Gemma
You will also find that some of Floyd's behaviour will follow the classic "extinction burst" theory - basically, they get worse before they get better, and you MUST stick with it calmly (whatever the "it" is) to get through it. Any lapse on your part will set the whole thing back further. The example I read to explain "extinction burst" behaviour was that you pay me £5 to clap and sing each time I see you. So, as soon as I see you, I start to clap and sing. One day - you don't pay up the fiver. I'm puzzled - hey, the rules are - I clap and sing, you give me a fiver - so I clap and sing like a lunatic to try to get you to hand over the fiver. The "like a lunatic" bit is the "extinction burst" - it's worked before, it's not working now, so I'd just better try harder. So floyd has barked before and got attention. One evening - it doesn't work, he's puzzled, he quietens down. In his little lemon brain, he decides he just didn't try hard enought. So next evening - tries harder than ever. Ditto for the indoors pee'ing. If you keep calm and consistent at this stage, you'll get through it. It will dawn on him that (a) he gets ignored for barking (and really important for OH to be consistent and not let it slide) and (b) he gets attention/rewards for silence. Don't let the "good stuff" (i.e. being quiet) go unpraised/unrewarded. If he shuts up for a moment, praise him for being quiet. If he's quiet for a minute - praise and treat too.
the mistake I made with Paddy (now nearly 15 months) was not praising the good stuff (i.e. when he was quiet and undemanding) because it was "passive" good stuff - unlike pee'ing where he's supposed to, or doing a good "sit stay" on command. Takes a while to sort it out but keep plugging away.
and get "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson - it's a revelation!
Denise
