[nagdu] Barking

[MS S TILLETT]

I totally agree that it is worth hanging in and trying to curb the behavior.  My previous dog Flora, a shepherd, was a big barker.  She wasn't aggresive, but she did lunge after cats.  She also barked at work when people came into the office.  I had a trainer come down from The Seeing Eye, but she only barked once and was darned if she would bark in front of a trainer.  We got someone to let their nasty cat out who would hold her ground against Flora, and she only barked once, even though we walked back and forth past that poor kitty several times.  You could see her clenching her teeth thinking "I won't bark at that cat," every time we got close.  It took me over a year but she really did shape up.  

Hang in and try different things.  Good luck.  

Sue, and Wonder 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sharonda Greenlaw 
  To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users 
  Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 11:15 AM
  Subject: Re: [nagdu] Barking


  Lora,
  I want to first say that Julie's suggestion of trying to find a behaviorist
  in your area is the absolute best. I have had some issues with my dog guide,
  Rusty, and the behaviorist really helped me bunches.

  The first thing I did was to purchase a prong collar. It has been a Godsend
  against pulling and lunging. The second thing I did was to work like has
  already been explained with the click-and-treat system so that his attention
  can always be refocused on me.

  Lastly, I want to say this publicly concerning what the behaviorist told me.
  When the dog is being trained at the school, it is a puppy. It is not an
  adolescent. The school is not aware of the behaviors that the dog will
  exhibit in its adolescent years. You might have 20 dogs and two might show
  aggression during adolescence. If you are willing to put in the hard work,
  most, if not all of this aggression can be squashed. Sure, there may be an
  instance where your dog doesn't change, but I know that my dog's issues were
  a bit worse. With much hard work and repetitive training, while also
  learning my dog and him learning me, I have not only a great guide but a
  loyal and faithful companion.

  If you can, hang in there!

  Sharonda

  On Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 9:51 PM, Lora and Myrtle <blindhistory at gmail.com>wrote:

  > I have a dog from Leader Dogs. Today my dog Myrtle started barking at
  > another dog before she saw it and before the dog started barking. She has
  > done this ever since she has got home. I ahve contacted leader dogs and
  > have
  > tried a gentle leader. I have tried leash corrections and verbal
  > corrections
  > with no luck. I think it is aggressive behavior because her tail goes up
  > and
  > her ears are forward with her fur behind her shoulders and tail sticking on
  > end. She lunged at a dog tonight and I almost fell on the ice. Otherwise
  > she
  > is a very good guide. Normally she barks at a dog when she sees them and
  > lunges at them. What do you guys think. I have contacted my trainer several
  > times and the suggestions she has told me to do have not worked out. I'm
  > worried I am going to get hurt one of these days because my dog pulls so
  > hard. I don't know if I will go with LD again. I would like this to stop or
  > at least be able to get my dog under control. I don't want to go to student
  > seminars because she can't even handle one dog let alone alot of them.
  >
  > --
  > Lora and Leader Dog Myrtle
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