Dog Barking At Noises

[Caitlin888]

Hi I really desperately need some tips on how to get my 5 month old puppy to stop barking at any little noise he hears outside. If he hears anything whether it be birds chirping or the lawn mower next door he starts barking. 

[RuralPug]

First you need to work out WHY he barks at every little noise.
Is it because he is in guardian mode and wants to alert you?
Is it because he is bored to tears and wants to go and investigate/play?
Is it because he is afraid and wants to be comforted?

The answer to changing his behaviour is best determined by knowing which of these is the cause. One thing that is common in all cases DON'T shout at him for barking because to him it will seem as though you are joining in and that will reinforce it. Make sure that everyone in the household is aware of that.

Is he purebred - if so, we might have some breeders here who can advise. If not, what type or cross is he do you think? Genetics does play a part in behaviour and it helps to get a sense of the type of behaviour that his ancestors may have been selected for.

 

[persephone]

Hi - 

some background info will help us  

Dog breed?
does he live indoors or out?
Did he come from a breeder?
What is he like when you are out walking him on leash? 
Are you home much? 
is your yard securely fenced , with no way to see anything ? 

[Caitlin888]

Hi Thanks For your advice. He is a cavoodle who has access to outside and inside at all times as we leave the back door open. Yes he came from a breeder. He is perfectly fine when walking on a leash and doesnt bark at anything on walks. We are home nearly all day and have a secured fence.

[Roova]

I agree with what has been noted above too.  All behaviour has a reason so if your dog is exhibiting a problem behaviour it's because it is fulfilling some need he has.  As RP mentioned he could be in defensive mode or maybe he has learnt he gets your attention by barking?  Something about barking is paying off for him to continue doing it.  

It could also be his secondary fear period kicking in making him extra sensitive to the goings on around him.

 

To help him break the habit of barking can you control his time in the yard?  It might be a bit simplified but you might have to go out with him and take some extra yummy treats cut up small and scatter handfuls on the ground. Make sure you take it in to account with his meals, or better yet feed all his meals this way.  Once he is happily searching for food and eating it outside  you could then split his meals and feed him each time you're out there and you hear a noise.  You would do this until you get to the point that he hears a noise and looks to you for food. Once he hasn't been barking outside for a good length of time (it could be a few weeks) there should be no reason he wouldn't be okay out there without you.

If its from boredom, it might be worth upping his mental enrichment so he doesn't try and make his own entertainment. You could feed his meal stuffed in a kong, kibble in an empty milk container,  newspaper scrunched around kibble then stuffed in a taped up box, kibble dropped in a pit of balls,a wading pool of sand for digging, treats stuffed under the sand to be found when digging, obedience or trick training etc.   Enrichment is great to keep active little minds busy and engaged.  Good luck, barking can be very worrysome because you just wait for a neighbour to complain!

 

[RuralPug]

Ok so he is a poodle X cavalier. Both of those breeds are quite intelligent, it is more than likely he has inherited the poodle need for stimulation and that is why he is barking. He needs to know that he will not be rewarded for barking (unless on command) - as it can be a self-rewarding behaviour, you will need to make a fair effort to overcome it.

I agree with mental enrichment suggestions that Roova has made above.
The suggestion to treat each time he doesn't bark at a noise is ideal but I know that it can be difficult to drop everything you are doing when he races outside - so you I would emphasise that while you are retraining him he doesn't have access to outside except when you or another family member are ready to react immediately.

You also have to be very careful NOT to let him think that he is being rewarded for barking. It may sound odd, but one of the best ways to stop unwanted barking is to train barking on command and act very offended (body language) if they bark without command. It soon gets to the stage where they won't "waste" a bark they won't get rewarded for.

Here is a simple step by step training plain you may wish to consider: Good luck and let us know how you go!

[karen15]

if my dog is outside and barks, it gets called inside. Funnily enough, now the westie is nearly two, he'll bark and bring himself in before I call him LOL I bring them inside as it breaks the link with whatever they are barking at and they learn if they want to play outside they have to be quiet.

 

the one thing I can't figure how to stop is his reaction to animals on tv. If there is an animal, but moreso a dog, on TV he growls till they go off scene. It's like he's telling it to get out of his house.

 

you do need to know when they are barking for a reason though. The westie gave a late night visitor (got a toy plane stuck on my unit roof) a right telling off for daring to touch mums house. The guy was rather bashful when I went to investigate.

 

another evening, mid night wee time, and the westie stood at the corner of the house barking. Would not come when called. Turned out he must have stood on a python when going out the pet door and there was no way he was coming back past it. Got him in another door and shooed the snake with a broom. It was climbing up to the roof but I didn't know if that was because it was cornered, so I shooed it out to the yard so it could decide where it wanted to go. A lovely 1m long python.

[persephone]

Poodle crosses  certainly do have the smarts ..and there can be noise as well ;)  They notice things !      

 

@Caitlin888  Just so you understand why we aren't using the label ....I've pasted one of the forum guidelines .
 

• Quote

  This site was created for pure bred dog discussion (ANKC recognised breeds)
  The primary purpose of this forum is to promote and discuss pure bred dogs (as recognised by the ANKC) so we ask you respect our aim when visiting here. If you own a cross breed dog, you are also welcome here, but we ask that you refer to it by its proper name (eg a pug-x or cavalier-x instead of the designer term 'pugalier').

   

Edited April 30, 2017 by persephone