Barking at other people/dogs

[yodachoda87]

Hi all,

I bought a Sheltie (first pet in many years) one month ago. He's 5 months old now. My main concern with the breed was that I heard they bark a lot.

I've been pleasantly surprised to find he does not bark incessantly. He does bark for reasons though: when he hears other dogs barking, when sirens are blaring (i.e. ambulance drives past).

He also barks is certain situations when he sees other dogs or people, and I'm not quite sure why/how he discriminates.

If he sees a jogger at night, he barks. If he sees other dogs, he barks. And if he sees other people, sometimes he barks sometimes not. Is socialization the key to fixing this?

 

[trini]

Yes, socialization will help and so will finding something that refocuses him on you when he sees a person or dog he would otherwise bark at. The refocusing can be done with special treats, a special toy (if he is really toy oriented), or teaching him "no bark" or "quiet". I think the most critical part is distracting him before he starts to bark. Once he is already barking it is much harder to get his attention and calm the barking. Putting him in a down/stay when you see something that you know will set him off will help too... dogs bark more easily when standing than when in a down position.

Trini

 

[Chris]

It helps to remember that Shelties were bred to chase birds and varmints from the gardens and flocks of the Shetland Island crofters. So their barking is hard-wired in. Mine do pretty well when we say, "Thank you." That our signal that lets them know we hear their warning and acknowledge that they've done their job.