Puppy Barked At Me When Training

[aussielover]

I have had a few incidents with Mindy, nothing I would consider major, but slightly concerning.

The other day I was practicing puppy pushups with her which is basically just a sit/drop/sit/drop- repeated exercise when she started barking like she was irritated with this exercise. I was a little bit surprised at this behaviour but ignored her and continued the exercise which she then started barking the whole way through, but still actually doing what i asked of her. I waited until I got 2 sit/drops without a bark and then stopped the exercise and rewarded her. Was this the right thing to do?

When she was younger, she would also bark if she was asked to stop doing something naughty, or get down from the couch. She hasn't done this for a while now, but I am a little concerned about her becoming dominant.

I was told all her littermates are quite dominant dogs, with one even having to be rehomed due to this.

Is the barking something I should be concerned about? Or is it just her way of letting me know her displeasure? she actually does what she is told and this stage i don't feel there is any aggressive intent.

This is the first time she has done this during a training session and I have done several more training sessions since then without a problem.

Do you think this sort of behaviour is normal puppy behaviour or is it something I should raise with her trainer who i am seeing on wednesday?

[persephone]

Do you think this sort of behaviour is normal puppy behaviour

yes.

it is entirely normal for pups to yip/bark when excited or cheeky or whatever .

Whether it is acceptable/appropriate in a certain situation is another question. I am not there to see her body language ,or hear exactly what the noise was, so I have no real idea what she was expressing . By all means ask her trainer , and work with her as they advise .

Edited August 30, 2010 by persephone

[Adza]

Tahli will do the same if I tell her she can't come up on the lounge or something (only allowed when she is calm) but if she is excited she protests but then moves on just have to follow through and not give in.

She didn't do this straight away so maybe testing the boundaries.

[poodlefan]

Do you think this sort of behaviour is normal puppy behaviour

Perhaps for some pups, but by no means for all. None of my pups has ever done this.

It could have a range of causes including frustration, excitement etc. I would raise it with your trainer.

[Staranais]

My girl has done this before, in our case it was frustration. She really wanted what I had, but was not 100% clear on how to earn it yet, hence frustration and barking. Once she realised what I wanted from her, and she learned that the barking wouldn't earn the reward, it went away.

So in our case, it was a message I needed to simplify what I was asking from her, & reward her more often so she didn't get frustrated.

[aussielover]

My girl has done this before, in our case it was frustration. She really wanted what I had, but was not 100% clear on how to earn it yet, hence frustration and barking. Once she realised what I wanted from her, and she learned that the barking wouldn't earn the reward, it went away.

So in our case, it was a message I needed to simplify what I was asking from her, & reward her more often so she didn't get frustrated.

This could be the case.

I increased the number of sit/drops she had to do before she got the treat. She was ok for the first couple and then started barking, perhaps frustration?

[Aussienot]

Some dogs have a very low tolerance for repetition, so barking could have been in frustration, Hey, I've already sat and dropped, why do I have to do it again? While she is still young and learning self control, doing things once and doing a few different things quickly might imrove her enjoyment.

My dog Tarot will bark at me if I'm being boring and not training her. She'll get that crazy intense herding dog look in her eyes, lower her front end into a play bow, and bark. Ask her for a sit, a drop, a hand touch, or a jump into my arms and she's happy. She has me well trained.

[poodlefan]

This could be the case.

I increased the number of sit/drops she had to do before she got the treat. She was ok for the first couple and then started barking, perhaps frustration?

Possibly. What other markers and rewards (eg. praise) did you use to indicate she had done the right thing?

Edited August 30, 2010 by poodlefan

[aussielover]

This could be the case.

I increased the number of sit/drops she had to do before she got the treat. She was ok for the first couple and then started barking, perhaps frustration?

Possibly. What other markers and rewards (eg. praise) did you use to indicate she had done the right thing?

I used verbal praise. The exercise is repetitive and boring, but that is kind of the point? i think to test how responsive they are? she failed miserably then lol

[Staranais]

This could be the case.

I increased the number of sit/drops she had to do before she got the treat. She was ok for the first couple and then started barking, perhaps frustration?

Possibly. What other markers and rewards (eg. praise) did you use to indicate she had done the right thing?

I used verbal praise. The exercise is repetitive and boring, but that is kind of the point? i think to test how responsive they are? she failed miserably then lol

Why do you want obedience to be repetitive & boring? You've lost me there. Obedience should be fun for puppies!

[aussielover]

This could be the case.

I increased the number of sit/drops she had to do before she got the treat. She was ok for the first couple and then started barking, perhaps frustration?

Possibly. What other markers and rewards (eg. praise) did you use to indicate she had done the right thing?

I used verbal praise. The exercise is repetitive and boring, but that is kind of the point? i think to test how responsive they are? she failed miserably then lol

Why do you want obedience to be repetitive & boring? You've lost me there. Obedience should be fun for puppies!

I think it is to test how willing the dog is to work for you. I obviously pushed her too far though. She is fine during her normal training which is short and fun. I just thought i'd throw in this exercise that we did at puppy school one time.

[koalathebear]

A lot of the exercises during our obedience class could probably be boring for a puppy

For instance, sometimes we walk around in a circle for ages with the dog dropping/sitting every now and then. I've noticed that some dogs go a bit bonkers after a while. Elbie's fine with those ones but he will yip and honk a bit if it's one of those exercises where each dog has to do the exercise one at a time and he is left waiting too long after he's had his turn.

I suppose as a future guide-dog poor Mindy is going to have to learn to cope with boredom one day ... One of my classmates during law school relied on a lovely dog named Bubbles and she would sit through lectures that would sometimes be 2 hours long. Some of the exams we did were 3-4 hours long as well and poor Bubbles had to learn how to just sit there patiently.

Elbie doesn't bark during training but he does honk a bit if he's frustrated because he can't understand what we want him to do :D Then he'll go into a frenzy delivering up all of his tricks in a vain attempt to give us the 'right' one

Edited August 30, 2010 by koalathebear

[Dogsfevr]

Why do you want obedience to be repetitive & boring? You've lost me there. Obedience should be fun for puppies!

I think it is to test how willing the dog is to work for you. I obviously pushed her too far though. She is fine during her normal training which is short and fun. I just thought i'd throw in this exercise that we did at puppy school one time.

This dog is a puppy & like the above poster training shouldn't be repetitive & boring.

I would never push a puppy to see how willing in this fashion when it is working well already.

So many dogs go stale through lack of enjoyment & people simply ruin there willingness to work .

[lovemesideways]

I have had a few incidents with Mindy, nothing I would consider major, but slightly concerning.

The other day I was practicing puppy pushups with her which is basically just a sit/drop/sit/drop- repeated exercise when she started barking like she was irritated with this exercise. I was a little bit surprised at this behaviour but ignored her and continued the exercise which she then started barking the whole way through, but still actually doing what i asked of her. I waited until I got 2 sit/drops without a bark and then stopped the exercise and rewarded her. Was this the right thing to do?

When she was younger, she would also bark if she was asked to stop doing something naughty, or get down from the couch. She hasn't done this for a while now, but I am a little concerned about her becoming dominant.

I was told all her littermates are quite dominant dogs, with one even having to be rehomed due to this.

Is the barking something I should be concerned about? Or is it just her way of letting me know her displeasure? she actually does what she is told and this stage i don't feel there is any aggressive intent.

This is the first time she has done this during a training session and I have done several more training sessions since then without a problem.

Do you think this sort of behaviour is normal puppy behaviour or is it something I should raise with her trainer who i am seeing on wednesday?

Sounds like she was trying to entertain herself during the boring exercise.

Don't think you need to be worried, she isn't suddenly showing her "dominance" by barking. Shes just barking, cause she is a smart, excitable Labrador puppy who was probably bored.

[aussielover]

A lot of the exercises during our obedience class could probably be boring for a puppy

For instance, sometimes we walk around in a circle for ages with the dog dropping/sitting every now and then. I've noticed that some dogs go a bit bonkers after a while. Elbie's fine with those ones but he will yip and honk a bit if it's one of those exercises where each dog has to do the exercise one at a time and he is left waiting too long after he's had his turn.

I suppose as a future guide-dog poor Mindy is going to have to learn to cope with boredom one day ... One of my classmates during law school relied on a lovely dog named Bubbles and she would sit through lectures that would sometimes be 2 hours long. Some of the exams we did were 3-4 hours long as well and poor Bubbles had to learn how to just sit there patiently. :D

Elbie doesn't bark during training but he does honk a bit if he's frustrated because he can't understand what we want him to do Then he'll go into a frenzy delivering up all of his tricks in a vain attempt to give us the 'right' one

Mindy does that too!

She is practising being bored at uni with me. She has to sit under my desk for 2 hrs at a time. She handles this very well and just goes to sleep or has a chew on her toys or chews.

[koalathebear]

Well she's lucky to be able to go to uni with you and I think you're doing really well with her.

_{I can't even begin to imagine Elbie sitting quietly at work here with me}

[mackenzie11]

i have been teaching my 10 week old puppy to sit and walk on the leash, i give her a treat for doing it right, but not always, as i don't want her to rely on getting a treat each time,

i alternate the treat with loads of praise, when i only give her loads of praise and no treat she barks at me and will go out to her food container where i get the treats from and scratches at it, as if to say " you ran out of treats they are in here" she is a cheeky puppy, but is learning really fast

good luck with it

[Genabee]

i have been teaching my 10 week old puppy to sit and walk on the leash, i give her a treat for doing it right, but not always, as i don't want her to rely on getting a treat each time,

i alternate the treat with loads of praise, when i only give her loads of praise and no treat she barks at me and will go out to her food container where i get the treats from and scratches at it, as if to say " you ran out of treats they are in here" she is a cheeky puppy, but is learning really fast

good luck with it

I have found that if I give a treat every time for something that she is learning new, with the 'older' tricks, I can just use praise and/or a pat. This has been effective for us, as I always throw in the 'old' tricks with the 'new' ones, so she still gets her treats, just not so many! I also time training with meal times, so I use her normal food (kibble) as treats. When you move on to the more difficult tasks of staying and dropping, you might have a defiant dog on your hands!

As Elbie does, Genevieve will now pull out all her tricks, in anticipation!!! It is pretty funny to watch as she throws her self on the floor, rolls over and then tries to do a high five while laying down!!!! And yes, she barks at me if I can't pick up the kibble fast enough! Just like she barks at me if I am reading my book or sitting on the couch trying to watch the news (maybe she is telling me I am boring? ), and haven't invited her up to join me (she sits and waits to be asked, transfering weight from one paw to the other! )

I wouldn't worry too much Aussie - sounds like she is being a teenager and pushing the boundaries a bit! She is giving you attitude, so give her a bit back!

[Max#1]

I also have a puppy that will bark when doing training...... It seems to be out of frustration - if we're not giving commands clearly or quickly enough. For attracting attention its usually to the toilet paper roll in the bathroom (do I have the Kleenex puppy?)! With the barking its almost like he's 'back-chatting' (ie 'yeah I get it - come on' or 'hurry up I'm ready' or 'what the hell do you want from me!' - which is funny in that it is cute enough - but obviously not a good habit to get into. If it gets too much, then the audible sighs, moans and honks come out. I never knew such a vocal dog! And check out the cheeky face we get!

[Genabee]

I also have a puppy that will bark when doing training...... It seems to be out of frustration - if we're not giving commands clearly or quickly enough. For attracting attention its usually to the toilet paper roll in the bathroom (do I have the Kleenex puppy?)! With the barking its almost like he's 'back-chatting' (ie 'yeah I get it - come on' or 'hurry up I'm ready' or 'what the hell do you want from me!' - which is funny in that it is cute enough - but obviously not a good habit to get into. If it gets too much, then the audible sighs, moans and honks come out. I never knew such a vocal dog! And check out the cheeky face we get!

He looks like Elbie's brother!!!!