YvonneM Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 I just wondered if anyone else has this problem and if so, how you handled it to bring it under control. Banjo is now 8 months and really quite a little treasure - we have joined our local kennel club and train at obedience each week. He is getting there slowly however my main purpose was to socialise him a little more with like indeed responsible dog owners. He is socialising quite well and is no longer nervous or "skittish" around other dogs - but humans - well that's quite another matter!! At obedience he is very good and will happily take pats from pretty much anyone but when at home and visitors come by he barks incessantly with no let up. Being a maltese, so a small dog, his bark is quite high pitched (and annoying!). We have tried several methods to try to curb this behaviour. Ignoring doesn't help - he will bark and then settle but as soon as visitor moves he is at it again. We have locked him outside but as he has a doggy door and is accustomed to letting himself in and out (made toilet training easier!) he practically tears at the door to get in as well as barking. We have also put him in his crate but this too makes no difference - and I really don't want to use his crate as a form of punishment. Any suggestions of anything else we can try? We had a tradesman here today to give a quiote on some work - he was here for about an hour and poor hubby missed half of what he had to say because he was outside trying to keep the dog quiet. Quite embarrassing really. Not to mention that neighbours must find it annoying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 (edited) Is he crate trained? I mean, as opposed to just putting him in his crate, is he actually crate trained? Edited November 4, 2013 by minimax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YvonneM Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 He goes to his crate if he is scared or unsure of something - I think he sees it as his safe place and is happy to go there to sleep - I will often find him there during the day snoozing. With this barking behaviour, I thought that perhaps he is "protecting his pack" which is why he doesn't go to his crate or stay there when encouraged to go - because he is not scared of the stranger. The only way he will go stay there is for him to be secured in - and then he still barks - although will settle after a while which is what he did a few weeks ago when we had someone here for several hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 (edited) Have you tried recruiting a friend to come over and sit and drink a cuppa while you pop him on his lead and do some at home obedience training practice with him? he's doing well at obedience and is comfortable there with strangers, by getting him to focus on you and learn to ignore the 'stranger' at home it might make him realise that you aren't worried about the stranger either so he doesn't need to be. If that works and he gets better about it over time with the on lead training at home then I would progress to doing training off the lead and finally with you sitting and talking to your guest while giving him quiet commands next to you to sit, etc. Edited November 4, 2013 by kelpiecuddles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YvonneM Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 That's a good idea kelpie cuddles - I have some friends coming over in 2 weeks that he has not met before. I have noticed he is more wound up with men than women - and these friends are a couple, so I will try that. I might arm the husband friend with a supply of his favourite treats - he will work for food, so it might be motivation for some obedient quiet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 What do you do with him when he finally settles & is quite Do you still ignore him or do you reward him & make a fuss with lots of good boys etc. Do some clicker training with him & each time he stops barking, click & treat ignoring him when he is barking then the split second he is quite, click & treat. Make sure you know how to use the clicker first & that he has been conditioned to it properly, so he knows the game. You can set this up with your friend & don't set him up to fail by having more than one person there at first...build on it gradually as you are having success. If you aren't sure how to use the clicker properly (& it must be used properly) then go to this link Getting started in Clicker Training :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YvonneM Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 When he finally settles and is quiet he gets praise and a treat, and as he is settled for longer, there is more praise. He is food motivated, but yesterday when we had the tradie there, there was pretty much no opportunity to treat/praise because he just barked continuously. In retrospect, and having thought about it and discussed it with hubby, if it is friends coming to visit, he will settle after a little bit - everyone relaxes, he relaxes and is not "on alert" and it seems he knows the visitors are not a threat to his pack. It is when someone unfamiliar comes - such as someone quoting work like yesterday, this fellow was a really tall, impressive looking fellow - perhaps he thought he was a threat?? I will look at the clicker link when I get home this afternoon. Would clicker training confuse him with the obedience training we are doing at our formal obedience training classes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 When he finally settles and is quiet he gets praise and a treat, and as he is settled for longer, there is more praise. He is food motivated, but yesterday when we had the tradie there, there was pretty much no opportunity to treat/praise because he just barked continuously. In retrospect, and having thought about it and discussed it with hubby, if it is friends coming to visit, he will settle after a little bit - everyone relaxes, he relaxes and is not "on alert" and it seems he knows the visitors are not a threat to his pack. It is when someone unfamiliar comes - such as someone quoting work like yesterday, this fellow was a really tall, impressive looking fellow - perhaps he thought he was a threat?? I will look at the clicker link when I get home this afternoon. Would clicker training confuse him with the obedience training we are doing at our formal obedience training classes? Definitely not...you can clicker train him to do obedience. Dogs that are taught behaviours using clicker training learn the behaviour up to 50% faster than other positive reinforcement methods & they NEVER forget. Besides it is lots of fun for you & your pup :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I wonder about your multiple uses of "protecting his pack". It's not his job to protect "the pack" - that's the boss' job. Alert barking when an intruder approaches/crosses the perimeter is normal for any dog regardless of it's 'status' - but once the intruder has been welcomed into the territory by the boss all underlings should accept this. I think you may need to work on his perception of his job and your job :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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