Dog barking in the morning.

[persephone]

LOL... if it were my yard  ? get rid of the bark & stones .They can be very dangerous .been there, done that . Puppy enjoyment/enrichment would come first with me   ;) 

[Gwp_owner]

1 minute ago, KobiD said:

When she barks while you're away what kind of bark is it? Is she crying for attention? Playfully barking with her toys? Fearfully barking at things (or sounds) she is unsure of? Does she do this when you are inside and she is outside but you're still home? What does she have to keep herself occupied?

 

If she's focussed on the woodchips and you don't like that, there is another training opportunity. Take her out and teach her to redirect to something more appropriate. Remember her instincts are to hunt. Her following her nose and exploring is part of who she is at a subconscious level too.

 

She has balls, Kong filled with treats to work with and a hard textured toy that is scented with chicken that was recommended by a vet. 

 

Her barks are more yelp/bark/howl combo. Basically calling for her pack. 

 

At the min she doesn't do it whilst in the house crate and is pretty happy in there unless she needs a wee. Or in the shower haha but she is out now in the house during that time. 

 

But in the kennel as it's new she calls out. I imagine it's just a case of spending more time in it. 

 

 

[Gwp_owner]

4 minutes ago, persephone said:

LOL... if it were my yard  ? get rid of the bark & stones .They can be very dangerous .been there, done that . Puppy enjoyment/enrichment would come first with me   ;) 

Would be easy if it wasn't large plant beds and a driveway to a workshop. I currently rent so making major landscape changes is unfortunatly out of the question. 

[persephone]

renting makes everything more difficult  

[Gwp_owner]

1 minute ago, persephone said:

renting makes everything more difficult  

Yes it does. But most people can make it work. Until I find a decent plot of land in the area we like to build a house on, we are renting. 

 

[Rebanne]

16 minutes ago, Gwp_owner said:

I have spoken to her and before I got the pup I dropped a letter in my emidiate neibours letter boxes explaining that i was getting a dog and might be loud somtimes just to give them a friendly heads up. Which they loved.

 

She said it would be fine but was wondering if she was just being polite. 

 

She is outside at the mo running around. When I'm home she spends a lot of time outside with me or on her own for short times. Although she has lots of toys of various types.. hard/soft for teething. I think she just likes the texture of the bark. 

 

She will start living outside more now when I'm out from your advice. 

 

Did you make those dogs coats.. there great. 

Vary your toys, only give her (name?) a few each day and rotate then around. Mine love empty milk bottles, they also love digging holes! and that's the 4 year old As I currently have 3 they do help entertain each other. Try having her out more on her own when you are at home so you can monitor her noise levels. Trying to be a good neighbour sometimes makes it hard to also be a good dog owner. I bought the coats in the 1st pic, they didn't last long, and made the ones in the 2nd pic. We get minus 0 temps here quite often in winter

[The Spotted Devil]

So....from another perspective there’s no way I’d leave my high drive working Springers outside all day. Mainly because when these girls are on they are ON. They are bred to work all day every day and when left to their own devices they don’t rest but hunt. They can get a little OCD and it can turn into chasing lights and shadows very quickly if you don’t have an actual job for them to do. But leave them inside and they just chill and switch off. It’s so important for these hard going dogs to learn the OFF switch. The ON switch needs no encouragement  

[Gwp_owner]

1 minute ago, Rebanne said:

Vary your toys, only give her (name?) a few each day and rotate then around. Mine love empty milk bottles, they also love digging holes! and that's the 4 year old As I currently have 3 they do help entertain each other. Try having her out more on her own when you are at home so you can monitor her noise levels. Trying to be a good neighbour sometimes makes it hard to also be a good dog owner. I bought the coats in the 1st pic, they didn't last long, and made the ones in the 2nd pic. We get minus 0 temps here quite often in winter

She is going to go in this arvo while we work in the front yard so we can hear what she does. There is a fair distance between us so she wont be able to hear us. 

[Gwp_owner]

16 minutes ago, The Spotted Devil said:

So....from another perspective there’s no way I’d leave my high drive working Springers outside all day. Mainly because when these girls are on they are ON. They are bred to work all day every day and when left to their own devices they don’t rest but hunt. They can get a little OCD and it can turn into chasing lights and shadows very quickly if you don’t have an actual job for them to do. But leave them inside and they just chill and switch off. It’s so important for these hard going dogs to learn the OFF switch. The ON switch needs no encouragement  

This is very helpful. She is chill indoors and when outside her nose is down and basically leaps into bushes and hunts. I have noticed she sits and watches birds fly over. So possibly good sign for future endeavours that she is aware of flighting birds. 

 

I was in the yard last night with her, she was having a great time running a circuit around the yards and trees. You know that fast playful run! We then had a bit of a wrestle and then played a calmer game of fetch and return. Which she is fantastic at. Brings straight back to an open hand with out command.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2018 by Gwp_owner

[Gwp_owner]

This is Willow

 

My bearded lady. 

[The Spotted Devil]

Puppy zoomies are awesome. My Dalmatian still does them at 11.5 years old  

 

Definitely work on creating a balance. As much as there is nothing worse than a Gundog who gives up in the field, one that is not able to rest, take a drink and conserve energy when you stop for a break is equally bad. 

[Gwp_owner]

Puppy zoomies ha I like that. 

 

I'm hoping that calm will come soon. Everything is still so fun for her at the minute and eager to play. 

 

 

 

 

[Rebanne]

12 minutes ago, Gwp_owner said:

Puppy zoomies ha I like that. 

 

I'm hoping that calm will come soon. Everything is still so fun for her at the minute and eager to play. 

 

 

 

 

Calm will come soon enough! Enjoy the puppy madness while you have it. I've always said it is easier to calm down an over the top dog, then gee up the can't be bothered dog. Just as well my priorities changed when getting into the Greys

[Dogsfevr]

Depending on how big your workshop is set up for pup now.Many use set ups like this & you can use a pig lamp on a timer for warmth.
https://www.catch.com.au/product/12-panel-pet-enclosure-dog-run-70x120-h-cm-1124969/?st=2&sid=dog enclosures.
 

 

Also grooming wise have you started working on the coat .At this age you need to start working the coat to make sure the right texture & quality comes through & she gets use to it early

[Gwp_owner]

33 minutes ago, Dogsfevr said:

Depending on how big your workshop is set up for pup now.Many use set ups like this & you can use a pig lamp on a timer for warmth.
https://www.catch.com.au/product/12-panel-pet-enclosure-dog-run-70x120-h-cm-1124969/?st=2&sid=dog enclosures.
 

 

Also grooming wise have you started working on the coat .At this age you need to start working the coat to make sure the right texture & quality comes through & she gets use to it early

Yes I have looked into stripping and have started that recently. I know it's a very bad idea to actual cut / trim a GWP coat. 

 

Her face hair has come in lovely. Great side profile. 

[Katarinasmum]

That's a huge jump to go straight from recalling or following any commands for that matter at home to a dog park in one go especially if you go at peak times or even while another dog is close and paying attention to her. You can't expect that huge jump to be very successful. 

 

Start inside, the outside in your back yard, then outside in your front yard (especially if you live in a quiet street), THEN public spaces. 

Take her to a quiet park first, where maybe the odd person/dog/bike might go past every 5 minutes or so that DON'T come running up to her. Don't be scared to tell people they need to ignore her because you're in a training session *most* people understand especially other dog owners! When the person goes past, work hard for her attention, make yourself fun and exciting. Get her recall in a quiet public place first. 

Then a "medium" (maybe the beach or something where there might be a dog or two playing out in the distance and a couple people walking by but not too close) busy place. 

 

Then maybe the dog park at a super quiet time of day/week. 

 

And be smart about what you're asking. Don't set her up to fail. You know better than her whats happening so take advantage of that. We never call our girl if we don't think she'll hear us or if she's in the middle of playing in the beginning. Instead, go get her calmly and take her away from whatever caused her to stray. Boring. She wanted to play but didn't go the right way about it. So we make that BORING. Tell the person she ran up to, to ignore etc. We wait until we think she will listen and focus. Only now (almost 6 months old after training her recall successfully in different situations, moving slowly from 8 weeks old) has she started to "stop" something exciting to react to our recall. We don't expect it to be reliably "amazing" until she's a good year old, even though it is pretty good already.

 

And yes, a 4.5 month old puppy will probably ignore you and continue doing what they want on purpose. It's a 4.5 month old puppy. Just make sure you go through with your commands EVERY time. There is no such thing as "oh she didn't do it" and walking away. If you call her to come. She needs to come. Whether that means you coming over and guiding her to where you want her to be, or just being silly for 2 minutes straight until she FINALLY comes. Yep, I've found myself rolling on the ground making fart noises with my mouth (puppy hack trust me haha) on many occasions. Not following a command should not be an option, but you are the one who needs to do what you need to do to make it happen. 

 

Just remember - there are SO many people with ADULT dogs who don't have a solid recall. Give your puppy a break, she's a baby. Keep consistent, don't show frustration and make yourself FUN to come to!

 

GOOD LUCK! 

 

 

[KobiD]

You been having a win mate?