Barking driving me mad

[Beezzzkneez]

Maike is still generally a good puppy, though the troublesome phase has started now. Her toilet training is coming on well, her 'sit' is impeccable and while we're still working on 'stay' and 'down' she has managed to stay still while watching me pull on my jeans, instead of lunging for the flapping legs.   Even the fact that just 20 minutes ago she's discovered how to pull the books off our shelves isn't fazing me too much.

What is driving me insane and is really setting my teeth on edge is her barking. It's loud, it's sharp and it makes me cringe every time she does it. We've tried all the usual tricks of ignoring her but so far it's not working too great. And the worst thing is the barking at the cats. I can't even remember the last time I got a chance to sit on the sofa and cuddle with Fumble and I sometimes lie awake and am really tense because I'm afraid any moment the barking will start.

Any hints and tips? Especially her behaviour towards the cats has to change, the girls were here first and had not much luck in their life, I don't want them to feel uncomfortable. (mind you, when Maike is in her pen I sometimes think the cats sit there just to taunt her  ) We're starting puppy classes on Sunday so I'm sure that'll help us, as well.

[GinnyB]

I'm sorry, I don't have any suggestions re the barking. I know it can be difficult and must be distressing for the cats but the image of the cats taunting her when she's in her crate make me LOL 

I remember asking for advice on barking, a long time ago. I was advised to establish what it was that Mali was barking at and try to distract her. She has improved lots but when she's in the garden, she goes mental if a bird dares to fly over 

[Beezzzkneez]

I would say no. 1 are the cats (though she is prefectly fine with one of them - they have a strange love/hate arrangement and will even be on the sofa together), and then she barks to get attention. There are two factors I am unsure about - we live out in the country but in one of the neighbouring houses is a dog that barks a lot, and her barking seems to be modelled on that. Not a lot of yapping but short, sharp single barks in a steady, slow rhythm. The second factor is that I was gone for a week and OH had visitors in the meantime, and the puppy was allowed to run around like a mad thing with their three children. I have no clue what all was going on while I was gone but I think it did some damage, anyway - I know they weren't very good about taking her out regularly and I came home to a rather smelly house. 

[Karma]

If she barks at you, get up and walk away.

As for the cats, keep her on a houseline - if she barks at the cats, without a word lead her away.
Also work on making looking at the cats a good thing - so set her up near enough to a cat that she can see it, but not start barking, and click/treat every time she looks at the cat.  Gradually get her closer... lots and lots of treats when she is looking at the cats will make her forget about barking at them....  

[Beezzzkneez]

Karma, thank you for the advice. Would you say walking away is better than just turning our backs or removing her from the situation? Keeping treats on us at all times is a bit of a challenge as she's a horrible pocket thief. 

[Karma]

I find walking away gives a more clear signal - sometimes turning away will work, but sometimes it encourages Honey just to run round the other side and keep going... and I always find us moving away better than trying to remove Honey, as it avoids confrontation and also stops it becoming any kind of game.  I have significantly reduced her barking while playing with balls etc by this method.... (unless we're at agility, where the instructer likes to encourage her barking...).

You don't need to have treats on you at all times - just several times a day set up cat-training sessions    Little and often will be the way to go - and at other times, if she barks at the cat, lead her away (or if she does it at some point when she doesn't have a houseline on, just get up and walk away yourself - chances are she will follow you and you acheive 2 things there - you interrupt the barking and you give a clear message that you don't like the behaviour she is presenting. 

[Beezzzkneez]

Well, she's making good progress and isn't barking at the cats or us nearly as frequently! She usually reacts when we're in the kitchen and she's in the living room behind the baby gate - she just protests us being not with her and not allowing her access (or out of jealousy if the cats are allowed in there but not her) and I've just started shutting the door as soon as she starts up. Removes us from her sight and she realizes she'll get even more cut off if she barks,

As for the morning barking, which was the thing really getting to me - well, we found a compromise. We went up to stay with my MiL over the weekend and just took a bed for Maike and let her sleep in our room and I was amazed at how well behaved she was. It helped that the bed was so high she couldn't jump on it but I just told her to go to her bed, we turned the lights off and it was quiet - she just curled up and went to sleep and let us sleep the night through. Now, I want to keep her in her crate but what we tried this morning was take her out for her morning toilet (one short, sharp bark tells us that she's up and needs to go - no problem with that) and instead of putting her back in her crate cause it's just a bit too early to get up (which is when the barking would start), we just allowed her to roam the hallway and our bedroom. After 5 minutes of dashing she curled up at my feet and went to sleep for another 1.5 hours. 

Definitely a result I can live with - now if only I could keep her from chewing my scrapbooking papers. 

[elaine.e]

Only just seen this thread or I would have posted sooner. I really sympathise, as barking makes me very anxious and on edge. Our first Cocker puppy used to bark in the house when he wanted attention or was bored. We were first time dog owners and didn't know what to do until somebody told us to walk out of the room as soon as he started barking. It worked like a miracle and made me a much more relaxed owner.

[Loudon]

Ohh I sympathise. Poppy is  a barker. I think it's in her temperament as her mother is very quiet.

I distract Poppy with something to get her to stop barking. It's worth a try. Also when going to the cupboard where I keep their leads Poppy gets sooo excited she starts this incessant barking as she knows it's walk time. However, I have found that if I slip the lead on her and tell he to "be quiet" she quietens right down. Yeah!

But I see (with her quivering) that she really struggles  to keep quiet. Boo! 

[Sarah.H]

Millie does that really sharp loud bark if she hears something outside (or thinks she does  ) and quite often I have a cup or glass half way to my mouth and end up jumping and spilling it all over me  . She is always worse on an evening before the OH is home from work, once he's in she doesn't seem to listen out so much.

[Loudon]

She is always worse on an evening before the OH is home from work, once he's in she doesn't seem to listen out so much.

Slightly of track here. Sorry.

Many hundreds of years ago when I was courting my future wife her parents had  a yorkie called Bonnie.

Bonnie would would be asleep and suddenly jump up and run round in circles and run to the front door. Somebody would say that he was telling them that it was me coming. Sure enough I was at the door in the next couple of minutes.

Nobody could figure it out but I reckoned he knew the particular sound of my approaching car. 

[Sarah.H]

She is always worse on an evening before the OH is home from work, once he's in she doesn't seem to listen out so much.

Slightly of track here. Sorry.

Many hundreds of years ago when I was courting my future wife her parents had  a yorkie called Bonnie.

Bonnie would would be asleep and suddenly jump up and run round in circles and run to the front door. Somebody would say that he was telling them that it was me coming. Sure enough I was at the door in the next couple of minutes.

Nobody could figure it out but I reckoned he knew the particular sound of my approaching car. 

She never ever barks when I open the gate/touch the front door but does when anyone else even the OH does it, they are amazing creatures