Dog Training Question

[snoopy1239]

My 22-month year old Hungarian Puli has developed a barking problem when out-and-about. For example, if I go into the pet shop, he'll bark constantly at the sales assistant, and other customers. Similarly, if someone approaches on the street to ask for directions, or comment on the dog, he just barks at them until I move him away.

I've tried a few things, including teaching a speak / no speak command, but it only works for a second or two before he goes back to barking. Treats are of no interest to him when he's 'in the zone', and removing him from the situation doesn't change his behaviour for next time. I also trimmed the hair around his eyes, gave him more exercise, and taught him a touch command for the approach, but it didn't help.

Very awkward socially, and obviously super annoying. Anyone have any suggestions?

[millidonk]

Plastic bottle, half full of stones, shake it at him every time he barks, ez game.

[tikay]

Adam, post this on Red's diary, he is THE most amazing man I have ever met when it comes to training dogs.

[Tractor]

Plastic bottle, half full of stones, shake it at him every time he barks, ez game.

This worked for us for general training, would def give it a try.
But as Tikay said, Reds the dogs.

[RED-DOG]

The plastic bottle ploy may work, it's worth a try.

In truth it's almost impossible to tell someone else how to modify a dogs behaviour without seeing it first hand.

It's like asking the best way to play ace king, the answer is, it depends....

How did you attempt to teach the 'speak - no speak, and why did you fail?

Did you try to teach anything else and fail?

What kind of temperament does he have? Is he an independent 'Alpha' type, or is he clingy and sycophantic?

What sort of barking is it, guarding, excited, frightened, attention seeking?

How, and at what point in the proceedings are you correcting / rewarding him?

What happens if a total stranger walks him?

Does he pull on the lead when he's barking, and if so, does he pull towards or away from the person that he's barking at?

Does he bare his teeth?

Will he follow other commands when he's barking? What happens if you make him lie down at the same time?

If he wont stop barking when you tell him to, does he disobey you in other ways when he wants to?

It's trial and error Adam. Try to get inside his head.

I once cured a dog of barking by covering his head with a coat every time he did it, but I tried loads of things before that.

The most important thing is to be totally consistent, and never, ever let him get his own way by behaving badly. If he barks because he's near a stranger, don't move away until he's quiet, even if it takes several hours and you have to employ a fake stranger to stand there.

[snoopy1239]

The plastic bottle ploy may work, it's worth a try.

I tried this with another problem a while back, but I think it just made him more aroused and eventually he just got used to the sound.

How did you attempt to teach the 'speak - no speak, and why did you fail?

I didn't fail in the teaching as such, and it works fine in practise, it's just that when he's aroused it's mega tough to get his attention, and if I do, he'll only be quiet for a second or two before continuing to bark, instead of remaining quiet which is what he does in training.

Did you try to teach anything else and fail?

Not that I can think of.

What kind of temperament does he have? Is he an independent 'Alpha' type, or is he clingy and sycophantic?

Once he gets used to people, he's absolutely fine and will just nap at their feet, and if you play with him, he's your best friend. It's just strangers he has a problem with. He's a confident dog, but also quite clingy (i.e. follows you around the house, gets upset if someone leaves the room, etc). He's also very sensitive to sounds and noises outside the house.

What sort of barking is it, guarding, excited, frightened, attention seeking?

I'm not 100 percent, but I think it's guarding.

How, and at what point in the proceedings are you correcting / rewarding him?

Initially, I was trying to correct him once he started barking, but now I'm trying to catch him before that first bark. However, it's a lot easier said than done, as even before he's barked, he's still 'in the zone' and ignores my distraction techniques.

What happens if a total stranger walks him?

No idea - never happened.

Does he pull on the lead when he's barking, and if so, does he pull towards or away from the person that he's barking at?

No, he's not pully, and he doesn't lunge at people. He just barks.

Does he bare his teeth?

No.

Will he follow other commands when he's barking? What happens if you make him lie down at the same time?

Haven't really tried other commands beyond 'quiet'. I have tried getting him to sit down when he barked at the door bell, but he barked from that position too.

If he wont stop barking when you tell him to, does he disobey you in other ways when he wants to?

No, he's pretty obedient in general, and we've taught him a number of commands. It's just that when he's in this transfixed state, it's very hard to get his attention or distract him.

It's trial and error Adam. Try to get inside his head.

I think he's trying to raise the alarm. The breed is known for being wary of strangers, but I need to find a way to communicate to him that this situation is fine, and he doesn't need to bark. At the moment, I can't seem to get that message across, or I can, but he's choosing not to accept it.

I once cured a dog of barking by covering his head with a coat every time he did it, but I tried loads of things before that.

Yeah. This one's tricky as you need new strangers to practice with, because if you do it with someone he knows, he's just excited to see them.

Thanks for the post.

[Karabiner]

Is it just me that can hardly read the red font?

[tikay]

Is it just me that can hardly read the red font?

What red font?



PL - Lol, he edited it! Think I'll bark at him when I next see him.

[snoopy1239]

Is it just me that can hardly read the red font?

No, you're not alone. We're all having the same problem.

[Karabiner]

Is it just me that can hardly read the red font?

No, you're not alone. We're all having the same problem.

Thank god you edited it, I've stopped barking now.

[EvilPie]

Once he gets used to people, he's absolutely fine and will just nap at their feet, and if you play with him, he's your best friend. It's just strangers he has a problem with. He's a confident dog, but also quite clingy (i.e. follows you around the house, gets upset if someone leaves the room, etc). He's also very sensitive to sounds and noises outside the house.

This behaviour can be quite easy to get mixed up.

You might think he's being clingy in a nice cute way when he follows you around the house. It's more likely that he thinks he's the boss so he's actually keeping an eye on what you're doing.

Try getting him to stay on his own whenever you leave the room. If he won't then you need to do something about it. He shouldn't follow you everywhere unless you want him to.

You should be able to give a stay command and go about your own business while he chills out for a bit.

This isn't a definite by the way. As Tom says without actually seeing the dog there's no way of knowing what each behaviour means.

[RED-DOG]

You have to be careful here Adam. He sounds pretty sure of himself.

Every time you give him the 'Be quiet' command and he ignores it, you are reinforcing the notion that there is nothing you can do about it.

If you know he's not going to obey, don't give the command. it's counter-productive.

How close do you have to get to your stranger before he barks?

What happens if you take him to a place that is teeming with strangers. Somewhere like Trafalgar Square for instance?

[tikay]

Is it just me that can hardly read the red font?

No, you're not alone. We're all having the same problem.

Thank god you edited it, I've stopped barking now.

Karabiner is the greatest.

[snoopy1239]

Once he gets used to people, he's absolutely fine and will just nap at their feet, and if you play with him, he's your best friend. It's just strangers he has a problem with. He's a confident dog, but also quite clingy (i.e. follows you around the house, gets upset if someone leaves the room, etc). He's also very sensitive to sounds and noises outside the house.

This behaviour can be quite easy to get mixed up.

You might think he's being clingy in a nice cute way when he follows you around the house. It's more likely that he thinks he's the boss so he's actually keeping an eye on what you're doing.

Try getting him to stay on his own whenever you leave the room. If he won't then you need to do something about it. He shouldn't follow you everywhere unless you want him to.

You should be able to give a stay command and go about your own business while he chills out for a bit.

This isn't a definite by the way. As Tom says without actually seeing the dog there's no way of knowing what each behaviour means.

Yeah, I can definitely see your point, and it's something that we've been actively trying to discourage using a process whereby we go out the room for a few seconds, return with treats, then repeat/rinse with gradual increases in time. We're currently at 4 minutes without a bark. We also plan to thow a 'go mat' command into the mix rather than him hovering by the door. Not the most fun exercise, but really important I feel if we want to avoid complaints from the neighbours whilst we're gone. Radio, toys, exercise, kong, etc were ineffective in this case, so fingers crossed this works.

[tikay]

Had any success training Dana to do things on command?

Do you offer her treats if she obeys?