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.