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Permalink Reply by Bonny on March 28, 2008 at 11:19pm

I am a fan of Cesar Milan, which I know not everyone agrees with. Some of his tactics I am not experienced enough to use, but that's OK since my dog doesn't have any serious behavioral issues. But I do like some of his basic techniques, and have found them to be effective in working with my dog.

First and foremost, I excercise my dog. She gets walked at least 30 min a day in accord with Cesar's guidlines: I lead, she follows, no sniffing or dawdling, we're walking to get somewhere. This is the basis for our relationship and reinforces my role as leader on a daily basis. I also enforce other simple leader rules: I go through doors first, claim the objects in my house, and take charge when things get exciting (company, other dogs, etc.).

I also have done obedience, which has provided us with a form of communication between dog and human. We revisit those lessons often to keep them fresh and to reiforce my dog's "listening" skills.

Finally, i have found Cesar's advice helpful in regard to dealing with unwanted behavior, no matter what it is. When Junebug does something I don't like, I immediately convey that to her with a "shh", "uh-uh", or "no" that is clearly disapproving. If needed, I intervene physically by blocking her with my body or giving her a quick nudge to push her away from the situation. You can see when she decides to stop the behavior in her her ears and eyes. She is sensitive to harsh punisment, and I have found that this robs her of confidence and security, so I never yell, spank, or get angry. I just try to find clever ways of redirecting her attention and teaching better alternatives.

She is not a frequent barker, but will in the typical circumstances. If she has barked long enough (2-3 times), I call her to me and put her in a down-stay, where I try to keep her calm.

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Permalink Reply by Moosey May on March 28, 2008 at 11:22pm

If my dog does something bad I have a spray bottle of water to spray her with. I also make sure to say NO when I spray her. So now everytime she sees me go to pick up the spray bottle her ears go back and she knows
:( Lately mine has been picking through the garbage

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Permalink Reply by Mandi on March 28, 2008 at 11:37pm

You can't teach a dog NOT to bark. You can teach them to hold their bark for when it's appropriate. Gizmo had to be taught, as we live in an apartment.

The spray bottle is a good theory and works for a lot of pets. Gizmo didn't take to it. She loves water, and thinks I'm playing a game of "lick the spray" if I try the spray bottle. She seems to respond better if I redirect her attention, as suggested by Bonny. If Gizmo's barking has gone on long enough, I'll call her to me and distract her.

Also, she seems to "talk back" when we're working on commands (usually when there are treats involved), or playing. So far, she's responded best to positive reinforcement. I wont give her a treat or continue the play unless she does the command quietly. If we're playing fetch, I wont throw the ball for her until she does the down-stay command without barking. If we're working on commands, I wont give her the treat until she does the command properly and without barking. This way, she not only learns the commands I'm trying to teach her, but she learns to do them quietly.

Consistency is important. If you want your pup to play quietly when your dad's around, you have to teach him to play quietly in general. He won't understand why he gets in trouble for barking when your dad's there, and doesn't when he's not. Yes, Corgis are brilliant dogs. But they need to learn what situations they're allowed to bark in. Not necessarily what people they can bark around.

Best of luck :)

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Permalink Reply by Sam on March 29, 2008 at 7:20am

Some corgis are much more vocal then others. A pair of puppies usually use barking as a form of their play. I teach the "quiet" command very early on. The spray bottle generally works for me. Herein lies one of the challenges of having two pups. They generally have their own little "pack" and prefer to interact with one another then the humans in their home. I think it quite important that you allow time for one on one interaction with these guys for training. It does appear that their needs are different.
Plenty of exercise is most important. Structured exercise should be a big part of this so you garner a relationship with your dog. Walking together would be a nice outlet as well so they learn they can be together without playing or protecting one another from you. Have separate times to play ball or retrieve games so you are the focus of the game.
Consistency is the key here. The bark must be corrected each time it occurs with the "quiet" command. Realize too that dogs are wired to bark at unusual sounds or changes in their environment. Your mission is to control the bark not make it disappear forever.
Sounds like your female is showing possessive tendencies. Your reaction seemed to work just fine. Keep a close eye out for her to continue with objects or other people. She should never be allowed to respond in this fashion.

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on March 29, 2008 at 9:25am

Well, usually if they are barking I can firmly and loudly say NO and they stop since they know I'm serious. If they don't stop that's probably because they've got waaaay too much pent up energy and need a long walk or a run. Walking always works for over exitment. It's what they want.

I think the worst discipline is definately hitting them. It makes them turn aggressive toward you. When Ein was younger I didn't know how to deal with his issues so I'd smack him hard on the butt and say no!! One day he looked at me and snarled with all his teeth and he would have attacked me so I realized that doesn't work, only makes them mad.

Now the newspaper is a whole nother story since when you whack them with with that it doesn't really hurt unless you've rolled it super tight I guess and whack them really hard. I just do it loosely and you don't even have to whack hard to get their attention. It just scares them and they will be afraid to eat the cat litter or chew on the couch after that. I only use that punishment in those kind of cases. 99% of the time they just get a firm loud NO or knock it off and they listen. Remember lots of excercize though. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Avyon on March 30, 2008 at 5:28pm

NILF is one we use... along with the alfa role but depending on her actions we use different methods.. I think its just parent intuition on which one will work with what problem lol.

so we have the 10 min timeout in the crate... just in the crate... then in the crate with no toys... in the crate with a blanket covering it (hehe confinement! GASP).

or we make her lay down fully with her nose on the floor and just lie still for a couple moments..

picking her up works when she's being really fussy...

but usually now a stern NO or AHT! works for her but sometimes you haveta up the anty.

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