I have the girls' kennels in the den, where all the action is. If my alpha dog, Lacy does this and she will on occasion, I put her in time out in her kennel with the door closed. Then I ignore her until she stops barking and leave her a minute or two. Let her see what's going on. If she stops for just a minute, I open the door, tell her on her level she's not to bark or bite and tell her she was a good girl (if she was) and give her a treat.I use a stern voice, but I whisper in her ear, keeping my face close to hers and my eyes right on hers . If she starts up again, I do the same, I tell her she is going into time out, put her there, close the door until she behaves and reward her if she does. Usually she sees right away that Chloe is out getting attention and having fun and will stop. Repeat as needed, she'll get it. The absolute worst time was when we had a party and my nephew brought his 6 month old baby. Lacey barked and barked, like an alien had landed on her property. I was so embarassed. She hasn't repeated it but I'll bet she will if another baby comes over. For times when they bark, like they hear someone at the door or see a squirrel outside, I lightly touch their nose and tell them in a stern but whisper voice that we don't bark in the house. Again, I stay upright but bend down to get face to face. I can't say they never bark, after all they are dogs, but they are much better at stopping after a few "I'm letting you know what I hear". |