Change of tune!

My 30-month-old male dog started lunging and barking at some other dogs about six months ago. It is quite random so I never know when he is going to do it and it is hard to hold even in a front clip harness or head collar. The only thing I can think may have caused this was at about 18 months old he was chased, bowled over and bitten.

Before that he loved everyone - dogs and people! Having said that, he was always very respectful when approaching another dog even as a puppy. He was well socialized from a puppy and has never been frightened of vacuums, fireworks etc. But he now twitches when he is touched and I can no longer clip his nails, although he loves being groomed and stroked, when he realizes I am not going to do anything to him. He was also neutered at 10 months.

I take him to dog classes to rebuild his confidence with some lovely dogs and a good trainer, he does very well in class but if I try the advice outside in the real world it doesn’t work! He must give off a nervous vibe as, again quite randomly, some dogs will ignore my friends dogs and chase or snap at him, again I don’t know when this is going to happen, but if I see someone put their dog on a lead I take him out of harms way, but not everyone does.

Some advice I have been given is to get people to walk past at a distance, but he is fine with most dogs especially with my friends' dogs! I can’t go up to strangers and say, excuse me, can you walk your dog in front of my dog to see if he is scary! I take him to local fun dog shows and he is fine, happy to meet all the dogs and shows no sign of a problem, everyone there thinks he is lovely and he always wins rosettes.

If I see another dog on a walk and get him to sit and start feeding him treats, he gets agitated and starts looking around as if the treats are the trigger! I have started clicker training with him, he has taken to this well but this also doesn’t work in situ.

He is a very loving dog, amazing with children, obedient in the house, crate trained, clever, but, I am getting worn out and am constantly embarrassed and disheartened on walks. I try very hard not to tense up as I know I contribute to the tension!

Thanks    
Sandy, via email 

Neighbourhood watch

Hi,

My neighbours have complained to the council about my 12-year-old Lurcher dog barking in the morning. It is immediately prior to his walk and also just before he gets fed. I think it is just excitement as I follow a very strict routine as this time of the day and he knows exactly what is going to happen when. I will find it very hard to alter the routine as I have limited time available before I have to leave for work.

I have written to my neighbour to apologise and also contacted the council to explain my situation and I am trying to keep my dog quiet with limited success at the moment.

Please could anybody advise any ideas on how to prevent the barks?

Kind regards,

Sarah, Cheshire

Car palava

My puppy barks at cars. I think he is scared of them. How can I stop it?

Vikki, by email

Face to face

My Lurcher has recently started running up to other dogs on our walks and barking in their faces. It is highly embarrassing and not a good behaviour. How can I stop her from doing this?

She does need a certain amount of off-lead running each day, so I don’t want to confine her to lead-only walks forever, but at present I am faced with uncomfortable episodes when another dog appears from behind a tree. It doesn't happen with every dog, but it is happening too often.

Any advice you could give would be very much appreciated.
Maxine Dyer, by email

My Border's barking

Hello Think Tank,

This is a very recent problem that we have with our three-year-old Border Collie cross. It started whilst we were all on holiday last week and has continued at home. If my husband goes to get out of his chair, our dog goes mad and really barks excessively at him. I then have to shut him in the dining room for him to calm down, which he does do quite quickly.

He has done this to our house bunny when there is a sound in the house he doesn't like and as soon as he has reacted I have sent him to the dining room. His barking at our rabbit has been less and less to almost nothing because of this.

We are just a bit worried that he has now started this with a member of the family as apart from this he gets on well with all of us.

Hope you can help.

Julie Smith, Berkshire

Absence makes the dog howl louder

Hi,

I have two dogs Mum (Tally) aged 6 and her Son (Marley) aged 4.

I had a neighbour who said the dog howls a lot, and I thought it was strange because he hardly ever barks so I recorded him while I took his Mum out for a walk.

I can’t walk them both together because as everyone know Staffies are very strong.

Anyway to my amazement when I returned back I played the recording and there I heard the most heartfelt howling and whimpering, I was only gone for seven minutes, how can I prevent this?

He almost never barks or makes any noise when I’m there.

Kind regards,

Sy John Ewing, by email

Walking on eggshells

Hello Dogs Today,

I read your magazine regularly and would like some help with my Border Terrier, please. She is two years old and is a lovely companion.

The problem is when she is out on the lead for walks. She barks furiously at every dog she sees. Off lead on local pasture land she plays happily with other dogs and has good recall although, just recently she was playing with another cross-breed terrier and it developed into a fight and I don’t know which dog started it. Also, my dog started humping the other dog and I have never seen her do this before. 

When walking her on lead I try to distract her when I see another dog approaching. I ask her to look at me and offer her a treat and keep doing this until the other dog has got a good way past us. This is working if I see the other dog before mine spots it and also if the other dog does not pass too close to us, otherwise I have no chance of distracting mine and thus we have the furious barking and black looks from everyone around us including the other dog’s owner. Sometimes the other dog’s owner will laugh and say they understand. 

It is really hard work walking her out now. I have had Border Terriers before but not had this kind of behaviour to contend with. My husband often used to walk our dogs, too, but he passed away. I have got this Border after he passed and so I have brought her up on my own. I have been told by other dog owners and a vet that she is protecting me.

Please can you advise me because she is wearing me out and I am not as young as I was? If I had known what I know now I would maybe have got an older rescue dog but I thought, having had Borders before, I knew what I was getting and with rescues I maybe wouldn’t be too sure of their temperament and adaptability. I like that all my Borders have been bomb-proof and fearless but this one has gone a step too far for me.

Kind regards,

Libby Coles, by email

Answer in the sky?

I’ve been on a quest for an explanation for years as to why my crossbreed, Madi, barks and growls at the moon. Can anyone shed any light on it? She is at her most active when the moon is in the ‘waxing crescent’ phase.

I’d be fascinated if anyone could tell me why this is!

Claire Horton-Bussey, Dogs Today

Loud and clear

Please can anyone help?

I have two dogs who, while not being the most well trained dogs on the block, will come back when called and are fine around other dogs.

However I have recently gained a second hand Ray - too male to be a Rose - who was 18 months when I got him. He had never been allowed off a lead and had never been socialised with any other dog or many humans either. The excuse I was given was that his previous owners had taken him to a puppy socialisation class but he had been attacked by another dog so they never went back, and their answer was to not let him near other dogs, so now he thinks that all other dogs are frightening creatures that he must bark at to make them go away.

When I said I would be prepared to take him on I stressed it was subject to him getting on with my original two, and I agreed to meet on neutral territory and walk them all together to make sure they got on. However when the dog turned up - who has now been renamed Buddy - I was informed that this was the first time he had been in a car, this was all his stuff, good luck on the walk and they had to go.

It took us about three days before he stopped barking at the other two dogs indoors. Thank heavens for understanding neighbours. I called in a behaviourist who got us to join her class by at first walking him round the outside of the field that she was holding her training classes in and gradually moving him nearer until we were able to join the group, and he did calm down considerably but then she lost her training ground and gradually all Buddy’s old habits started creeping in.

After about three months I contacted another behaviourist who came out and walked Buddy with me and gave his recommendations, which were to take him to a park and let him 'bark it out' until he stops of his own accord and looks back at me and then to praise him. This trainer thought he would be bored of barking within two weeks. Unfortunately he never gets bored. I even enrolled him in a six week growl class which really doesn't seem to have done him much good back in the real world.

I now even have to take him out on his lead to go into the back garden as he barks out there. I still cannot walk him with my other two dogs and am at my wits end as to what I can do now with him.

Can anyone offer any help/suggestions?

Rebecca and Buddy, by email

Quiet as a mouse

Can anyone give some advice on barking, not excessive but lack of.

I have just acquired a Staffie, aged about four to five years, from the dog warden in Hampshire. She was found as a stray, and not much is known about her background, probably ill treatment. She has a wonderful disposition, clean, completely non-aggressive to people or other dogs, very affectionate and loving, walks well on lead; cannot fault her at all.

She was in the kennels probably for about a month and they never heard her bark. They thought maybe she had been ill treated. Perhaps she had been punished for barking. We have only had her for one week. She is quite relaxed and wagging her tail all the time but still not a sound comes from her. I recently heard about another Staffie, quite young who also couldn’t bark and made sort of grunting noises. they said it was probably a collapsed larynx. I spoke to someone else about it who has recently adopted a Labrador aged 13-14 who also doesn’t bark. I asked her, “what do you think is the reason”. She said often ageing or a paralysis of the larynx. Maybe it was caused by retrieving sticks or something stuck in the throat. So now I am thinking, in my dog’s case cannot be ageing so must be something else. My vet doesn’t think it is anything to worry about, not a health problem fit and healthy in every other way, but it would be nice to hear just a “woof” now and again.

Does anyone have any ideas or experience of this? Is there any remedy and could barking return?

Mrs V. J. Denton, by email

A not-so-warm welcome

Can anyone help with a really good method for training my dog to stop barking so much every time someone comes to the front door? My collie cross, Poppy, is seven years old and we’ve had her for four years. She’d been a stray. When she first arrived she never barked at the door, until she boarded with other dogs while we went on holiday and I assume she learnt this from the other dogs. I didn’t mind then, as she only gave a short warning bark, which was good as I often don’t hear the bell or knocking. But recently she has started really barking when someone comes to the door and it’s reached the point where I worry she’ll give herself a sore throat! As soon as the door is open she then stops and licks whoever it is; she is really a very friendly girl. She doesn't do this when she hears a car she knows, for example my husband's or children's. The only other time she barks is at squirrels who’ve dared to run up a tree, as opposed to allowing her to chase them, when we’re on a walk.

I don’t mind her giving a warning bark, but I want to control the level, and I want her to stop when I ask rather than when I open the door, as obviously some delivery drivers and other people who don’t know the dog beneath the bark are terrified by the noise she makes. She will do anything for food, so any methods based around treats would probably work really well, but is noise phobic and wasn't impressed when we attempted clicker training!

Thanks in advance for your help.

June Walker, by email

Karen Wild, behaviourist (www.karenwild.co.uk), advises...

Hi June

A bark can herald all sorts of things and it sounds like this is a habit that balances between the control you have and the self control your dog has, too. If she is happy and friendly when people are visible it may well be an alert/excited bark although dogs will bark for many reasons, including fear or frustration so it’s worth monitoring her to make sure this is the case.

My aim for dogs who bark for this reason is to give them a job to do that not only interrupts the barking, it gives them something useful and fun to do as well. This would be my choice rather than a ‘shh’. My preferred option would be to teach Poppy a ‘Go to your bed’ signal first of all, before anyone is at the door. This is a lot of fun! All you need is a favourite toy or a treat that you toss onto her bed (or a mat nearby if you would like a new place for her to go to). As she arrives, praise her and allow her the toy/treat whilst on her bed. Next, begin to give a ‘Go to your Bed’ command as she arrives, and gradually move away from the bed yourself, including a ‘point’ with your hand as you toss the treat or toy. This gradually builds up into a gesture from a distance (and a well targeted throw) which should have her happily racing to her new favourite place.

Teaching her a ‘stay’ whilst she is there is your next step of course. Once this is established, begin to make knocking or door bell noises very quietly and at the same time, give her the ‘Bed’ command. You can allow one or two barks, then the command. She has to run there from the door area so build up to this.

Eventually Poppy should be conditioned to hearing the doorbell or a knock, and diving on her bed in anticipation of a reward. Finally (as you can see this must be done in stages!) Poppy can wait there for a beloved visitor to come over and offer her treat, toy, or a bit of fuss whilst she is still on her bed.

All night long

Hi

My Border Collie has started to bark at night and do not know how to stop it.
 

I just wondered if you knew how to stop it?
 

Tamsin (age 11), by email

Going on record

I've seen articles in magazines where behaviourists have used recording equipment to see what is going on when owners are out. My video recorder only lasts for half an hour before dying, so can anyone tell me what they use and where I can buy/hire it?
My neighbour has just told me that one of my dogs is regularly barking when I am out, all is quiet when I return, and as I have four I really need to find out which and why, so I can address the problem before it becomes a complaint.
Any help would be appreciated.

Ann Button, by email

Manic Morph

I’d like some advice regarding my recent family addition; a two-year-old neutered male Border Collie called Morph, who’s been living with us for seven-and-a-half weeks. I know very little of his history as he was a stray.
We discovered he was microchipped, but when we spoke to the people he was registered with they told us they had lost him four months previously, had seen him walked by someone else and he looked so happy they didn’t want him back, which sounded a bit suspicious to me.
I decided to give him a trial and he hit it off with my Border Collie bitch, Ebony. It has become evident, however, that he has received very little training or stimulation of any sort. He pretty much has every problem an under-stimulated collie could have. He chases everything (including my cats), he stalks cars and sometimes he tries to catch them, throwing himself at them. Ebony also had this problem when we first bought her and I managed to stop it, but she was younger and a lot easier to hold on to than Morph!
He also takes food from the worktops and barks constantly when he’s in the car. I’ve tried a humane collar that shoots out air when he barks. It was fantastic at first, but then he discovered that it was just as fun to bark at the air coming out of the collar. When he’s not barking he’s licking the windows or grating his teeth on them. I don’t know whether this is because car journeys are stressful for him or whether it’s because he wants to chase the cars.
When excited, Morph tends to use us as springboards. He also fixes his sight on various things (quite often light bulbs) and just stares at them and jumps straight up at them. He also chases his tail; in fact he’s chewed the end of it off.
I love him to pieces and I know that he hasn’t been with us very long, but I’m wondering if I’ve taken on a dog that’s too much and if he would be better off with someone who had more time to devote directly to him. I’m self-employed and the dogs are with me as much as is possible. They also have a three-hour (minimum) walk each day.
I know he’ll be the most fantastic dog once he’s trained. I just want what’s best for him. I’d rather rehome him sooner or later if I have to, but directly, and not via a rescue centre. Is there any advice you can give me with his multitude of problems?
Amy Britcher, by email

First class

I have a 12-week-old German Shepherd puppy. I know how important it is to socialise her so I have been taking her out to familarise her with all the sights and sounds of the modern world. However, as soon as she sees another dog she starts to bark and jump about on her lead and it's very hard to calm her down. I would like to take her to puppy classes, but am afraid how she will react to a class full of strange dogs.
Mark Williams


It sounds to me as if your puppy is desperate to be allowed to play with other dogs! Has she been able to unteract with other dogs since you have had her? This is so important especially whilst she is under 14 weeks of age - a critical socialising time. Have you any friends who could bring their dog to visit you - or whom you could visit - in order to let your pup have some off-lead contact with another dog?
I have been running puppy classes for many years and have had many owners at class who were really concerned about letting their puppy loose when it seemed to be over-excited. The trainer running your local class will have seen this before as well. You will be amazed that when the lead is taken off the chances are that your pup will stop all the leaping and barking nonsense and start to greet the other pups calmly and probably quite tentatively. Being on the lead restricts the natural greeting behaviour of dogs and often results in what you are describing.
You do have a GSD, which is one of the noisiest breeds in my experience. They like to 'have the last word' and 'talk' back to you, which is part of the charm of the breed! But we do not want her barking constantly. Start to work on a 'Quietly' command. When she barks, decide how many barks are to be allowed - perhaps three woofs - and then hold a smelly food treat in front of her nose and say 'Quietly' whilst she sniffs the treat. Dogs can not bark and sniff at the same time, so sniffing interrupts the unwanted behaviour and gives you something to praise. I have found that it can help to make the point about being quiet by running your other hand gently down her throat whilst she is sniffing the treat. After about eight seconds let her have the treat. The eight second sniff means that she will associate the treat with being quiet rather then being rewarded for barking. Also start work on 'Sit' and practice it any time, any place, anywhere - in the lounge, in the kitchen, on the front path, on the pavement, at the gate of the park, on the grass in the park etc. Asking for a 'Sit' will help you control the leaping about.
Lynn Aitchison, Dogs Today Advisor

Absolutely barking

I have a 19 month old red and white male Border Collie. I know collies can be vocal but he seems to bark a lot - if someone comes in, down the stairs or maybe just for what seems like our attention.
I realize somewhere we have probably responded to his bark hence why he does it.
Also he gets noisy in the car, on the way home, after his run when he's tired.
If I am out walking with my friend with her Alsatian, who's not really dog- friendly (except with my boy) he will bark nine times out of 10 at another dog which he doesn't normaly do.
If I do street walking on lead, he will make strange noises all the way until we arrive back home. I have tried clicker training, discs and many other things to no avail.
I hope someone can help as its quite frustrating
Denise Nicol, by email

Having lived and worked with collies for umpteen years, I can assure you that your problem is really common and I can fully understand how annoying it can be.
You are right; collies can be very vocal dogs. They will often bark, yap, whine or whinge at seemingly the slightest excuse, but particularly when they are excited, anxious or frustrated. This all a part of their highly reactive and excitable nature as a breed.
If you are not careful, however, to nip this kind of behaviour in the bud as soon as it starts, with appropriate training it can soon turn into an incessant neurotic habit, or a highly manipulative device. Or both at the same time.
For example, frantic yapping/whining, just before a walk or meal, is not just excited anticipation, but also a way dogs pressurise their owners into doing something faster. They will often do the same thing when you stop on a walk, perhaps to talk to somebody, or when they want you to throw them a ball. It is pure attention seeking, and controlling behaviour, and you have to realise this and see it for what it is. Otherwise your dog ends up calling all the shots in your relationship and thereafter will become less and less responsive to your commands or authority.
In many dogs the yapping/whining problem gets out of control only because the owners do not handle it correctly. They either get irritated, exasperated or angry and start shouting, which usually makes the behaviour worse, or they are far too inconsistent in their approach, ie sometimes they correct their dog for this behaviour, and other times let him get away with it. Or they try this gadget or that gadget but don't use any of the properly.
When you say, for instance, that you have tried clicker and discs training, I am just wondering whether this was done under the supervision of a highly experienced dog trainer or behaviourist? If not, be aware that if such devices are not used in an expert and knowledgeble way, with total consistency, correct timing and some real understanding of how dogs learn, they will not work, and may even make some problems worse.
Similarly devices like water sprays, or remote control spray collars may work for some dogs in solving the yapping problem. Others, however, will only be temporarily deterred and then yap on regardless.
Ultimately, when it comes to over-excited or unruly behaviour in any dog, there is simply no substitute for calmer, more resolute authority from owners twinned with far better training. You need, for instance, to teach your collie how to 'stop' what he is doing (ie barking), 'watch you' and 'be quiet', as outlined below. In the car he needs to be taught how to be 'quiet', then 'lie down' and keep still and settle ('wait').
It is best to start such training with your dog on a long lead or training line. Begin with exercises like 'stop!' and 'watch me'. As your dog walks ahead a little, stop him suddenly on the line. As he actually stops, say 'stop!'. As soon as he looks at you, then say 'watch me'. Praise him well for this and give him a treat or toy to play with. Practice this religiously until you can get your dog to 'stop' by himself, at varying distances from you, on command, and also get him to 'watch' you on command, off the lead/line as well as on it.
Now try 'sit' and 'watch me'. Reward your dog for sitting and watching you on command. Then try 'down' and 'watch me'. Reward your dog for lying down and watching you on command. Next try 'sit' or 'down' and 'watch me' plus 'wait'. Make your dog sit or lie down and watch you, then keep prolonging the time that elapses before you reward him. While your dog stays still, waiting for a reward, say 'wait'.
Teach your dog to be 'quiet' on command. First get a tasty treat in your hand and deliberately encourage your dog to bark, or wait for him to do so. As he barks, say 'speak!' and praise him, then show him the treat. As he stops barking to get this, instantly say 'quiet!' and give him the treat. He will quickly learn what 'quiet' means.
Such exercises, if sufficiently well taught, give you the tools to keep your dog calmer/under better control in any variety of situations. You can use them individually, or strung together - ie stop-watch me-down-wait.
Remember to always make eye contact with your dog prior to giving him a command. Remember to always remain calm, but firm throughout this training. Do not get cross, irritated, impatient or try to wheedle or cajole your dog into doing things. He will either defy you or switch off. And NEVER be the first to give in. Keep relentlessly but calmly applying your commands until you get what you want from your dog, no matter how long this takes, then go overboard with praise and rewards when you finally do. The more persistent and determined you are from the start, the less and less resistance you should eventually get from your dog.
Collies can be strong-willed dogs, which means that your determination to over-rule your dog's behaviour has to be even stronger. I am also thinking that your friend's Alsatian is a particularly unhelpful role model for your dog and vice versa. Your friend could clearly do with some behavioural help herseld, and both your dogs would benefit far more from the company of calmer dogs to walk with. Is there any way you could arrange this? Perhaps a local dog training club could help?
Meanwhile I wish you all the best for a quieter life!
Carol Price, dog trainer and behaviourist