colliepaws Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 My 15 week old rough collie puppy has decided to start barking for attention. Usually what he does is looks directly at me when he evidently thinks that I should be playing with him or cuddling him and he will just start up barking really loudly. It sounds like he’s yelling at me! He also barks this way at my older dog to either get her to move or to play with him (unfortunately she generally obliges so she’s no help there! ) and he’ll also bark at my cats to try and get them to run so he can chase them and play. Something that I think may have started this behaviour is that he is a ‘talky’ kind of pup who likes to grizzle and grunt and make all sorts of funny noises when getting cuddles and attention. I love his talky noises but when I take him to the beach he often escalates these noises into barks to get people’s attention. Unfortunately he is a very charming puppy so people generally react by saying ‘oh, hello there!’ when he barks and then proceed to pat him. Should I tell people not to pat him if he’s barking? He is generally a quiet dog otherwise. He doesn’t alert bark (not yet anyway) or bark in the backyard when alone. He doesn’t whine or bark or make any fuss when shut out of areas of the house. He currently has run of half the house when me and my OH are at work and we sometimes close him up in that area when we’re having dinner to keep him out of the way. He never barks at these times he just does his own thing or settles down and naps. Currently I am just ignoring him completely when he’s barking (not easy because he’s very persistent) and then waiting and waiting until he eventually gives up and lies down. Once he’s lying down and quiet I praise and give him attention. However, usually while I’m giving him attention he’ll start up with barking again! Sometimes I think he just likes letting out these really loud barks just to see me flinch! He really does have an ear piercing bark. If anyone has any suggestions or has been through something similar with their pup I would love to hear what worked for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelpie_Pup Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Firstly, god on you for ignoring the barking.. not easy sometimes! As for when he barks at you after praising him for being quiet, a loud, stern sharp "UGH UGH!!" and walking away might help.. to try at least. The aim is for him to learn that barking like that, whether you're 10m away or 1m away, will result in you ignoring him. Whatever you decide to try, make sure you stick to it few good few days at least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmc Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Hey there FluffyPaws - My 11 week girl does exactly the same thing, and it is LOUD. I have found that the most consistent advice from DOL'ers has been to completely ignore her (turn your back, leave the room) and at first (24 hours) she was worse, but now she has vastly improved. Give it a go. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colliepaws Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 Thanks for the replies. :rolleyes: No improvement yet but I'll hang in there and try and be really consistent with ignoring him when he barks and hopefully he'll get the message soon.....Maybe I should invest in some ear plugs in the meantime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charli73 Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 You should be able to tell whether pup is alert or attention barking.. With attention barking our GSD used to do it when we wouldnt come outside and play so I just closed the door, closed the curtains and let her have a tanty.... When she was quiet for a bit i opened the curtains and she soon learnt barking wouldnt get me to play with her... I also made sure I told the neighbours that she was going through a barking stage and that I was ignoring for a reason and they understood completely that i wasnt being ignorant on purpose... best of luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colliepaws Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Luka is definitely an attention barker and isn't alert barking...he hasn't ever alert barked at anything yet. I'm slowing seeing some improvement with him....The consistent ignoring is gradually getting through to him. I used to try and praise him if he stopped barking and was quiet for 5-10 seconds but more often than not that just ended up with him letting out another bark just when I'd say 'good boy'! Talk about timing.... Now I just completely ignore him until he has barked himself out and gives me this 'you are such a useless human!' look and goes and lies down in a huff. Then when he's been lying down and settled for a good couple of minutes I'll give him praise and attention to his hearts content.... It's funny how I really thought I was being consistent with him before but I was obviously sending him some mixed signals...now that his barking is getting absolutely no reaction at all he's definitely catching on. Thanks for the support everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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