Dog yelping and barking

[stevem]

Hello, I’m new to this forum. I have a three 1/2 year old lab mix. He's a great loving and friendly dog, but he has some quarks. (Background on our lab -- He was found abandoned in a park at 5 weeks of age. He was foster-cared until we got him at 4 months of age)

The major problem with our lab is that he barks and yelps (which has gotten worse) at the following:

- When he is outside, he barks (like kujo) at anyone passing our house
- Yelps and barks at anyone ringing the door bell
- We have a detached garage far from the house. The dog yelps and barks until we come inside the house
- If we put the dog in separate room, he will yelp until he's back in the room with everybody

We recently got a puppy and my fear is that the puppy will learn all these bad habits.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. Throwing a can with coins helps the situation, but it doesn't stop it (especially if you can't find the can). A shock collar was also used over 2 years ago which also helped the situation, but also didn't stop his behavior either.

Is there anything else I could try or do besides de-barking? Should I try the shock collar again? Does anyone have any tips on how to properly use the shock collar? This is a hard situation, I know, because he is set in his ways... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Steve.

[jones]

I would caution against thinking of the dog as "set in his ways." This is a negative mindset that could become a self-fulfilling prophecy if you're not careful. Dogs of any age can be trained - and at 3 1/2 this dog is still young, to boot!

One of the most basic principles of canine behaviorial psychology and operant conditioning is <i>Dogs Do What Works</i>. By extension, they will stop doing what doesn't work. (And by work I mean get them results or attention.) Each of your problem-barking scenarios is different and prompts a different set of solutions.

Barking in the yard - This is a tricky one because the environment provides positive reinforcement (reward) for his behavior, and you can't totally control the environment. That is to say, every time he barks at someone passing by, what happens is the person keeps walking and eventually leaves his sight. To his mind, he has succeeded in warning them away from his territory. Here are two ideas - One, bring him inside every time he barks at passersby. I'm assuming that the dog enjoys being outside, so taking him in sends the message that the privelege of being outside is taken away for barking. You would have to do this with very swift & accurate timing - taking him in a minute later wouldn't tell him much. Two, build a privacy fence or a privacy-fenced area for the dog so that he can't see people passing by.

Barking at the doorbell - This is a common problem. A lot of people don't mind if the dog barks two or three times when someone comes to the door - the problem is when the dog KEEPS barking or doesn't reply to being shushed. It's important to remember that in the dog's mind, he's just doing his "job" and protecting his home. You have to teach him that you're in charge, therefore once he alerts you you can handle the situation and he no longer needs to bark. To do this, let the dog bark 2-3 times and then in a cheerful voice tell him, "Thank you, that's enough." Call him away from the door and have him sit to receive a treat, then you answer the door. If he continues to bark instead, he is removed from the room. I know this sounds simplistic, but it can often work. For many dogs it's enough to have their "work" acknowledged. Another solution, and I have to admit I don't like it much nor do I use it, is to squirt water with a dose of lemon juice into his mouth as you command him "that's enough" or "no barking." Some use plain water, but Labs often find that entertaining so the lemon juice strengthens the deterrent.

Barking when you come home - This may be to a certain extent unpreventable, but one thing that may help is making your comings and going as low-key as possible. When you come into the house, IGNORE the dog. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but you want to teach him that you're being away, and your homecoming, is not a big deal. There may be an "extinction burst" before the behavior stops. However, if in fact he's barking because he thinks you may be an intruder, again this may be related to the idea that he thinks is job is protecting the house.

Yelping when separated - This is the easiest problem to solve! Quite simply, totally ignore this behavior! This is actually easier when you've got an adult dog because when it's a puppy you have to wonder if he has to potty and if you do have to respond to him. Your dog is an adult and he's just yelping for attention. And guess what, he's doing this because you've consistently rewarded the behavior by doing what he wanted - bringing him in the room with you. Now ignore him and only when he's totally settled down and quiet can he come back into the room with you. As you try to remedy this behavior, you will probably see an "extinction burst." This is normal behavior that is a last ditch attempt to get results - it happens just before the behavior ceases, so whatever you do don't give up at that point! He may become extremely loud, bang on the case, howl, bark - just stick it out and he will stop. Think of "extinction bursts" this way - imagine you're trying to get someone's attention whose back is to you. You say their name, they don't answer. You say it again, they don't answer. Repeat and repeat and still no results. Finally you resort to yelling their name. They still don't answer. Maybe you then yell again and tap their shoulder - they still ignore you. Only after you've exhausted your yelling/tapping/grabbing do you give up and walk away.

I have a couple of more general suggestions...

1. Practice NILIF with this dog. The underlying problem may be that he sees himself as the leader and protector of the family, and you have to (gently, non-violently) take him down a peg. Google "NILIF" for details.

2. Consider a citronella collar. This is a more humane alternative than the shock collar. However, the drawbacks are that it's not safe to leave it on unsupervised, and many dogs become "collar smart," ie, they only comply when the collar is on (as yours may have done with the shock collar).

3. Obedience classes! Look for a good local trainer or behaviorist. They can give you helpful on-the-ground solutions. If you can't afford a private consultation, you'd still be amazed at what taking a group class can do for a dog that has problems in any number of behavior/obedience areas. Learning to follow and trust you will carry over into all aspects of your dog's life with you.

[marneo1]

http://www.acornpetco.com/WhyDogsBarkPage.htm

[2Munchkins]

Teach him to bark. No, seriously. We taught our beagle to 'say hello' and by teaching her 'when' to bark she never barked any other time. One of our friends is a behaviorlist and said that by teaching her when to bark she thought that was the only time to bark. Not until we rescued another dog that barked at everything did she learn to bark (we encouraged it too though). She is still pretty quiet for a beagle though, and only barks when her arch-nemesis the door bell rings. But we always reward her for this.