[nagdu] Barking at Other Dogs

Wed Jun 10 22:46:24 UTC 2015

Alysha,

I think you're right in wanting to use a more positive approach rather 
than risking turning a nuisance behavior towards stress or even 
aggression. If the dog associates the painful correction with the 
trigger -- the other dog -- instead of the barking, then the behavior 
will get worse, almost certainly.

What has worked best with my barky pup is to simply turn him around and 
lead him away from what he is barking at. He's friendly, and I want to 
keep that; I just want him to keep his mouth shut. He's doing really 
well by now. Since I'm still using my cane, turning him away from the 
thing he wants to interact with is easy. As soon as he's quiet and going 
with me, I relax and let him turn to look at whatever it is. If he pipes 
up again, I turn him around and take him away from it. Since what he's 
wanting is a positive interaction, letting him watch it is the positive 
reward. I offer him treats, but mostly he's more interested in the 
thingamagig than the treats. So I let him watch it and praise him for 
quiet. Now he almost never backslides, though he will stop to watch 
interesting things. He's passing more of those by more and more, so yay 
for progress. I've also been using the same principle for when the dogs 
bark at the bedroom window by pulling down the shade so they can't see 
whatever it is that requires so much commentary. Works miracles! They 
still bark at some things, but it's quieter and shorter. If I act like 
I'm going to stop what I'm doing and go in to the room, silence reigns! 
Whew!

When the guide is working, it might help to just stop him and pull his 
head around gently but firmly so that he can't look at the other dog 
that is so exciting. I use the word "quiet" a lot in a quiet voice, as 
well. Then when he shuts up and relaxes a bit towards you, you can let 
up but pull his head back around if he starts getting excited again. Of 
course, if the other dog is coming towards you, that may not work. It 
can depend on whether the person walking the other dog is paying 
attention and has a brain. /lol/

Would it be possible to take him out on leash, using your cane for 
mobility, so that you can turn him when he gets excited about another 
dog? Or is there someone you know with a dog that you can use to set him 
up in a controlled way so you know the other dog is there and what it is 
doing? If your guy's bark is a friendly one, wanting to interact and 
play with the other dog, then having the other dog turn around when your 
dog barks might also help him get the idea. If he stays quiet and on 
task, he can approach the other dog with everybody happy. If he gets 
wound up, then his new buddy goes away, or he has to go another way, and 
nobody is happy. That's the principle, anyway.

You describe your fellow as friendly, and the behavior you describe 
sounds like it could be happy excitement, wanting to play with the other 
dog, in which case it's a matter of teaching better manners. If you feel 
it may be more of a wanting to chase the other dog off, then 
desensitizing him may be trickier. Has he been attacked recently or 
anything like that to make him defensive?

Best of luck, and let us know what you come up with and what works.

Tami

On 06/10/2015 02:16 PM, Alysha via nagdu wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> My new dog, Xylon, has unfortunately developed the bad habit of barking at
> other dogs if they pass too close. I usually work him with his gentle leader
> because he struggles with dog distractions, and I can generally keep him on
> track when the other dog is across the street or far away. But if a dog is
> passing us on the sidewalk or walking toward us and acting excited, Xylon
> will give out a loud bark and sometimes lunge toward the dog. He only barks
> once and hasn't ever tried to hurt another dog, but for obvious reasons,
> this behavior is not good! I called the school, and the trainer I talked too
> told me to keep one snap of the leash connected to the gentle leader and one
> to his collar and to correct him when he barks. I tried that, and it did not
> work. In fact, I'm now wondering if the corrections are adding to the stress
> and tension that are causing Xylon to bark in the first place. Some advice
> I've read online suggests using treats to help associate the sight of other
> dogs with positive instead of negative feelings for your dog. The articles
> suggest moving away when the other dog comes closer than your dog is
> comfortable with and slowly work on reducing that threshold with the use of
> the treats. I'd like to give that a try, but it's difficult to do this on my
> own since I'm not always sure when a dog is coming or what it's doing. The
> school is going to send an instructor out to work with us, but in the
> meantime, I was wondering if any of you have dealt with this problem and
> successfully overcome it. I'd love to hear any tips or advice. Xylon is a
> great worker and a friendly, happy little guy, so I'm confident we'll find a
> way to work through this.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Alysha
>
>
>
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