Barking mad

[lescef]

If Henry is like Bramble then treats also wind us up. She's too alert whereas Maddie is a bit of a slug!
Bramble needs calm and a bit of ignoring, well alot really!

[Blueberry]

Blue barks when he's excited, so any time it looks like we might be going out, or if a nice shiny new toy appears, or the pussycat comes into the room, or our neighbour walks past the window, or the courier arrives with a parcel, or the post arrives, etc. etc. etc.
I'm also quite sensitive to noise, so I feel your pain.  I wait with much interest to see if you can curb it!

[bizzylizzy]

Sorry - mistake - don't know how to cancel

[Londongirl]

We live opposite a secondary school and last week there was a very noisy demonstration outside (about cuts to funding). There was chanting, singing, horns blowing, car tooting their horns. Henry ignored it all. Not a peep out of him. Five minutes earlier he had been inexplicably barking at the (entirely silent) sofa...

If there's one generalisation you can make about these dogs is that you can't make generalisations about them!

[Mudmagnets]

We live opposite a secondary school and last week there was a very noisy demonstration outside (about cuts to funding). There was chanting, singing, horns blowing, car tooting their horns. Henry ignored it all. Not a peep out of him. Five minutes earlier he had been inexplicably barking at the (entirely silent) sofa...

If there's one generalisation you can make about these dogs is that you can't make generalisations about them!

Yep!! think you got it in one there. Of course if all our dogs had on and off switches it would make life so much simpler (but boring  )

[bizzylizzy]

We live opposite a secondary school and last week there was a very noisy demonstration outside (about cuts to funding). There was chanting, singing, horns blowing, car tooting their horns. Henry ignored it all. Not a peep out of him. Five minutes earlier he had been inexplicably barking at the (entirely silent) sofa...

If there's one generalisation you can make about these dogs is that you can't make generalisations about them!

Ha ha! That's soooo true, - someone should add that to the breed description!,

[moneypenny]

I read this with interest as Penny barks uncontrollably when people go past our house or come to visit us. It is very embarrassing. It seems clearly territorial. She doesn't do it when she's in some neutral place.
The only way I can tackle it is by catching her and holding her head close to mine so she has no choice but to concentrate as I tell her"no bark". Otherwise I'm sure she s so engrossed in protecting the house that she doesn't even hear me. When I do that she growls under her breath for a while and then forgets again completely  when the next danger to our house presents itself.

But I must say hearing her growling under her breath always gives us all the giggles.

[bizzylizzy]

I read this with interest as Penny barks uncontrollably when people go past our house or come to visit us. It is very embarrassing. It seems clearly territorial. She doesn't do it when she's in some neutral place.
The only way I can tackle it is by catching her and holding her head close to mine so she has no choice but to concentrate as I tell her"no bark". Otherwise I'm sure she s so engrossed in protecting the house that she doesn't even hear me. When I do that she growls under her breath for a while and then forgets again completely  when the next danger to our house presents itself.

But I must say hearing her growling under her breath always gives us all the giggles.

  Humphrey does that too - he's not a barker at all but he'll do that little growl thing, its almost like he's doing it and hoping you don't hear!!! 

[Londongirl]

I know all about that growl! When I give a 'quiet' command and he actually listens, Henry often makes a low little grumbly bark like: 'I'm trying to be quiet, but goddamit woman, there are things that need barked at!'

It's very reassuring to know a lot of us are in the same boat, if a little depressing in the long run!

I agree with ips and moneypenny and others who've observed that it's territorial barking. We've got the barking in the house under control - I dedicated a few weeks to being very observant of when he was about to kick off. There's usually a nanosecond between his head going up and the barking starting. I intervened in that moment, distracting him. It took a while, but now we are likely to get a single bark at the door or window, when I will usually come and tell him he's a good boy and move him on.

Which makes me realise I need to do the same thing with the garden distractions. Lucky the weather is so nice right now. If anyone wants me, I'll be in the garden with my dog...

[bizzylizzy]

Sounds like a plan! 👍

[AlanT]

The first dogs were tamed Wolves CHOSEN to warn of attacks and predators.  They had to learn barking.
The best barkers got to breed.

You are going to have a lot of trouble reversing this basic instinct.

Best you'll do is get some kind of control of it.

If I didn't want a dog to bark I'd get a cat!

[Londongirl]

But surely it's possible to condition the dog to reduce the amount of barking at things that he barks at inappropriately? I'm not expecting him to be silent, just not to end up foaming at the mouth every time a bird flies over. I think that would reduce stress on him too, if he wasn't being triggered so often.

I agree, Alan, it's about getting some control over it. Not disagreeing with you there.

[bizzylizzy]

The first dogs were tamed Wolves CHOSEN to warn of attacks and predators.  They had to learn barking.
The best barkers got to breed.

You are going to have a lot of trouble reversing this basic instinct.

Best you'll do is get some kind of control of it.

If I didn't want a dog to bark I'd get a cat!

But surely it's possible to condition the dog to reduce the amount of barking at things that he barks at inappropriately? I'm not expecting him to be silent, just not to end up foaming at the mouth every time a bird flies over. I think that would reduce stress on him too, if he wasn't being triggered so often.

I agree, Alan, it's about getting some control over it. Not disagreeing with you there.

Sorry Alan but I can't agree with you there. A dog barking uncontrollably and unnecessarily is a pain and a public nuisance, not only to its family but to everyone else around and  shouldn't just be accepted. London Girl is right in wanting to curb it and she's obviously making progress.
My first dog was a GSD, I had him 14 years and in all that time, he barked on one single occasion, ( the cause made it oerfectly justifiable IMO)  so I don't accept that "all dogs do it". My second dog barked when he was stressed, it started after a spell in kennels and was clearly separation anxiety. Humphrey will give an occasional woof but is not a barker. I appreciate I have just been extremely lucky and am not looking for any credit for the fact that I have/have had quiet dogs, it was the luck of the draw but to me, there is nothing worse than a yappy dog and if my dog did bark I would certainly attempt to do something about it.