Barkin Mad !!

[BentleysMum]

Dear members

My Bentley is driving us mad. Lately over the last few days, he has been
Barking at nothing. Or something we can't see or hear.

How do I stop it?  It's very difficult to distract him and he does it
At odd times, any time of the night or day.  He sometimes
Runs up and down sniffing the air and standing on his hind legs.
Another time he might just be looking at the corner of the room
as if he can see something. Is he going mad?
I hope not. I have never experienced anything like it and it needs to stop!

We live in a very rural location so there is little noise outside save for birds singing.
We have no idea what to do.
Your help is gratefully needed.
Best Wishes
Gilly 😊😒😊😒😊😒 

[PopPops]

Pops has been on bark overdrive for a few days and it was only when I was in the garden I finally heard what was setting her off - a neighbour is doing some home improvement, some houses away from us and there's frequent periods of chink chink chink of the hammer. I can barely hear it in the garden and can't hear it at all when I'm inside the house but Pops can! Is there something maybe Bentley can maybe hear that is out of your hearing range? Mice in the walls or behind the skirting boards maybe?

I've heard it can be done but I've never managed to clicker train 'quiet' in Pops. Since we live on a busy road with people going up and down all the time and she alerts a lot, I worked for a while on always having treats on me and calling her in a happy voice, and when she left the window and came to me she got a treat (which stopped the barking). We've now got this down to I call her and she comes for a fuss, after which she's usually forgotten about whatever set her off. When she occasionally gets stuck on bark mode then she has a treat in her crate and I leave her in there for a little while so she settles down to a chew or nap.

[tenaille]

Beau is reactive to noises inside and out of our very rural French retreat. Mostly we know what starts him, the odd car or walker going past, or in the evening its owls or Dormice. Sometimes there seemed no reason, nothing we could hear, he would be obsessed and pacing round snuffling and barking. We eventually realised that he knew every time mice tried to take up residence behind the kitchen units, and he was never wrong !

[BentleysMum]

Hi Poppops and Tenaille
Thank you for your ideas. Thinking about it, we do live in a rural area so not much traffic but they have just started harvesting all around us so it could be that he can hear tractors etc and maybe even Mice trying to find a new home. We always have a few trying to get in this time of year, its inevitable living on a farm.

We also have Bentley's sister BumbleBee that lives with us and of course once he barks she does too. I have started to tell them shhhhh and Bumble looks at me and stops straight away but Bentley keeps on eventually developing his bark into a long howl like a hound, which is terribly funny. At this point I go to him as I think this howl is fear, I scoop him up and sit with him still shhhing and gentle holding his muzzle and he goes from a howl to a moan and then stops. I will try treating him when I call him away too. I sometimes wrap him in a blanket too. He loves this because he was hand reared as he has a cleft palate. He is a big baby really but I don't mind, its part of his personality.

I will keep you posted, thanks again.
Gilly