Barking Problem Please Help

[Pamw]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

I take my Whippets out three times a day.

The elder male who is ten has suddenly taken a dislike to dogs on a lead that come towards us and will not stop barking at them..This has now set off the other male who is five and he tends to join in as well...How can i make the walks more enjoyable again as i feel so embarassed by this..

Even if he knows the dog and has been friendly towards it he still barks and has to have the last bark.

I have tried distracting him but that does not work when he is is in full flow.

The elder dog was attacked by three alstations on a lead but that was well over six years ago..

Both dogs have been to dog training classes so have mixed with other breeds and did not have problems there...

Ithought maybe they could sense my tension when i walk with them but it also happens when my husband and daughter takes them out...

i f you can come up with any ideas to stop this i would love to hear from you....

 

[FeeFee]

Do you think his barking is aggressive? I only ask because one of mine barks at other dogs, but with her it's more excitement/greeting/playfulness, so I wouldn't necessarily assume it's aggression if he's been OK with other dogs up to now.

I sympathise because this can be very difficult to tackle if you are walking more than one dog because they wind each other up. Is there any chance you could walk them separately for a while? It will be much easier to distract/control the barker, and it will stop his behaviour rubbing off onto your other dog. It will also help you to feel calmer if you only have one dog to deal with, if you are tense or tighten the lead when you see another dog coming that will make his behaviour worse.

Using a headcollar like a Gentle Leader might help as it gives you much more control, and dogs often seem calmer wearing headcollars anyway.

In the meantime you could try training him to 'watch me' - you'll need to do this at home first and get it really solid and build up the time he focusses on you before you can expect him to do it outside where there are lots of distractions. There are some tips for teaching this here:

http://www.loveyourdog.com/watch.html

Good luck! :luck:

 

[fallenangel]

just a thought get his sight checked i know as milo now 14s sight started going he started barking at dogs even in the houes after a while i think it was that he wasnt quiet sure what teh dogs was doing if it was agressvice or not so he got in there first. to stop it with our dogs inside we fitted them all with bells on there collers differnt bells for each dog and withing days he stoped barking at them as he could here hat dog it was going past or coming in a room. outside was harder and in the end walking him with my other big dominat mail on the outside of him and me on the other so he felt sfae did stop it. now hes thats rickatey if he barked realy badly he would fall over i think and a trot to the corner and back his is most walk he can do. it is worth as your dogs 10b just getting his sight and even his hearing checked over

 

[Pamw]

his bark is certainly an aggresive and the stance to go with it,,,though he does not snarl....as soon as the other dog has gone he is back to his passive self....

i know he has no prob with sound as you only got to rattle a paper and he is there....the vet told me a few years ago that he was short sighted.. as he had not noticed a dog in the distance that we could easily see.

thank you for helping and your ideas

 

[Mark Roberts]

he wants to protect you, you should be flatterd :thumbsup:

 

[wilfred]

The "watch me" works with one of my dogs who doesn't get along with some entire males (long story) - it took a while to build up but now he automatically looks at me, most times, when another dog is approaching us.

I do generally walk him separately because I don't want my younger dog starting this barking too.

 

[Suerose]

Grace started barking at other dogs when we were out a while back - and think it was a reaction to unwanted attention when she was in season (she is spayed now) - and I stopped it with an aerosol that makes a hissing sound. It is just compressed air but apparently because it sounds like things they would be wary of it stops unwanted behaviour. More info: Pet Corrector

It worked for us and in a very short time she stopped the barking and only does it very occasionally now.

 

[FeeFee]

I haven't tried it myself, but I've been following a thread on another forum where several people have reported really good results with this:

http://holisticpetsupplies.co.uk/product_i...products_id=110

I'm not very knowledgeable about flower essences (I'm sure there are other people here who are), but I believe they are very safe and at the least won't do any harm, and if it works it may help you break the habit?

 

[barkingbirkies]

thought you might like to see a photo of Buddy now hes one years old dont seem like two mins since we had him . Jill

he wants to protect you, you should be flatterd :thumbsup: