Bits on Barking: Personality Three....

The Multi-Dog Reactive Symphony!

 You know these dogs.  One barks at something, so the others sound off too.  Not really knowing exactly what the first guy is barking at.  Like a bunch of soldiers relaying a message from the lookout, your pack (be it two or 20) is now a cacophony of noise.  The followers may be joining the initial nonsense at whatever location he's chosen, or he may be wandering around just making noise every time the other one does.

You may have more than one "Sentry" who sounds off, but whatever the case, it seems if one barks, it sets them all off.  What the H do you do with that?! 

Well, you certainly can't yell at them to "shush" as this only conveys that barking is indeed what you want, because now you've joined in the bark with the dogs.

You could attempt using a disruptor of some kind.  Such as a squirt-bottle, or canned air hissers (the Pet Corrector, for instance) but that sort of thing has its drawbacks.  Some dogs actually like being sprayed in the face with water, or are unaffected by "scary" noises."  And you can easily build one of those obnoxious dogs that are "So good.  All I have to do is pick up the _____insert disruption device of choice here_____and she quiets right down."  The dog hasn't actually learned what not to bark at, but has a firm grasp of what happens when you brandish a "weapon."  And sure, if you try one of these, and love it, then fine, by all means, use it.  Just remember, you may not always have a bottle at hand.  There will be times you won't be anywhere close to a water bottle, or your little red can--yes, they do come with holster, so there's that...

Ok, let's say you've discovered the bottle works to disrupt the barking at your house.  If you want to instill an actual, long lasting lesson with it, you will need to be loaded.....With Treats!!  Getting a break in the noise is only the first step in curbing this habit.  As soon as you've sprayed the barker, and successfully silenced them, you absolutely MUST follow the quiet with a "Good, Quiet" as you reward your dogs. 

As you administer the "punishment" of the water pistol (ohhhh noooo, it's sooo awfullll!) you can say something simple, like "no" or "Enough," and follow it with your "good" or "thank you."

Remember what I said about a dog's need to be acknowledged for doing his job?  You will find faster success if you can first remember to thank your dog for a job well-done.  In my house, when the barking begins, you'll hear me say "Good Watching...Thank you...Enough."  The Big Guy is still struggling a bit, but that is because he is also a Fearful Barker.  We will talk about that personality later.

A dog who is told he is doing a good job when he warns you, is getting the praise he needs in order to more fully understand what you want when you do tell him to be quiet.  It is a dogs natural way to say "Hey!  There's something approaching!!! Rally the troops!!"  Sometimes, this vigilance gets out of hand, and when the whole pack joins in...wow...Rewarding dogs who quiet is where they learn what "Enough" really means.

Another way to quiet a multi-house, is to capitalize on jealousy.  Observe your dogs in these moments of barking, and see if you can figure out which one of them gets quiet first.  Once you have it pegged, he's your new Tool to teach the others to shush.  Make sure you have plenty of delicious rewards readily available, and either with, or without a disruptor, start doling out yummies the moment you get quiet out of one of them.  Continue to feed the one that shut up first small bits of delicious things, until the others notice.  It's sibling syndrome wielded with skill:
     "BARK BARK BARK BAR...waitaminnut...Is he eating over there?!  What the heck! I want some!"

 Most likely, your other dogs will catch on that Somebody is getting fed, and come over to see what's up.  When this happens, go ahead and give them a few pieces of food too, but not nearly as many as you gave your Tool Dog.  As you do, say something like "good" or "thank you"---this is becoming your Cue for the quiet.  As you repeat this practice, you may find that your mere presence causes them to stop barking and come looking for rewards.

Please Note:  If your dogs have ANY kind of food guarding/aggressions, DO NOT use food rewards when other dogs are present.  No need to put anyone in danger just for a moments peace.

My Tool dog used to be the Sentry.  He used to be the first to sound off all the time, (some days, I think now he only does it to get the other guy going so he can show off how good he's being...)  but he is also the one who quieted first.  The longer we practiced this, the shorter his outbursts became.  My dogs used to feed off each others excitement:
--Little Dog would alert and begin to bark.
--Big Dog would explode and run around looking for whatever he may be barking at.
--Little Dog would then be bolstered by Big Dogs chaos, and fly into a short-lived frenzy of high-pitched barks and whines.
--Big Dog continues to bark, still not really sure what he's barking at.
--Little Dog, being of superior intellect, suddenly notices there isn't anything real to bark at, and gets quiet.

It is in that moment where we doled out rewards to Little Dog.  After a few seconds, Big Dog would notice all the fuss being made over Little Dog.  "Oh Thank YOU! Enough.  Good Quiet!  Here's a snack!  Oh it's so delicious!  Here's another!  Thank you, Enough!"  Big Dog would race over---"Heeeey!  Where's mine?"  "oh! Thank you too!  Good Quiet!  Here you go!"

These days, it looks like this:
 --Regardless of who starts it, Little Dog sounds off a few times, then runs to me for his reward.  Should he think barking at the thing is actually worth barking at, I simply have to call out "Thank you, Enough" and he will cease and run to me for his reward.
--Big Dog will follow and almost race him to me, as he has learned that the dog who gets there first, will get an extra cookie.

What we've built is a couple of dogs who are learning to Self Correct their own noise.  Awesome. Which also means, now I have dogs I can pay in Praises more and more often than I dole out food.  More Awesome. 

Bits on Barking: Personality Two--The Easily Distracted Barker

Now, this guy may seem much like the Neurotic Noisemaker, but with this personality, there is an obvious cause.  The dog is triggered by a stimulus, barks for a short time (30 seconds - a minute approximately) and then quiets.  The quiet doesn't last.  Just as you think he's given it up, something else gets him going.  The stimulus could be as small and benign as a leaf blowing by, or he may actually see an approaching animal or human, but whatever he sees, he barks at.

 The trick with this kind of personality, is to realize that he is most likely an extremely nervous guy.  He is insecure and worried, and anxious all the time.  He is probably not getting enough physical exercise or mental stimulation.  He is high-strung, and now his alert, spastic little mind is directly connected to his vocalizations.

How many times in an hour do you think you "notice" something?  Doesn't matter what it is, think for a moment...............
Your Distracted Barker "notices" everything with his eyes and ears!  And when he does, consider him saying something like this:
"What Was That?!"
"Dis you guys hear That?!"
"Did you see THAT?!"
"HEY!! Over There! What IS That?!"


To him, everything is an event worth rallying the troops over, because everything he sees or hears gets us barking with him..."Hey! Shut UP!"  "Reggie! Quit IT!" "NO!!Bad Dog! SHHHHH!"  The fact that we are directing our negativity towards him, is none of his concern...We've noticed!  You have now acknowledged what he was barking at.  Good Job Reggie.  Carry on.

So, what do we do to help him?  Since yelling at him won't work, we need to take the edge off this dog's energy.  As you've probably guessed, he needs more exercise!!!!  More Play!!! More things that stimulate his mid to focus and to figure things out, instead of that simple animal reactive addiction to sound that he's built for himself.

1. Enroll this personality in a fun, fast moving class.  Agility or nosework are great for these guys.  If he's already got a pretty decent handle on obedience, look for a Rally Obedience class if you're up for a challenge---Waaaaay harder than "Sit," I can tell you that for sure.

St Bernard Agility!!! Yes!!! This makes me smile!!!

2. Teach him games like "Find It" or "Seek."  These are geared towards using his #1 sense:  His Nose.  Thus, the suggestion for a nosework class.  When a dog is sounding off, he is essentially reacting to what his eyes, or his ears, told him, and not using his nose to tell him if this is an actual threat or not.  His mind is far less focused.  The exception being scent hounds, which are bred to sound off as they track, but that is a different story.

3.  Reward your dog in moments of silence.  Catching those breaks in the vocals, and labeling them for your Distracted Barker is tough.  You may only have a few seconds of quiet at first, in which to stuff his face with something delicious, or give him his favorite toy.  Ultimately it is worth it to work through the frustration.  Find something he really likes, and using a cue such as "Quiet" or "Enough" (in a nice tone of voice) begin to build longer spaces of noiselessness. 
     It looks like this:

"BarkBarkBarkBarkBArk............" *suddenly, you stick a piece of chicken in his mouth in the small silence, saying "good Quiet" as you do.  Should he focus on you, without noise, continue to give him a few small bits of meat (cheese, treats, whatever he likes!) as you repeat "good, Quiet."  I actually use an entire short sentence for some dogs, as I would like them to pay attention to the sound of my voice:  "oh, thank you!  Quiet dogs get cheese!  good, quiet..." all the while, feeding them.

4.  Use a leash or long line (not a retractable for this exercise).  As with the Neurotic Noisemaker, you may need to "physically change" what he is doing, in order to calm the vocal storm.  Don't say anything to him as you pick up the line.  Ignore his barking as you begin to reel him in towards you in a steady pull--no jerking or yelling here, please; it won't work.
     The moment he gets quiet, drop the leash, say "good Quiet" or "Thank you, Enough" (as I do with my personal dogs) and throw him a piece of cheese, or a new squeaky toy, or something cool that you know will divert his attention from whatever he was initially focused on.
     Should he immediately go back to the bark, pick up the leash again, give it a tug, calmly say (not yell)  "no...quiet" and start to reel him back in.  Continue to reward every time you get that silence, and he will begin to quiet more quickly. 

 If you get the feeling that he is changing this game to "I bark.  When I bark, my person gives me food, so I'll bark more" ask for an additional behavior before giving out the food.  Try using "Watch Me" or " Down," provided your dog knows these things....He doesn't ?  Oh, well then I suggest looking up how to teach this, and get to it. :)
 
5.  As your dog becomes conditioned to your rewarding when he gets quiet, you can test his mind's new addiction.  When he goes off, try calling out "good Quiet" and see if he stops to turn to you for his reward.  If he does, Congratulations!!!! You have built an off-switch for your Distracted Barker!!!

     If he doesn't, that meant he needs more practice, and more help from you, and that long line.
This technique can be applied inside your house too.  Just use a shorter leash (6-8ft) and begin moving the dog through the house.