When your sheltie picks someone to yell at…

[Piper's mom]

I like the desensitize plan. Shelties tend to be OCD anyway--they sure love their routines!

I've resorted to personalized threats for Benson when he starts his barking at me routine. Bark bark bark! Oh! you want to brush teeth?
or Bark bark bark OH! you wanna take a bath do you? Or go for a ride? He gets out of there in a hurry LOLOL It only took a few times of actually brushing teeth or walking to bathroom or car for him to relate barking with bad stuff
I'm so sad going for a ride is so awful for him. It's one of the few check boxes for perfect Sheltie I couldn't tick off...the crazy barking is another one LOL (not normal sheltie barking--the crazy kind)

I do this with Piper all the time and he’s the best of my three...honestly Piper really is a good boy but boy can he bark! He starts up about something (barking) and it’s ‘you wanna have a bath’?...’do your nails’?...’wanna get brushed’? Every time he turns around and skulks out of the room. Doesn’t work however with Finnie who will attack the door when I leave but then a down stay waiting to eat the cookie as I shut the door works great. He’s a real anxious barker and he doesn’t even react when I do this. Just gotta figure out what works for each dog...

 

[Sandy in CT]

My boys only bark at me for things - I need to go potty, I need a bully stick, I need to go to bed. They aren't activity barkers. I can sneeze, make toast, get tin foil. Go to open the front door, though, and Brodie goes nuts. Bird on one of my bushes? He goes nuts. See a squirrel in the neighbors yard? He goes nuts. Yesterday the neighbor was raking - how DARE he rake his own lawn! When I ride our lawn tractor around, he goes berserk at the big orange machine that is obviously doing me harm. He also protects us from all animals big and small on the TV. Deacon only barks when Brodie barks, but not all the time, he's too 'chill' - even he is like "Dude, it's a squirrel, relax!"

 

[DianeP]

OK, I accept all these ideas for desensitization. The problem feels three times as big when you need to get the whole family to buy in. But, someone gave me a good idea! I think we’ll keep the nail clippers handy as a visual. Of course, then we are associating the nail clippers with an over aroused negative emotional state. And, yes, Mindy back chains EVERYTHING! It’s a conundrum because she both needs routine and can get negatively aroused by routine. It’s a matter of hitting upon the right balance so she knows what’s going on but doesn’t obsessively anticipate. Oh, boy. I’m exhausted now.

 

[robertllr]

Just wondering if anyone’s had success working through a sheltie deciding someone in the family needs extra bossing around.

Mindy has recently begun “yelling” at my husband when he speaks. It gets worse as the day goes on. We’ve tried millions of positive reinforcement things and nothing seems to change her mind. She’s lived with us almost her whole life. This has not always been the way. She is an anxious and reactive dog, with IBD already on meds for anxiety and her GI issues.

We do lots of training. I have my husband spend time doing positive reinforcement training with her and she loves that but inevitably, later in the day, she reverts to the old behavior.

thanks for sharing any experiences and ideas.

Have you tried an anti-bark collar? Just set on beep or vibrate? Or a training collar that you control--set to the same low caution level? You say your pet is sensitive, but a gentle level of discipline might be required to unlearn that behavior. Our girl is not overly sensitive, and she responds well to this type of discipline. (Of course she is also smart enough to realize that--without the equipment--she is free to do exactly as she pleases!)