Puppy Barking

[Reddii]

Hey all,

CK went to his first obedience class last night (he is 16 weeks and missed out on Puppy Pre-school because we got him at 12 weeks). He was the STAR of the class. He is mat trained, can sit and shape a drop as well as focus on me and walks pretty well on a lead. All good you say.

There were 3 other older dogs in the class last night and two of the three were yappy swf's that both barked at him consistently through the lesson and the other was a sour cattle dog who growled and barked a couple of times.

CK wasn't concerned by all the commotion, but my one concern is that when we got home he heard another dog barking while he was eating and growled and then barked. I told him to be quiet and no more noise, then this morning he growled at another BC barking at him from behind a fence and did the barking with the food thing again when I fed him. Each time it was only one bark and a bit of a growl, but I don't want him to get in to the habit of thinking it is OK to bark at other dogs.

He is very well socialised and sits comfortably in his crate while our other BC does her agility class or has a run at fly ball. (he even has a bit of a run around with the other dogs to get used to the whole idea.) They don't bark unless they are playing in the back yard and then it is only the usual puppy playing type bark.

To date I've told him to be quiet and all has been fine, but if it continues I'll begin grabbing his snout and telling him that it is not on.

My question is this - do you think I'm over reacting given that he is such a well behaved young boy or should I really jump on this one before it gets out of hand.

Thanks in advance.

Tony

[macnme]

Hey all,

CK went to his first obedience class last night (he is 16 weeks and missed out on Puppy Pre-school because we got him at 12 weeks). He was the STAR of the class. He is mat trained, can sit and shape a drop as well as focus on me and walks pretty well on a lead. All good you say.

There were 3 other older dogs in the class last night and two of the three were yappy swf's that both barked at him consistently through the lesson and the other was a sour cattle dog who growled and barked a couple of times.

CK wasn't concerned by all the commotion, but my one concern is that when we got home he heard another dog barking while he was eating and growled and then barked. I told him to be quiet and no more noise, then this morning he growled at another BC barking at him from behind a fence and did the barking with the food thing again when I fed him. Each time it was only one bark and a bit of a growl, but I don't want him to get in to the habit of thinking it is OK to bark at other dogs.

He is very well socialised and sits comfortably in his crate while our other BC does her agility class or has a run at fly ball. (he even has a bit of a run around with the other dogs to get used to the whole idea.) They don't bark unless they are playing in the back yard and then it is only the usual puppy playing type bark.

To date I've told him to be quiet and all has been fine, but if it continues I'll begin grabbing his snout and telling him that it is not on.

My question is this - do you think I'm over reacting given that he is such a well behaved young boy or should I really jump on this one before it gets out of hand.

Thanks in advance.

Tony

Hey Tonymc...gotta say, I treat my dog as I always have my children...never let anything I'm not prepared to "put up with" in 10 years time take hold...

Having said that...why grab the snout to get attention? Not too sure that would be necessary...considering he's such a well behaved dog...surely just getting his attention (making a noise if calling him doesn't work) would be enough to get him to acknowledge you and get your point across?

[Reddii]

Hey all,

CK went to his first obedience class last night (he is 16 weeks and missed out on Puppy Pre-school because we got him at 12 weeks). He was the STAR of the class. He is mat trained, can sit and shape a drop as well as focus on me and walks pretty well on a lead. All good you say.

There were 3 other older dogs in the class last night and two of the three were yappy swf's that both barked at him consistently through the lesson and the other was a sour cattle dog who growled and barked a couple of times.

CK wasn't concerned by all the commotion, but my one concern is that when we got home he heard another dog barking while he was eating and growled and then barked. I told him to be quiet and no more noise, then this morning he growled at another BC barking at him from behind a fence and did the barking with the food thing again when I fed him. Each time it was only one bark and a bit of a growl, but I don't want him to get in to the habit of thinking it is OK to bark at other dogs.

He is very well socialised and sits comfortably in his crate while our other BC does her agility class or has a run at fly ball. (he even has a bit of a run around with the other dogs to get used to the whole idea.) They don't bark unless they are playing in the back yard and then it is only the usual puppy playing type bark.

To date I've told him to be quiet and all has been fine, but if it continues I'll begin grabbing his snout and telling him that it is not on.

My question is this - do you think I'm over reacting given that he is such a well behaved young boy or should I really jump on this one before it gets out of hand.

Thanks in advance.

Tony

Hey Tonymc...gotta say, I treat my dog as I always have my children...never let anything I'm not prepared to "put up with" in 10 years time take hold...

Having said that...why grab the snout to get attention? Not too sure that would be necessary...considering he's such a well behaved dog...surely just getting his attention (making a noise if calling him doesn't work) would be enough to get him to acknowledge you and get your point across?

Maybe I'm just over reacting a bit, Barking is something I'm a bit paranoid about - especially undesirable barking. We had a run in with a neighbour who took it upon himself to write us a lovely message about a pup we used to have on our footpath. I'm not too concerned about discussing an issue with a neighbour who is rational, but when they are not it just makes me worry about the dogs who stay in the yard during the day.

I'll give it a go for a while w/o the grabbing thing and see how it goes. I've had the day to calm down and think it through a bit more too - one bark and then quiet on command is hardly a capital crime. Like you say he is well behaved and his attention I can hold his attention pretty well for a pup of his age.

We just went down to the dog park and had a run around with the other dogs down there - not a problem.

[Tonymc]

Macne, to clear up any confusion Reddii is not Tonymc.I am.Just for the record I do not live in Brisbane. Tonymc