. It's quite interesting actually in a sense because he's been barking a lot more now since his voice deepened over the past month or so. When he does bark unnecessarily, we are very consistent in letting him know this behavior is not appropriate by squirting him with water and/or firmly saying "Enough".
However, I was wondering if anyone else's corgis have/are doing this behavior - when we tell him not to bark he will stop but then lower his head and look at us and give a low muffled "woof" as if he's talking back to us!! It's hilarious so it's hard to keep a straight face when being stern with him but he does it every time as if to get the last word/ruff in! It's great he's showing another side to his corgi personality but has anyone else had this issue with a corgi seemingly going through their terrible 2's?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by RILEY, MAGGIE and Christine Kemp on
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You are very welcome...This idea is not original. My daughter has a corgi (same problem only barking when the phone rang) it worked so well for her I used it when we had barking problems with our first corgi. And now we use the can with Riley, rarely need the can anymore (corgis catch on quickly).
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Permalink Reply by Jessie & Alwyn on
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I brought the idea up to my fiance and we're going to start using it today. As you mentioned, I'm sure he'll catch on quick. Thank you again to you and your daughter!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Jack is my "alert" barker. In true herder style, he will bark to let me know Things Are Different. So, for example, a truck parked on the street is not a problem, but a truck parked where there Is Not Usually A Truck is a problem. He once barked at a horse that was put up to block traffic from going into a normally-open parking lot near our house. When he was a puppy, he used to bark at things that had been moved in the house. This is all normal herding-dog behavior, and punishing for it is as confusing for the dog as it would be to punish a beagle for chasing rabbits. In other words, you are punishing the dog for something that his every instinct tells him is a very good thing to do, something that will please his owners.
What I did was EVERY time Jack would alert-bark, I would make a big to-do out of looking to see what he was barking at. If it was something that did not really warrant alarm, I would say "It's ok, Jack." And if it was something that did warrant alarm (to me, a person walking up the middle of my road is bark-worthy; I want my dog to be a watch-dog, so letting me know someone is there is good, and it's then up to me to discern if the person is a threat. I don't want the dog making that decision) I would say "Good boy, thank you!" and THEN say "it's ok." What this did was taught my dog to be a bit more discriminating about barking. He got praised for barking at stuff he should, and got a neutral response to things that were not troublesome. In this way he got taught to not bark at cookie sheets on the counter, say, without ever once getting yelled at. Since he achieved his goal of getting my attention focused on what he noticed was out of place, he would quiet down more or less immediately after I looked at whatever it was and said "It's ok." Once he got a lot older, I started adding the very occasional "NO!" to my repertoire, so for example I told him that I did NOT want him barking at the paperboy every day at 5am. But this was only done after we spent a very long time on working on his barking using a method that made sense to his herding sensibilities.
Madison is my "Oh my god, things are moving!!!" barker. As a guard dog, she is the next thing to worthless (she'll bark at some sounds and not others and frequently will bark only because she heard a dog on telly, or four blocks away, barking). But as a traffic cop, she is fabulous. It's a different aspect of herder personality. For her, what I do is redirect her to her own activity when she gets excited over movement, so instead of chasing Jack barking when he plays, I encourage her to get her own toy (toy in mouth = quiet dog). When we are on a walk and dogs are moving quickly and she gets the "Ohmygodthingsaremoving" bark going on, I will say "Maddie Maddie Maddie" in a cheery voice and reward her with a treat when she looks at me. In this way, I have been able to get her, usually, to focus on me instead of the moving things with one quiet word.
Everyone has their own preferred methods for dealing with unwanted behaviors. Personally I prefer to use positive methods to redirect behaviors that are so deeply ingrained in a dog as barking is in a Corgi. Of course, I was well aware that Corgis are big barkers before I got one, and it does mean that generally once or twice a week I am awakened at 2am by one barking dog or another. I'm ok with that, because feeding a dog is cheaper than an alarm system.
I had posted this once before, but here's a video of a Corgi working cattle.
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I wanted to add that I once saw an episode of "The Dog Whisperer" where two men went to Cesar because their beagle would start baying frantically whenever they saw another dog on a walk.
Cesar assessed the situation and explained part of a beagle's job is to let the handlers know when he's found the other dogs (beagles are sometimes hunted in packs, and frequently in pairs). The dog, Cesar explained, was not being aggressive or assertive. He was simply saying "Yo, Dad, I found the dogs! Here they are, here they are!!" He advised them not to punish the dog, but to acknowledge that they saw the other dogs (thereby fulfilling the beagle's desire to communicate with the owner) and training the dog to then look to the handler and keep moving. This made sense to the beagle, because it met his breed-specific behaviors.
They reported much calmer walks.
I'm saying this because I know an awful lot of trainers out there treat barking as "problem behavior" to be corrected, and do advocate using aversive techniques to stop it. Certainly there are times when that is the case. For me, though, whenever I can work with a dog's breed-selected behaviors to find a solution that makes us both feel like we got what we wanted, I try to use that tactic.
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In Riley's case, I went to the lesser of two evils...a hot headed husband who when he yells sounds like he is going to kill someone or this simple but effective method of using the can. Now my husband is satisfied and Riley is a much more comfortable pup when he is around Dad. Riley is still our "alert dog". Our vet told us at Riley's first check-up not to let the pup bark "at" us. Now he doesn't. I don't believe in negative correction either, but the positive results of this method outway any short term negativity of the can. In the end we are all happier. That's a real positive with us . One size does not fit all...one method will not work for everyone :)
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Oh, and I agree completely! I used a squirt bottle when my girl was "herding" the cat obsessively. Perhaps I could have been successful, over a very long time, in using positive redirection. But in the short term it did not work at all, and the cat is a living creature as well who also deserves to be left in peace. Moreover, cat-chasing can sometimes escalate to cat-killing, and I could not take that risk.
There are circumstances when mild punishment (such as squirting or shaking a can) are warranted. In your case, it's easier for the sake of your marriage to have a quicker fix. Some people might live in an apartment where the neighbors don't tolerate barking dogs. And some dogs don't quite get it when using only positive methods.
As you said, one size does not fit all and I wanted to throw out some other options, along with an explanation as to why Corgis are so barky. :-)
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I love their barkiness (I love that Riley talks to me). Their personalities and behavior (favorable or not) are part of the package. What is there not to love about our fur-ball kids. I just wish that they could all be loved as much as I love Riley.
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Permalink Reply by justine moeller on
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I dont know what you guys are all talking about. I have never heard our corgis bark! *major eye rolling*
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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on
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LOL
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