Posted by Imogen on October 2, 2008, 2:55 pm, in reply to "Puppy Barking"
Hi Lyn - thanks for your question. Yes, you might well solve the problem by ignoring the behaviour, but we humans actually find really ignoring barking difficult. To really ignore the behaviour if your dog is sensitive and wanting attention, you will need to make sure you are not responding, even slightly. A more effective way might be to teach a 'that's enough' signal. To do this, when you have been playing with him, or grooming him finish by showing the palm of your hand and saying 'that's enough', then turn away and give him no attention until he wanders away then you can throw a treat to him without saying anymore or interacting. He will learn that quietly turning away gets a treat and associate it with the hand signal and 'that's enough'. When he's 'got it' you can give the hand and 'that's enough' when he barks - don't throw the treat until you are ready to move off again, though, or there is a chance he associates the barking with the treat. It's all about timing!
Barking can also denote stress, so try to keep the situations that result in him barking as short as you can, and at class remove him for a short time if he's getting stressed - puppy classes can be very frenetic for highly strung pups like goldens.
I'm very jealous - I'd love a 5 month old GR now Bertie is 3!!
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