Why is my dog with CCD only barking when I am in the room?

[Marie82]

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My pug cross with CCD, is excessively barking, but only seems to do so when I am in the room.
Its not that he doesn’t recognise me, he definitely does, and he seems happy, but he is almost constantly barking at me.
If I leave the room he stops.
Does anyone have an idea of what might be causing this?

Thanks

Marie

 

[JoanneF]

You may never know, dogs' minds are complicated at the best of times.

Would he be able to learn a 'quiet' cue do you think? If so, we can help you train that.

 

[Marie82]

You may never know, dogs' minds are complicated at the best of times.

Would he be able to learn a 'quiet' cue do you think? If so, we can help you train that.

I don’t know what a quiet que is? But Im willing to try anything.

 

[JudyN]

When he barks, does he quieten when you give him attention?

He might feel an underlying level of anxiety because of his CCD and when he sees you, he's looking to you to somehow 'fix it'. Given the nature of CCD, though, there may be no reason that makes any sort of sense, even to him. There are medications and supplements that can help with the anxiety, but it's also very important to be as patient as you possibly can, as you would try to be with a human with dementia who asks you the same question 20 times in an hour.

 

[JoanneF]

I just mean training him to be quiet when you ask - you can try the yoghurt pot game.

Get an empty yogurt pot and smear the inside with squeezy cheese, liver paste, natural yoghurt or wet dog food - anything your dog likes.

When he starts to bark, give him the pot to lick. He can't lick and bark at he same time. As he is licking, repeat the word you will later use to ask him to be quiet - 'hush' for example.

Once you think he understands (and that may never happen if his CCD is too severe) you can use the word first, and if he complies, give the pot as a reward. Later you can fade the reward to something more convenient.

This works with many dogs but whether his CCD would make it too hard for him is something I don't know.