Sheltie too demanding!!

We used the water spray on our Sadie who was quite an "alarm" barker when people came to the door. It worked very well, didn't hurt her at all. I hope that solution works for you. Good luck -- and let us know how it turns out!
 
not sure if anyone suggested this or not yet, but you can try rewarding the dog before he barks when you know you are getting ready to perform a behavior that makes him bark. this works well with clicker training so you can get the timing easier.

my experience: it is a bit of pain to juggle a broom, a dustpan, a clicker and a bag of treats, but once my dog is trained, i can put him in a sit/stay while i sweep the floor and he won't bark and bite the broom.

it takes a lot of persistence, but i've been happy with the results. i think there is more about this method in the reactivity threads.
 
Sheltie Too Demanding

*Caro said:
It sounds like he is really excited and vocalising that. It's a common behaviour, mine do it when we drive to the oval, he just needs to learn a little more self control.

I'd recommend not letting him off the leash straight away. In fact I would discourage off leash time when he is still hyped up. He is already excited with what is going to happen and then he gets an additional adrenalin hit by the activities that follow. He is being conditioned for a really big adrenalin rush so it's going to be hard for him to stop unless you break the pattern.

Walk him around for a while, even get him to do some commands, give him time to settle. When he is calmer you can let him off lead. Between running or walking, if he is showing signs of getting too hyped put him back on lead and walk around a bit, or if you are hiking stop for a while and put him in a drop. This should also help teach him how to settle from a highly excitable situation so its a good learning experience for him.

Don't play fetch over and over - have regular breaks so you aren't keeping his adrenalin levels at a constantly high level. I read an interesting article some time ago about fetch. It isn't natual for most dogs to have a high level of adrenalin over an extended time, which is what often happens with fetch. When they are herding or working dogs tend to do it in spurts - they will run and then focus, run and then focus, so when we play a lot of fetch without breaks it's keeeping their adrenalin levels at an artificially high level, and the longer this goes on the harder it is for them to come down. Even when they are playing dogs wont do this for extended periods - they take short breaks between plays. If your dog is anything like my female, I actually have to put the ball away to stop her nagging me about it - when she has rested I get the ball back out and we play again.

I wouldn't worry he isn't playing with other dogs - many dogs lose interest in play as they get older and become much more attached to humans, that's how we bred them to be. It doesn't mean he isn't interested in being around other dogs, just he doesn't feel the need to play. My dogs love to see their doggy mates, they don't play with them they just like to see them around.
Click to expand...

This definitely makes sense! If I insist that he must be calm before we exit the house or start the car, and this has worked, I guess he should be calm before any other activity. I will definitely try this the next time we play fetch or go for a hike. He will only lose the leash when I decide he's calm and submissive. Thanks for the great advice!
 
Nothing stops his off leash barking!!

Well I tried keeping Jesse very calm and keep him on leash for a while before letting him run free. It didn't help at all!!! I can't spray him because it's winter and I don't want to get him wet when it's so cold. I even tried rewarding him when he would be quiet (for a few seconds) and saying "good quiet" while he's receiving his treat. Then he starts barking again...and again...and again!! :(

Today I took the pups snowshoeing with some friends. Jesse barked for over an hour before he finally quit. It was so very annoying that I stopped on the way home and had him fitted with a light nylon muzzle. This breaks my heart but I'm going to try it as a deterrent. When he barks, it goes on for a few minutes...then I'll take it off and say "quiet". If he barks I'll put it on again...and so on. Hopefully he'll get the message that if he's quiet, he won't have to wear it. I plan to be very careful about making sure he can breathe and pant and only plan to leave it for a few minutes at a time.

I'm sure I'll get some negative comments about this and I'll let you know if it works. :(
 
Nope no negative comments from me. I have often thought of putting a light muzzle on Harper Lee in the car because her intense high pitched barking makes my ears ring!! I am a Mommy who knows the numbing fever pitch barking pain.

Let me know how he relates and how it goes. It's only for a few minutes and only to grab his attention to focus him. Hey when you are done with it, may I borrow it for my husband??


Kate
 
The muzzle is working!!

I had Jesse off leash twice and only put the muzzle on for about a minute at a time. He spends that minute frantically trying to get it off. I would remove it and said "quiet"...then let him smell the sweet potato crisps I made from the recipe on this site. HE LOVES THEM!!
The first outing he barked 50% less than usual using the muzzle about 6 times.

Today I used the muzzle 5 times and his barking has decreased by about 70%!!! He runs around and comes back looking at me for his sweet potato treat without making a sound. Naturally I give it to him and say "good quiet".

I am thrilled and plan to continue using the muzzle until he completely understands that it's not okay to bark continuously when off leash. He even seems to be proud of himself when he comes to me for his well deserved treat. :biggrin2:
 
Muzzle was huge success!!

Today was the third time that Jesse was off leash since I started using the muzzle, due to his constant barking off leash. I am thrilled to report that I only had to put the muzzle on once today! :biggrin2:
For an entire hour he ran around and kept returning to me with a big happy grin on his sweet little face. I treated him every time and told him "good quiet". He was a very happy dog and I am a very happy dog lover. The only time he barked was to chase birds or answer another dog....which is definitely acceptable.
I can hardly believe how quickly he understood that his barking was excessive and I wasn't going to accept it anymore. What a smart breed shelties are!!! :biggrin2:
 
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