Hunny

Thanks everyone :) Danny's Darling...she certainly is no shrinking violet! :laugh: She does bark a lot, but she does stop also. From what I can gather from the neighbours, she doesn't bark at all really during the day when we are not here..I thinks she spends all day sleeping and conserving her energy for when we are home! She sleeps at night in the laundry. She used to be able to go in and out to the garden as well, but we've stopped that after she'd go out and bark for awhile, then come back in for a bit..go back out and bark a bit more...etc etc....when it was time to get up, our eyes were hanging out of our heads and she's be snoring her head off. She barks mostly in the morning at the walkers, neighbours moving about, everyones cats....and in the evening for the same reason. If we are out in the paddock, and people are walking past, she will stand and shout at them. She can get pretty vocal about it all. If she barks continually, we put her inside the laundry for a short while and she is fine then.

Thank you for your lovely replies. I've not had any complaints from neighbours, I do check with closest ones to make sure they are not getting annoyed. I've never had a dog that has barked so much before and it's the only thing that that bothers me...it's probably just me and the OH that worry about it though. She does have quite strong opinions! :)

Our 3 year old labby loves to bark. She will bark for attention (although is not so bad with that anymore) will bark when she see's people walking past, can see the neighbours, the neighbour's cats, birds, horses being ridden, when it's windy, when the leaves flutter on trees, she will often sit out on her bed on the verandah and throw out a bark here and there at the sky I am sure, she will bark at nothing much in particular. She is a very happy and extremely socialable dog. She loves going to the kennels when we go away, and the kennel owner said she is the first one to bark when he is around. She is a gorgeous dog but she just loves the sound of her own voice. I've been told about vibration dog collars. Are they good? Or a big no-no??? Thank you. :-)

Thank you! I am feeling quite reassured. :-) My last dog was always at 'Grandma and Grandad's when we had to go away but our young lab is just a tad too much of a handful still, and she does like the sound of her own voice as well. She get's to take her own toys to the kennel and in the past they put out extra water for her, on account of her liking to 'swim' in her water bowl too.

We have to go overseas for a couple of weeks soon, and as our labby is a bit too full on for my parents to look after, we are going to leave her out the local kennels. She has been there before but just for a couple of days at a time. I do like the kennels, the people are nice and it's lovely and clean, with grass runs. But I just feel horrible leaving her for so long. Can someone tell me they have done this and survived please!! :-)

That would be a nice thing to do ann21. :) Especially if she might be feeling embarrassed for having asked in the first place, if she is anything like me, it would take a bit of working up to do! :)

I got a 13 year old Staffy out the pound a few years ago, I took one look at her photo and said she was coming home with me. She was so overweight, a bit deaf, a bit blind, had the weirdest bark... but such a sweet soul. The owners had left her and another dog with a friend and just never came back, as she couldn't keep them, they ended up at the pound. The other dog was a young springer spaniel and was snapped up right away..but nobody wanted an old staffy. I thought she wouldn't last more than 6 months, and thought I'm make them happy for her.. but our dear old Rosebud got to 16 years old before eventually being PTS. She loved kids, but used to take on the horses..even though she could hardly see them!

Hi Persephone, I just wasn't sure if it was normal or common, having never come across it before.....so just making sure! :)

Thank you everyone! :) You have all been very helpful, and I feel quite relieved now. I am fairly sure there is no soreness issue (my biggest worry)as she trots when we are out in the paddock or when she is more 'relaxed' on our walks. Last night she only paced when she wanted to stop to go to the toilet, and then again when there was a dog on the side of the road and she got excited about it. The rest of the time she trotted along quite happily. It was a bit warmer than usual too, so perhaps not so energetic either!! :)

Our labby (about 20 months) will pace when I take her out walking. It seems to be more so when she needs to go to the toilet (is always better after she's been), or when she is strong/excited/focused on something else. About half way through our walk when she is more settled, she seems to be okay just trotting again. When she paces, I make her sit and start off again in a trot but it might be only a few strides before she switches back. Also tried various speeds but she can pace slow and fast! Being a labby, I am aware of the joint issues they can have. She does come from parents with excellent hip,elbow scores and we do keep her weight within a good range. So I am really hoping the pacing isn't anything to do with joints. Any ideas about this please? Is it common?? Thanks! :)

Great idea about the paint Teela! We were wondering how to flag the driveway..but this could be the way to go. :)

We are looking to get one for our place, and there are so many types out there that I'd love to hear from people who actually use them. :) We live on 2 acres, in a horse area. We have horses, neighbours have horses, all our horse yards join up along one of our boundary fences, we have a communal driveway with our neighbour, and there is a bridlepath on the other side of it, a busy road in front....it's impossible to totally fence off our property. Tilly,our 12 month labbie, has a big backgarden that she is in when we are not home, but it would be nice to have her out with us when we are pottering about the property, down at the stables etc without having to worry too much about her going off and having fun somewhere else. (At the moment we have her on a long tether when we are there, so she can be with us.)...so any information would be greatly appreciated before I decide which one to get. :)

Hmmmmmm.....70 views and no response, so I'll rephrase my question. :) Any advice on what to do, to discourage an 11 month labbie from barking at everything that moves and things that aren't really there? Or could this perhaps be a phase she is going through? We don't know whether to ignore the behavouir (and it keeps going on), distract (is this a reward for barking) or tell her off somehow.

Thank you Everyone!! I feel so much better hearing your stories, you have given me hope! :laugh: I like the idea of keeping her on a leash with new people around. It will be interesting as we've got friends coming to stay today with two boys, 14 and 12. They are busting to play with her and we're hoping they will all wear each other out. She really is such a good natured dog, but I must also stop comparing her to my old dog who really was so easy. Dog school starts soon (I keep her 'pass' in beginners on the fridge just to prove to everyone that she really has been!) so am looking forward to that. I use a choker collar on her, which I know some people don't agree with, but it seems to be the best way for us. I have tried the halti, with much embarrassement....she just kept laying down and expecting treats to get back up again.

I think the hardest thing I have found is that with my old dog, she was MY dog. My ex-husband didn't have much to do with her at all when it came to training, exercise, feeding etc. This time around my new hubby, well..he is a big softie. His family had working labs in England when he was growing up so it's a bit of a return to his childhood I think, having another one and he is the one that takes her out every day. He is perhaps not so strict or consistent with her though. We use treats to get her to return "stolen items" which she is happy to do, once she's finished running about having a fine old time. We say "Ta" and she will drop it for us and we reward her..... but time to be more consistent and stricted about her training. Nothing worse than doggy with no manners! :)