inside barking at noises, people walking by, trucks, etc

mlcmarine · Post by **mlcmarine** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 2:27 pm

My indoor 'cocky'-poo (cocker poo with an attitude) barks at seen and unseen things outside, people walking by, loud trucks, and things I can not hear.
This is a dog that I have worked with in other areas of training and walk all most everyday, plus he has a nice size yard to play in. He is fairly well behaved, although not good with other dogs, and we learned quickly not to allow him on any bed in our home (an aggression trigger).

My problem is that I have no idea what method to use to quell or even manage the barking. I'm using treats and a 'wait for quiet method, but I have to wait for barking to start to use this and I'm not sure what message I'm actually sending my dog. At times I feel like I'm teaching him to bark at the window in order to get my attention for the treat session to begin. If I catch him at a time when he's not barking, then he has no idea what I'm treating him for.

I just need a method I can be consistent with that will at least manage his barking or even teach him to ignore certain things going on outside.
Thanks in advance for all suggestions.

zeus'fostermom · Post by **zeus'fostermom** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 7:29 pm

My Pyrenees does the same thing. Birds, dogs, loud cars etc. I've been trying to introduce these things to him by naming them then treating him when he's quiet. I try to pick a time during the day when I know there will be a lot of noises or people/animals near the house.

So, for example, during rush hour I go to the window and look outside. This usually prompts him to come look with me. As soon as I see someone coming or a bird or anything that moves or makes noise I say "oh look, motorcycle", when he looks and is quiet I praise him and give him a treat. If he barks, no treat and I'll ask him to "sit" and "look at me". It took a while to even get him to look at me cuz he was barking so furiously but .. patience.

Now that he associates these things with treats, when he does bark I will go to the window, checkit out and say, "OK Thanks, all done." I walk away he walks with me and give him a "good watch dog" and a treat. I like that he gives warning but I want it to stop when I acknowledge that everything is ok. The more he gets used to the activity near the house and the noises the less he barks.

We continue to work at this but so far I'm seeing results.

mlcmarine · Post by **mlcmarine** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 8:28 pm

zeus'fostermom wrote:My Pyrenees does the same thing. Birds, dogs, loud cars etc. I've been trying to introduce these things to him by naming them then treating him when he's quiet. I try to pick a time during the day when I know there will be a lot of noises or people/animals near the house.

So, for example, during rush hour I go to the window and look outside. This usually prompts him to come look with me. As soon as I see someone coming or a bird or anything that moves or makes noise I say "oh look, motorcycle", when he looks and is quiet I praise him and give him a treat. If he barks, no treat and I'll ask him to "sit" and "look at me". It took a while to even get him to look at me cuz he was barking so furiously but .. patience.

Now that he associates these things with treats, when he does bark I will go to the window, checkit out and say, "OK Thanks, all done." I walk away he walks with me and give him a "good watch dog" and a treat. I like that he gives warning but I want it to stop when I acknowledge that everything is ok. The more he gets used to the activity near the house and the noises the less he barks.

We continue to work at this but so far I'm seeing results.

Interesting. Never thought of naming things. But sometimes I have no idea what prompts the barking. Today I upped the reward to small pieces of grilled chicken. Boy, did I have his attention then! I'm hoping to get him to a point that he barks once or twice and then comes to me for a treat. I'd be happy with that. Thanks for your input.

zeus'fostermom · Post by **zeus'fostermom** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:52 am

Good job. Smart move on the chicken!

Sounds kinda silly to "name" things. I'm not completely sure this is the answer. And you're right, if only your dog hears it it's a little hard to call it something. I think more than anything it's my tone of voice that calms him.

Noobs · Post by **Noobs** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:22 am

I've tried naming things as well. "Look at the nice man" then my dog looks at the man, then me, then gets a treat. I've used "kitty" as well because he's scared of cats and will snarl and lunge at them on walks. It gets difficult to get him to calm down inside the house when he sees things outside but I'm going to have to carry his beef flavored jar of babyfood around with me inside the house as a treat since carrying chicken around in a baggy gets messy and smelly.

It does take patience, which I am not a lot of the time. But I'm working on it!

Huckleberry · Post by **Huckleberry** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:46 am

My first JRT, Cody was a barker, he barked at everything, the clouds, the wind, you name it, he would then get Callie and Wyatt barking and they would bark in harmony, it was a good thing I live in the boondocks not around alot of people. What I did when he would start barking, is check out why he is barking, then point at him and tell him that will do, when he stopped I gave him a treat or played with him. I also found he would bark more if he didnt get enough excersize. Cody has been gone since 2006, Wyatt is my alert barker, but a quick that will do will make him quiet down. I will leave the tv on when I leave the house to give them some background noise and not just dead silence.

mlcmarine · Post by **mlcmarine** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:13 am

It's good to know that others have dealt with this issue with some success. I'm working on it, but it's slow going. Usually what happens is I use a clicker to get him to come to me, and after a few moments of quiet, he gets a treat along with a normal voiced, "No barking". But sometimes he's right back at the window barking again. So, I repeat the process but don't have a lot of confidence that I'm getting through to him. Plus, I'm worried that I'm teaching him that barking is what gets my attention and starts the treat process.

This morning as I was going through the routine, a pick-up truck pulls into the drive. So then he goes into 'alert, someone is here' mode. I'm don't mind that he alerts me to someone arriving but it just takes me that much longer to calm him down.

I guess I just get overwhelmed with it at times. Thanks for letting me vent. He just brought me a toy so I guess he wants to make amends LOL

Better go