Barking At Everything

[Mr-Remington]

I'm finally able to take Remi out places with me. So yesterday I took him to Petsmart, a local pet store, and Dairy Queen with the family. I noticed that he barks at other dogs, but I don't think its out of agression.

He was fine at Petsmart, he barked at a family down one aisle and then he was fine. But when we went to the local pet store, there were some small dogs that started barking when they saw Remi and our other dog Chance. Even when the owner got her three to shut up Chance's bark turned into agression. He looked like he wanted to kill the other dogs, and Remi not as badly as Chance kept barking at them. He walked outside and let them calm down.

Later that evening we went to DQ for ice cream and I took Remi on his own. He barked when he saw another small dog but I got him quiet. After that dog left a corgi came and Remi barked but I asked if it was okay for Remi to greet his dog (Red) was wagging his tail at Remi. Remi was fine with him. He had his little nub of a tail tucked but he let Red sniff him, and he sniffed Red. He did sit down and let Red lick his face a few times. When Red tried to leave Remi was trying to go with him. He didn't want him to leave, and he started wagging his tail then.

All of the dogs he has been around since I got him at 8 weeks are reactive dogs. They bark at everything from people who come into the house, people walking by the yard, and other dogs. He wasn't a barker until recently when someone would knock he'd bark until he saw who it was, then he was fine. And now he barks at dogs. I think its because of Chance and the other three dogs he has been around since I got. But I don't know for sure.

So my question is, how to get Remi to not immediately bark at when he sees other dogs? Is it possible he is only barking at them because he thinks thats what he is suppose to do since the others bark? I have no idea how to train him to not bark when he sees other dogs on a walk or at the store. Also not bark when people are at the door. I praying someone can help me, since I take him everywhere I can with me.

 

[tigerlily46514]

//"All of the dogs he has been around since I got him at 8 weeks are reactive dogs"//

ah, see, Remi needs to be kept away from those dogs as much as possible.
I've forgotten now, does Chance live with Remi? is that right?

I know you are just now just beginning to socialize Remi out into the world, right?
If you can, see if you can find a puppy socialization class that is well supervised by a positive only trainer, for puppies. Explain all your concerns to the 'teacher' there.

I can't remember if you are also on a budget like me.
There are also puppy playgroups on Meetup.com, you might be able to find one,
or start one of your own.
Ask among your friends and relatives, who has friendly dogs that ARE friendly to puppies,
for Remi to socialize with?
Ensure the playtimes are positive experiences for Remi.


Petsmart is TERRIBLEY exciting to dogs, all the smells--food, tons of dogs scents, urine,
and "wow, look i'm inside a store" most dogs are wayyyyyyyyy overthreshold just to be IN there!!!
and all the dogs of ALL types of personalities,
that is NOT a great place to begin socializing your puppy, Remi...nope, would not make my top 50 list at all. Any type of dog can be in there. Last thing Remi needs is some dog like MY dog scaring him half outa his lil mind.


Even well socialized dogs get quivery to go in Petsmart...it's like chuckEcheese or disneyworld is for kids, just TOO much!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

//"So my question is, how to get Remi to not immediately bark at when he sees other dogs? Is it possible he is only barking at them because he thinks thats what he is suppose to do since the others bark?"//



Yes, it's possible Remi is learning from the reactive dogs he has been around.
Dogs can and do imitate each other.
It could be just excitement, after all, for months, Remi hasn't really even SEEN another dog, how exciting! His lil doggie head just explodes, bark! bark! bark!

As much as possible, keep Remi away from reactive dogs,
and as much as possible,
walk Remi ONLY, not with other reactive dogs.

Here's some ideas you can try to help Remi learn you do not want him to bark.

This video is called 'reactive dog' and even tho we have no clue if Remi is reactive, but, still, even though it's probably just puppy excitement, + lack of socialization,
you could still imitate this method for your very excited puppy!!

 

[tigerlily46514]

LOTS of ways to do this,
but thing is,
both the video above,
and the video below,
show ways to help a dog think "i see a dog, i get treats, it's all good"

These vids are just for BARKING, not about socializing puppies.

It's also possible, that Remi, on his own, once he has had some positive experiences with dog play, and has become a little less overwhelmed by seeing DOGS!! will lessen his barking at dogs on his own, as he matures, but, it's probably a good idea to give Remi a little boost in right direction by doing some of these exercises.

 

[tigerlily46514]

I myself do not recommend you begin Remi's socialization at dog parks, either.
Others may disagree, and in the end, it's YOUR decision,
but, dog parks can have any type of dogs there, and the whole experience might be extremely overwhelming to a pup like Remi
who hasn't even seen other dogs,
nor has any social skills yet.
I wouldn't do it to Remi if i were you.

Now, imo, you need to get Remi around KNOWN TO BE FRIENDLY DOGS,
Remi very very much needs to avoid even chancing another reactive dog,
and very very very much needs to have some positive experiences
with KNOWN-TO-BE-FRIENDLY-TO-PUPPY dogs...(even some 'normal' dogs don't like puppies that much, so ask your aunts, your cousins, your best pals, if they have a dog that likes puppies!)

 

[tigerlily46514]

HOPE YOU GET MORE IDEAS, cuz, everyone has their own ideas, hope you get other replies here!!!

 

[Mr-Remington]

ah, see, Remi needs to be kept away from those dogs as much as possible.
I've forgotten now, does Chance live with Remi? is that right?

I know you are just now just beginning to socialize Remi out into the world, right?
If you can, see if you can find a puppy socialization class that is well supervised by a positive only trainer, for puppies. Explain all your concerns to the 'teacher' there.

I can't remember if you are also on a budget like me.
There are also puppy playgroups on Meetup.com, you might be able to find one,
or start one of your own.
Ask among your friends and relatives, who has friendly dogs that ARE friendly to puppies,
for Remi to socialize with?
Ensure the playtimes are positive experiences for Remi.


Petsmart is TERRIBLEY exciting to dogs, all the smells--food, tons of dogs scents, urine,
and "wow, look i'm inside a store" most dogs are wayyyyyyyyy overthreshold just to be IN there!!!
and all the dogs of ALL types of personalities,
that is NOT a great place to begin socializing your puppy, Remi...nope, would not make my top 50 list at all. Any type of dog can be in there. Last thing Remi needs is some dog like MY dog scaring him half outa his lil mind.


Even well socialized dogs get quivery to go in Petsmart...it's like chuckEcheese or disneyworld is for kids, just TOO much!!

Chance lives with us, and my moms reactive chihuahuas do too. My sister has a reactive terrier that barks at people or knocks on the door, but we only see them on the weekends when she visits my mom. So I'm not sure how I'm going to keep him away from them.

I've been taking Remi out since I got him, but I've always held him. And I'd go places early in the morning or later in the evening when less dogs were out. His been going to Petsmart since I got him, again I was holding him and whenever I saw a dog I've go in the opposite direction. So he hasn't really seen another dog up close until last night.

All of my families dogs are reactive, they don't train or work with them at all. So I don't want Remi around them.

I've been talking with a 'trainer' at a Petsmart an hour or so away. She trains much like I do, the postive only and I've gone to the store and talked to her for a good 45 minutes and she knew what she was talking about lol I found it hard to believe at first. So I'm considering taking him there. But I'm a on a tight budget so I have to save up for it.

 

[Mr-Remington]

I myself do not recommend you begin Remi's socialization at dog parks, either.
Others may disagree, and in the end, it's YOUR decision,
but, dog parks can have any type of dogs there, and the whole experience might be extremely overwhelming to a pup like Remi
who hasn't even seen other dogs,
nor has any social skills yet.
I wouldn't do it to Remi if i were you.

Now, imo, you need to get Remi around KNOWN TO BE FRIENDLY DOGS,
Remi very very much needs to avoid even chancing another reactive dog,
and very very very much needs to have some positive experiences
with KNOWN-TO-BE-FRIENDLY-TO-PUPPY dogs...(even some 'normal' dogs don't like puppies that much, so ask your aunts, your cousins, your best pals, if they have a dog that likes puppies!)

I refuse to take my dog to the dog park. Its the worst environment for him. I've never liked them. I'm kinda stuff until I get Remi into a puppy class. I hate being the only one to train their dogs in my family.

 

[tigerlily46514]

//". My sister has a reactive terrier that barks at people or knocks on the door,"//

I think almost all dogs bark for knocks at the door,
and most dogs bark to announce visitors, too.
(my dog, never ever having been inside a house before, had to trained to bark at door knocks and door bells ) To me, barking at door knocks is NOT reactive.
Barking at ppl is not necessarily "reactive" either, in some contexts. My dog barks to announce everyone arriving at our house, and then, he settles down.
I LIKE him doing THAT--barking to announce all arrivals..


and not all dogs who bark are "reactive", some are just excited and untrained.

YEAH, anyway, i see your very difficult situation there, i feel empathy for you, and understand your frustration with all the barky dogs around your growing puppy!
I still have big hopes it will be okay, i like the idea of a trainer who can provide you with dogs KNOWN TO BE FRIENDLY TO PUPPIES for Remi to interact with.

OR ANYONE! Maybe a relative, a friend, a cousin, someone you know who has a friendly dog for Remi to play with? AWAY from the other dogs, just Remi + the friendly dog??Same age dogs are nice, too, for Remi to practice his social skills on, too.

 

[tigerlily46514]

so glad to hear you wont' be bringing Remi to dog parks for his socialization to dogs. I think you are very very wise there, for rookie like little Remi there!

 

[tigerlily46514]

ANYONE HERE from Southern California with a friendly dog?

j/k.

 

[Mr-Remington]

I wish it was just an announcement. Once he sees someone or hears a knock he barks for a good 30 minutes or gets put in the room. My sisters solution is to hold his mouth closed when people come over.

 

[tigerlily46514]

she, she holds his mouth closed??
aw geez....

oh no.
I am glad YOU are not like that Remi!!



one can train a dog to hold a sit for a door being opened. It's not even that hard to train.

we were just talking about that the other day.

 

[tigerlily46514]

well Remi, i hope someone comes by with a better idea, i am kinda dense today, can't think of good idea to help you at all. but hang in there, someone will be by with some good idea or insight or something to help you!!

 

[Mr-Remington]

I think the dog park is partly what made Chance hate big dogs; he got picked on by them. And little dogs too. And since then he's hated other dogs. I won't risk it with Remington.

I NEED PEOPLE FROM THIS SITE TO FLY TO CALIFORNIA AND BRING YOUR DOG-FRIENDLY DOGS WITH YOU. I wish it was that easy.

 

[Mr-Remington]

I trained Remi to hold a sit at the door. And Thank you for your help I'm going to try finding some puppy groups or classes around here, or people with dog-friendly dogs.

 

[648117]

Holly is extremely UN-reactive. She will pretend a dog doesn't exist if I tell her to (even off leash, especially if it is a big dog). She plays well with other dogs.

At home she is barky. She barks at the door, sometimes at the TV and sometimes for no real reason (but none of it is really a problem and she will shut up if asked).


It might not be meeting other dogs that Remi needs, but seeing other dogs without meeting them.

What I think helped make Holly so un-reactive is going to obedience class. She was too old for the puppy socialisation class by the time they started up after the christmas holidays (we got Holly at christmas) so we went straight to puppy obedience.

At the puppy obedience the puppies were not allowed to play and had to be on leash without barking while the trainer explained stuff to the humans (sometimes Holly got to play with the puppy next to us a little, but not much), if they started to bark then they were taken out of the room until they calmed down. Holly never actually came into physical contact with most of the other dogs in her class (it was a 6 week course) which tought her that just because there is another dog near her does not mean she will get to play with it and does not mean she should bark at it.

At her advanced obedience classes she also doesn't get to interact with the other dogs much and she remains calm around them even when they are less than a meter away from her. In her current class their are two reactive dogs and two other non-reactive dogs (three including Holly). She has only ever played with one of the other dogs. The two reactive dogs sometimes set each other off if we are doing something exciting but none of the non-reactive dogs pay any attention and the reactive ones calm down quickly now.

So.... what I'm trying to say is if Remi has played with other dogs (eg the ones he lives with) then learning to play with other dogs is probably not much of a problem. But being calm around strange dogs when not playing might need some practice.

I also would get Holly to sit and eat treats when passing dogs on walks at first (I don't need to do this anymore) so she would try to meet the other dog.

 

[Mr-Remington]

648117 I never thought of that! I should try keeping him calm with passing dogs on our walks. I'll let you know how it goes within the next few days.

 

[648117]

Yeah. Good luck

One of the things we were told to do at puppy obedience was to get the dogs attention when passing other dogs, give it a treat for looking at you (I always take treats on walks). I gave Holly a treat everytime we passed a dog or a human so now she always looks up at me when we pass a person or dog and never tries to pull over to them.

And if you come across a well behaved dog walking down the street try to follow it for a bit while getting your own dog to walk calmly so that it practices calmly walking even when it sees other dogs.


I did this all wrong with our cavaliers. They were always reactive when they saw other dogs on walks and I always wondered if it was because we were told to "socialize" them and I guess we took it to mean 'let them meet as many dogs as possible', so they got to meet nearly every dog they saw on walks. Then when they were not allowed to meet a dog, or as we approached the dog, they would bark and scream and pull on the leash and then grump at each other because they wanted to say 'hello', once they said hello they would be fine to continue the walk, but it was a real pain and so embarrasing. And if off leash they always ran over to other dogs so eventually I didn't let them off leash much because I could not trust them to not run off if we saw another dog (although they were never aggressive and they would come back after they said "hello").

So with Holly I've really tried to give her experiences interacting with other dogs but also experiences around other dogs when she is not allowed to interact with them.

I think this is especially important if you want to do obedience or agility where there will always be other dogs around that need to be ignored.

 

[Adrianna & Calvin]

Hi Remi's dad

You have a working breed dog, and sometimes these guys take life a bit seriously. He's also regularly exposed to reactive dogs, and it is very easy for them to get other dogs to bark (the "Cruella has the puppies!" phenomenon!). Since at times it seems like alert barking, I'd teach a few things from Leslie McDevitt's Control Unleashed ...

1- Look at me. Work on some very solid attention exercises. There are good resources online for this was well. McDevitt calls it a 'Whiplash Turn' -- the dog turns and reorients to you no matter what else is going on. Sometimes breaking that initial focus can prevent the whole wind-up.

2- Look at That. For those dogs who feel the need to let us know about XYZ (another dog, a kid, a cat crossing a lawn, a canine friend), you can preempt them with a "LAT" -- where's the doggie? The dog nose-points to the other dog and looks back to you for a treat. Where's the screaming baby? ("Over there, ma!"). It gives the dog a routine to go through when he sees something that is Too Exciting. Once the dog knows this game, you'll find him swinging around to point out something and then looking to you for a treat.

3- Dr. Overall's Relaxation Protocol. This can help because eventually, it teaches the dog to calm himself down in a shorter period of time. You can use this for doorbell stuff, if you can go off and work on it after a visitor arrives or a doorbell rings. You can get more information about this online.

So, not Leslie McDevitt, but my own strategy: Re-direction. I solved my late dog's doorbell problem by having him re-direct his excitement to a toy. He was very excited by the doorbell and wanted to do *something* , and even if I put him in a down/stay, he'd spring up as soon as released and start barking and hopping around again. Giving him something to do (doorbell rings, "where's your toy???" and then showing the guest his toy) really helped. Again, having a defined routine to fall back on during these moments of excitement really helps. Dogs love routine. Like very young children, they feel best when they know exactly what will happen in X, Y, and Z situation. When you don't have much power to change situations, you really appreciate knowing what to expect from those around you in every situation. Personally I'd use redirection when a guest arrives, if he'll do it, and then start your RP you've been practicing during calm times.

I'd get the Control Unleashed Puppy Book, if I were you, as it will help you out throughout Remy's lifetime. My last dog was a herding dog but wasn't the same sort of rocket-propelled worker bee that Calvin is, and CU has helped us out. BTW, the Puppy Book isn't just for puppies -- it's the most up to date of her books so it's the best one to get for any age dog.

Hope this helps!
Adrianna (w/ Calvin)