A week or so ago, construction started in the field across from our house. For as long as we’ve lived here, it’s been a lovely, open field where deer frolic and coyotes scream their faces off at night. Well, it was sold to a developer, so they’re putting a road through the middle and houses along that road. They started with the road, which has given us ample (AMPLE) opportunity to work on Cooper’s “alarm barking.”
This is what it looked like out my bedroom window when I woke up this morning. BEFORE 8 am. Sigh.
All day long (even on the weekend), there are workers coming and going, city utility trucks parking on the road, tons of heavy machinery running nonstop, and dump trucks. Oh, the dump trucks. Bringing loads of rock and whatever materials it takes to build a road. It’s loud. It’s really loud. And it’s all day long. Which, whatever, that’s the reality of it. I get that. But Cooper’s barking… whooo, boy. Also all day long. Also really loud.
In my attempt to look at the brightside of this situation, I’ve decided to use the commotion across the way as an ongoing training opportunity. We’ve ignored Cooper’s barking for a long time – until we can’t take it anymore and snap, “Cooper! Shut UP!” So, with this situation, we’re going to be productive!
I started training an “enough” command a long while ago, but we haven’t been consistent. At all. So I’m starting that up again. Basically, when he gets going and I say, “Copper, enough,” that’s his cue to run over to me, sit, and collect his treat. However, since we’re in the early stages, that only works if I can catch him before he completely loses himself. If I miss that moment, I’m going back to the “face-full of treats” method where I toss a whole face-full of treats in his general direction to break him out of that blacked-out barking frenzy. Once he snaps out of it, I call him to me and ask for a “sit” or “touch” or something easy to keep him calm.
Ideally, I’ll be able to phase out the “face-full” bit and rely solely on “enough.”
I was reading some articles about this yesterday, and I came across this one. It’s more about barking at the door, but it’s the same set of skills. This sentence really hit home for me:
Choose a verbal cue like “That’s enough” or “No bark”. Use a firm voice rather than a loud one. Eileen uses a simple, “Thank you, good dog.” That says to the dog, “Stand down while I check the threat level.” He then knows the two of you are working as a team and the responsibility is not all on him.
I do think that’s how he thinks of it. He is taking on that responsibility (even if it’s invented in his head). But, you know, back to that brightside, we now have about a year’s worth of distractions right in front of our house to keep working on and reinforcing these skills!
Do you have a barker? Have you tips or techniques worked for you?
Graham has similar, but nowhere as intense, problems with the normal comings and goings of the neighbors, as well as joining in with the local dog chorus. I’ll give him a “leave it,” call him over, give him some praise and pets (he’s not very food motivated,) and then let him go about his business; which is usually right back at the window ready to bark. Rinse and Repeat. I think if I left him to his own devices he’d be an insufferable barker, but with this work he’s a small dog I can live with.
Juli is a barker, I believe because he used to be an outside dog. He alerts us to everything and also barks at people who don’t come rushing up to see him.
I’ve been trying to redirect him, but haven’t found a good method. He is super picky about treats and not very food motivated anymore.
Oh, how sad about that land being destroyed. But, I get it. That is life. Looks like it was a good place for walking dogs though 🙁
I bet you will make a lot of progress with Cooper very quickly. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Ace isn’t much of a barker, so when he does bark I’m not very good at getting him to settle. I use “quiet” but he doesn’t listen to me so I also go the treat route and then reward him for lying down quietly.
Because our Coopef is disabled he gets bored easily. Whenever there is activity in the neighborhood (daily!) he barks incessantly reactive barking. We also yell “Cooper, shut UP!” (Not kidding lol). Someone suggested that I whisper. Guess what? It sort if works! If I whisper the same phrase, or anything, he stops. It’s not perfect but it works some of the time. Who knew?!
I have three barkers. I sometimes want to scream.
What worked for me? Prozac. I didn’t put Silas on the Prozac because he barked all the time, but it was such an amazing fringe benefit. Now he only barks when he hears another dog barking or when he hears a delivery truck idling outside. (Plus non-sound reasons). And the less he practices barking, the less he does it. I’m not sure he could handle road construction equipment, though.
The behaviorist told me that barking is almost impossible to really solve, because dogs bark for so many reasons. If you think it’s a stimulus that needs to be counter conditioned, but it’s actually excitement, you’ll make it worse. Or, as you counter condition, you’ll flip over into rewarding the barking, which (unlike rewarding fear) is quite possible. I think you’re savvy enough to tell the difference. I also felt like *I* was savvy enough to tell the difference. I still found it impossible to stop, mostly because the timing is so complicated.
Gee, that wasn’t a very hopeful and cheerful comment, was it? How about sympathy? I can do that.
Ugh, that is no fun, and who knows how long that construction could go on for! Leave it to you to try to make the best you can out of the situation though, Maggie!
Luke is turning out to be a barker, so these are great ideas so that we can hopefully curb it before it gets really bad. I don’t mind him being a good “watch dog” and letting us know when someone’s here, but we just want to be sure it doesn’t go on and on and on.