Author Topic: Embarrassing attention barking  (Read 1639 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Katieee1985

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Embarrassing attention barking
« on: April 18, 2019, 06:45:41 AM »
Advice needed soon - before I get banned from entering the beach or the local park  :005:
Thank you in advance for your help.

My Mia is 18 months old, spayed and she’s beautiful and gentle girl and I love her to bits. Most of the time... I love her just a little less when she gets into her barking tantrums..  :luv: so she’s usually quite relaxed and loves going for walks anytime anywhere, she gets tons of exercise and training at home and brain games and she’s spoilt all around. But when we are out anywhere and I stop to talk to a neighbour for example, it takes 3 -5 seconds and the barking starts. We would walk on the beach, she’s off the lead having fun with other dogs, some human starts chatting and ... Mia starts barking. And it’s on and on until I move. Even when it’s just me and her, she’s all lovely, we would walk on  the beach and I sit down on the bench... guess what.. she starts barking. The barking is so loud and it’s non stop, it’s like a tantrum. I’ve tried everything I know and read online and nothing seems to help. I know it’s an attention barking so I’d give her attention, that doesn’t help. I’d ignore her completely, turning away and looking up at the sky but she just follows me around barking, and doesn’t stop. I tried telling her to shoosh, to sit down, giving treats, toys, calling her to be with me, putting her on lead etc. I tried different things and was giving every trial a week or so but no. Nothing. She gets so into the barking that she looses focus and behaves as if she couldn’t hear me, I’m totally lost and embarrassed, there are so many lovely neighbours I want to chat with but it gets so loud with the dog barking and I get stressed and annoyed and just walk away. The other day it was so beautiful and quiet on the beach, I sat down on my own and just for a moment closed my eyes to breathe the fresh air.. I don’t think I need to tell you what happened next. She’s fine at home. People come round  or we go round to others and she never barks inside.  Anyway, any advice please? I have got no idea what else to do... thank you

Offline bizzylizzy

  • Donator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 4504
  • Gender: Female
  • 🙂 Jayne
Re: Embarrassing attention barking
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2019, 04:23:18 PM »
I think I would go right back to basics  - practise walking to heel (- well she is a cocker, so the nearest you can get to it - lets just say a „disciplined walk!  ;)) Everytime you stop, get her to sit and reward, you can then lengthen the time she‘s sitting before you carry on. When you do decide to carry on walking, give her the command to do so (heel, come along, lets go - whatever you use). The aim is, that she should sit whenever you stop, once she‘s doing that automatically, build in meeting someone, stop, have a very short chat and then carry on (keep it very short at first and then gradually extend). Remember to praise and reward when she does it right. I would also practise a stay command in the down position, again in a quiet place and then build up the distraction. - Sit, Down, walk a few paces away and come back, - reward if she‘s still lying down. You can build that up so that you‘re further away and she‘s stays where she is for longer, - try not to look at her or give her attention, - if she gets up and comes to you, just take her back to where she was without comment and start again. Again, praise and reward for lying quietly. All forms of scolding her and telling her to be quiet are actually just  giving her the attention she wants and she won‘t listen or learn in the stressful situation, you need to practise the behaviour you want in a relaxed environment, where it doesn‘t matter if it doesn‘t go right - you CAN ignore her properly when you‘re not in a place where you‘re feeling embarressed. I think we‘ve ALL been there, but its impossible to start and try and train something when face you‘re alread in a difficult situation (a bit like having your first driving lesson on the M6 in rush hour!!) The ultimate goal is that she learns self control and sits or lies down quietly for an extended length of time.
These little monsters pick up SOOOO quickly on how we‘re feeling and, mine at least, is so excitable I have to get him and me really calm before I can even think about teaching him anything. My first trainer told me not to try and train unless I was in the right mood myself, staying calm and masterful (for want of a better word) is key. If time is hort or you‘re stressed, leave it dor another day.
Hope this all makes sense - what I‘m trying to get across is that it sounds like Mia is starting to try and get her own way (like most teenagers!) and she needs to learn, in a kind way, that you decide when you‘ll play, walk, talk to her etc and when your attention isn’t on her, that she knows she should be calm and quiet - has nothing to do with dominance, but you are the one in charge!!

Offline bmthmark

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 384
  • Gender: Male
Re: Embarrassing attention barking
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2019, 04:24:18 PM »
I'm watching this thread carefully as my boy Jett has started to do this. If I say 'Hi' to someone whilst walking he barks, its like he is telling them to not talk to my dad  :lol2: but it is quite embarrassing.

I take mine to gundog training and he has started to bark at me when I tell him what to do. Its like he is telling me not to boss him around.

Not sure why he has only started to do this and I have no idea how I can stop it.

Mine is 2.5 years old

Offline Digger

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 218
Re: Embarrassing attention barking
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2019, 10:01:44 AM »
Hi there. Thought Id poke my nose in on this, as my old dog used to do this.

He was quiet as anything walking along but as soon as I stopped to talk to someone I got about three seconds and the barking started.

He would also go up to children on the beach and bark until they threw things for him.

I concluded two things: 1) attention seeking as in the children thing
2) Dislike of stopping moving

Looking back I realise that all his early walks were very purposeful- stomping to get to school on time, marching into town etc.

I think personality of course is a huge factor, but with our new dog (cocker girl), I have regularly stopped and chatted to people. Sometimes I deliberately just stop and sit somewhere.
Have you tried going for a walk with a friend who has a dog that your dog likes? Perhaps you could go somewhere were noise won't be too much of a problem and just sit and see if your dog will realise that you're not going to move and so might play with the other dog instead? Or go somewhere on your own and just tough it out. As soon as she stops barking or settles down give her a treat or toy. Does she have a favourite thing? Maybe take that out and she only gets it when shes quiet when out?
Just some musings..I feel your pain- it is so embarrassing. Once on the beach, we pretended he wasn't ours just so we could sit down for 5 minutes-then my husband went over to him saying 'There you are-we've been looking everywhere!' Hahaha
I think you have to do something-our mistake with ours was we didn't know what to do so we did nothing. It didn't fix itself
Best of luck. Like our boy, yours sounds like a lovely dog and that is the main thing. :luv: