Dog thread!🐾

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm trying something different with Luna. Yesterday the plumber (who is obviously a dog lover) was over and, of course, all Luna wanted to do is bark in his face. Instead of telling her "no" and getting her to back off, I tried bringing Luna near him and giving treats and having her do tricks to make her associate visitors with treats. I'm not sure it made a difference...it definitely quiets her down in the moment and keeps us in a better mood, but that's it. If I stopped she went right back to barking and growling in his face with her hackles raised, especially if he paid any attention to her or carried something large. The plumber was like, "she knows she gets treats for barking!" Should I continue with this method and see if there is an improvement or try something different? By now barking at people (including people she knows and plays with) is a habit for Luna.

Personally if she doesn't know how to go to her "place", I would teach that to her. Back her off the spot she wants to be in and claim that area. She has to go and relax where you want her to be. Giving her treats while in an excited state will just reinforce that. This kind of stuff is where I like Cesar Milan. Dogs need to learn to be calm, and to relax. I think Victoria Stillwell teaches it too.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Personally if she doesn't know how to go to her "place", I would teach that to her. Back her off the spot she wants to be in and claim that area. She has to go and relax where you want her to be. Giving her treats while in an excited state will just reinforce that. This kind of stuff is where I like Cesar Milan. Dogs need to learn to be calm, and to relax. I think Victoria Stillwell teaches it too.

I've seen this method, but I don't think it will help achieve what I want to achieve. If I tell her to go to her place she will just bark from her place and probably bark more because she isn't allowed to meet the visitor. I want her to learn that if I and Dorie are comfortable around the visitor Luna can be too. Is that too much to ask?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've seen this method, but I don't think it will help achieve what I want to achieve. If I tell her to go to her place she will just bark from her place and probably bark more because she isn't allowed to meet the visitor. I want her to learn that if I and Dorie are comfortable around the visitor Luna can be too. Is that too much to ask?

I don't work on my dogs meeting visitors, I work on them tolerating them and behaving, so we have different goals I guess. When people visit I want mine to go lay down, and be calm. Not all dogs like meeting people. Some prefer to be left alone by strangers. I prefer people visiting ignore my dogs, at least until the dogs have calmed down. It only creates more chaos if I try to introduce them.

I have some that are respectful to people and some that no one wants to meet. So they are all different, and sometimes you gotta find what works best for each dog.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I don't work on my dogs meeting visitors, I work on them tolerating them and behaving, so we have different goals I guess. When people visit I want mine to go lay down, and be calm. Not all dogs like meeting people. Some prefer to be left alone by strangers. I prefer people visiting ignore my dogs, at least until the dogs have calmed down. It only creates more chaos if I try to introduce them.

I have some that are respectful to people and some that no one wants to meet. So they are all different, and sometimes you gotta find what works best for each dog.

My goal is not necessarily that she meets the visitor. Meeting the visitor just calms her down a lot more since she knows who is in the house. She is always curious when people come and wants to sniff them, but she often ends up scaring them and herself doing so. So maybe I should have her sniff them then send her to her place.

I just did some training with her and she did well. A sibling of mine agreed to help train her to be calm around people running, being loud, and carrying large noisy things. He even ran towards her with a huge duffle bag and she didn't bark which surprised me. I also had her lie down on her bed when my dad arrived and she stayed still and quiet. The hardest part for me when training Luna is finding people who are willing to help so this was a win!

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I can't answer on this one because Tucker goes to his kennel in a seperate room when someone comes. He does bark but its muffled.
Denver also goes to her kennel depending on who the person is.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My goal is not necessarily that she meets the visitor. Meeting the visitor just calms her down a lot more since she knows who is in the house. She is always curious when people come and wants to sniff them, but she often ends up scaring them and herself doing so. So maybe I should have her sniff them then send her to her place.

I just did some training with her and she did well. A sibling of mine agreed to help train her to be calm around people running, being loud, and carrying large noisy things. He even ran towards her with a huge duffle bag and she didn't bark which surprised me. I also had her lie down on her bed when my dad arrived and she stayed still and quiet. The hardest part for me when training Luna is finding people who are willing to help so this was a win!

Hopefully with enough repetition she can remain more calm. I sometimes don't mind a bit of protective behavior especially when strangers are around, and I'm home alone.

 

[Squawkers]

I think the best thing is to teach her a command for being quiet (as well as sending her to her place) and then enforcing it. I tell Chase “no more” when I want him to stop barking and he knows the command very well. No matter now nervous he is he knows I expect him to be quiet when I tell him to and he does. Would Luna do well with that? With sending her to her place and then telling her to be quiet? I’m not saying this is an easy fix, it took Chase probably a year to reliably be quiet under 99% of circumstances (he sometimes still presses further with barking)

 

[StinkyAcres]

I think the best thing is to teach her a command for being quiet (as well as sending her to her place) and then enforcing it. I tell Chase “no more” when I want him to stop barking and he knows the command very well. No matter now nervous he is he knows I expect him to be quiet when I tell him to and he does. Would Luna do well with that? With sending her to her place and then telling her to be quiet? I’m not saying this is an easy fix, it took Chase probably a year to reliably be quiet under 99% of circumstances (he sometimes still presses further with barking)

Yes, she does know to stop barking on command but in certain situations will only stop for a little while before I have to tell her to be quiet again. I used "Leave it" today after sending her to her bed and it seemed to work to keep her from barking for the most part.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Hopefully with enough repetition she can remain more calm. I sometimes don't mind a bit of protective behavior especially when strangers are around, and I'm home alone.

Yeah, hopefully I can be consistent and have reliable help. As always, thank you for the advice and ideas.

 

[Squawkers]

Yes, she does know to stop barking on command but in certain situations will only stop for a little while before I have to tell her to be quiet again. I used "Leave it" today after sending her to her bed and it seemed to work to keep her from barking for the most part.

I think that’s where you need to focus then. If she knows the command then maybe focus on enforcing that. If Chase barks again after I tell him to stop, I stop what I’m doing to make sure he knows that isn’t acceptable. If I know I am going to be to busy or preoccupied then I put him in the other room because I think it is more important that I focus on making sure he behaves than having him in the room with me.