Barking Problem

[kayla1]

I've recently gone from a one dog household to a three dog household with the introduction of my first two little foster dogs. Things have gone fairly smoothly but my own dog Kayla (lab x bc) has become very vocal! When the two little fosters play together Kayla starts with the barking - unfortunately it's a loud ear-splitting barking. It's not an excited bark (which is higher pitched) so I think it's either attention seeking barking or related to herding behaviour.

So my question is how can I reduce this type of barking? I reward quiet behaviour, and try to distract her when she starts to bark - I've tried different words like 'enough', 'ah ah', loud noises etc but it doesn't seem to be helping - she just starts up again. Once the two little dogs settle down she is fine, no barking. Help...my ears are hurting!!!

[Erny]

It is a difficult one when dogs vocalise during play. Have you tried stopping the play the second your lab x bc vocalises? It will take a while and you'll need to be consistent.

ETA: Re-reading ..... I'm now not sure if you mean your lab x bc barks when she is watching the other two play, or when she is joining in with them in play.

Edited December 22, 2007 by Erny

[kayla1]

Both really Erny - when she is playing she barks excitedly, but the problem is really when she is watching them play she just barks loudly. When I stop the two little ones playing, she stops barking - but the little ones love to play! I should have mentioned that this is the first time that Kayla has really played with other dogs rather than just trying to round them up. She came from a shelter about 18 months ago and I don't know her history before that.

[Erny]

Try removing her from "watching" or "playing" when she begins to vocalise.

By stopping the other two from playing you are removing the "trigger" but not addressing the "behaviour".

Have you tried teaching "speak" and "quiet"? If she knows this, you can give her the "quiet" command when she first barks and remove her from watching or playing if she barks beyond that.

Problem with either of these is that you do need to be around to apply it.

Edited December 22, 2007 by Erny

[Kavik]

Zoe also barks when Diesel and Kaos are playing - I call it the fun police :rolleyes: Normally I just put her away or try to distract her (management I know, not really fixing the problem ). I do have to keep an eye on her when she does this as she is dog aggro, and while fine with the other two normally, can get a bit riled up if they are playing roughly. She has a good recall and I can recall her away from the situation.

[Erny]

My sister's dog (a Beardie) does this also. When I dog sit for her, I give Monty a ball to hold (which he loves to do). If he can bark at all, it is somewhat muffled :rolleyes:.

[kayla1]

Thanks for your comments! :rolleyes: Erny, yes I have taught her to speak on command but am having problems with 'quiet' - I don't know, maybe my timing is out when I say 'quiet' and then 'yes' and reward. I'll try removing her if she doesn't settle after I say quiet.

Kavik, yes the fun police - that's exactly it! The rougher the two little ones play, the louder Kayla gets...

[Lablover]

I am lazy so another link, which may help.

Kayla, from your post above, I would be also a little concerned that multiple commands/cues are being ignored. How long have the two extra's been in residence?

http://www.sfspca.org/behavior/dog_library/barking.pdf

[kayla1]

Thanks Lablover. The first foster came about 5 weeks ago, the second came in a week ago. Both quite young so very playful. Yes she is ignoring the quiet command - though looking at that article it seems I may not have been teaching it correctly. I say quiet, yes and reward when she is quiet - but I haven't been increasing the duration of time up to about a minute. More practice for us I think!