Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilly pickle  Hi
I am also having a problem with barking. At home I can cope with it but when out she barks at other dogs. She is wagging her tail all the time and running up to them as if she wants to play but just barks all the time. She is still a puppy at 6 months old. We have tried a distraction word and food treats but once she starts barking that's it. Picking her up will distract her but I don't want to get into that! Help is it to late. Jillyb |
Sounds like excitement barking - wants to meet and greet dogs when out and about. Here is what I would do if this were my dog and maybe you can use all or some of it to help your girl.
To me, this little girl needs way more socialization by taking her every where you can to meet other dogs for short periods of time, rewarding behavior you want and walking her quickly away from any dog she acts inappropriate around and terminating the session. Just keep working with her to teach her that barking is inappropriate and will get her an "uh oh", immediately turned and walked in the opposite direction, away from the very dog she wants to meet, whereas as long as she's not barking she's got a food treat in front of her that she will get if she restrains her impulse to bark until the dog passes - then she gets her food reward.
If this were my dog, I would be working her at home on teaching her impulse control - training her to restrain herself by obedience training and teach the "watch me", "wait", "leave it", "stay", etc., during very short, fun, frequent obedience lessons two or three times a day for the next two months. As she keeps her focus and is maintaining her command, once she has restrained herself for the appropriate time - only a couple of seconds at first while gradually increasing the time a little more each day until she is able to focus and restrain herself up to one minute in two weeks time - and then on up to two minutes in another month. Once she's done the command, tell her "Release" and immediately feed her a treat, smile hugely and praise, pet/tickle/scratch her affectionately - even doing a little dance celebration once she gets up to 30 seconds of holding herself quietly.
Teach her to focus on something you want her to focus on whenever another dog approaches outside, such as a squeaky toy or your fist closed over a favorite treat and give that focus command when she's out walking, before any dog approaches and teach her to maintain her focus by gradually increasing the time she restrains herself from looking around and focuses on your spot of choice with lots of positive reinforcement every time she gets it right and maintains it longer. If she breaks off too soon, you are hurrying her too much, so cut back on her focus time.
In time, use this command when outside and another dog is approaching and keep on working with her even if she breaks concentration a little bit or looks over at the dog by walking faster, squeaking the toy louder, making a kissing sound(works well with Tibbe) with your lips, jangle your keys and using whatever techniques you have to maintain her focus on you. If she does give in to barking, immediately say "uh oh", turn and walk the opposite direction as fast as you can, even running to get the message across to her excited brain that barking means stopping getting closer to the dog she so badly wants to get near and no treat is ever given.
If she's learned the focus command sufficiently at home, she should begin to use her impulse-control skills when out on a walk, given enough repetition and time. Be sure to always cross the street when another dog is approaching during training to put as much space between her and the other dog and help her maintain her focus on your hand or whatever you teach her to focus on while another dog is passing, in addition to making "uh oh" noises if she looks away briefly or using a squeaky toy, clicker or jangle your keys or something to immediately attract her eyes, focus back to you and walk fast to get on past the other dog.
Until she gains control of her impulse to act out, bark and gain what she sees is instant gratification from barking to greet another dog and can learn how to replace that impulse with a desire to hold her barking in and focus on your eyes or your fist with a treat in it, she will continue to bark and "misbehave" - though dogs don't see it that way. But by little by little keeping on working on teaching her that by restraining her barking impulse and focusing on you, ultimately she will gain more gratification due to serial treating(several treats in a row), celebration, party-atmosphere, lots of smiles and your pride, and believe it or not, she will begin to get it in a couple of weeks if you are persistent and consistent and keep it fun for her.
She will begin to associate that barking means getting summarily turned around and walked in the opposite direction from where she wants to go fast and even run in very fast, very tight circles, making her focus intently on just keeping her footing and keeping up rather than checking out the dog with dignity. It will sink in that learning to reign in her impulse to bark which gets her a luscious treat once she's walked quietly by another dog, followed by several more treats, your smiles, praises and a party of approval between the two of you, and she gets to keep on walking forward as you recite her praises going forward, is far more rewarding than getting turned and walked away very fast, getting no treats, smiles or praises or any fun at all.
Dogs learn the ability to walk by another dog outside by repetitive, fun training and association of the good and bad things that happen depending upon her behavior. Given enough time and patience, they really do learn to choose to do the behavior that is most rewarding to them so be sure you make her choice to stay calm and quiet the best she's ever made.