Rescue Boy Passive Aggressive Barking

[julesph]

Got a quick question about behaviour which those of you with rescues may have encountered before.  Rufus has been with us 2 weeks and has made huge improvements but he is exhibiting some behaviour which we need to tackle and wonder if any cocker people had any expert advice on this!

Basically he is very nervous still - especially around men - but also desperate for love and cuddles.  He romps up to us for a cuddle but then stands 2 feet away wagging his tail but barking his head off and if you lean in to touch him he will back off.  This will settle with time and we are not to worried about it - but the barking is driving everyone nuts!

He will also bark right in the faces of our two Springers who don't argue back but get a bit annoyed by it - especially our blind dog who is a gentle peaceable soul and also the alpha in the household.

In fact he barks a lot and we would like to curb this if possible as he is upsetting the other dogs.  His fosterer had quite a few little yappy dogs who also barked a lot and I wonder if he has almost 'imprinted' and thinks that this is the way dogs behave!

Anyone had anything like this to deal with before?  Any suggestions?

[julesph]

I shall reply to myself here  !  Just to let everyone know that this little chap has been an absolute angel today and has been asleep on the sofa ( learning the ways of the ph household! ) all day.  No barking and no overexceitement.

I think that this is just an adjustment thing - he WAS in a yappy house and now he has to learn that he is in a very calm house with 3 other very sleepy dogs.     He only seems to bark when over excited and so I think we can soom calm him down and chill him out.

It is a long journey from a puppy farm shed to a loving home with humans who cuddle you and all in all he is doing really well.  He has been nicknamed The Ginger Marauder....but not by me I hasten to add! We love him. 

[joanne_v]

I would consider three things:

Firstly give him more time to settle.
Secondly if you have visitors he will be nervous with put him somewhere quiet and calm in the house so he doesnt get too excited/nervous about them being there.
Thirdly if you do have visitors who are dog savvy instead of encouraging him to go to them for a pat by either coaxing him with words or food tell them to completely ignore him and pretend he isnt there. He will eventuallly learn that they wont bother him and he will learn to relax. barking is his way of communicating his feelings so as long as you take heed of this the barking will decrease and as he learns to relax it will also decrease. Chances are he will always be a gobby cocker though!

Oh and finally get some ear plugs, cocker barking can drive you nuts! 

[1sttimecockermum]

The Ginger Marauder  Bless him Glad Rufus has had a quiet day - I guess when he was in the puppy farm  he could have barked all day and no'one would take any notice  I don't know how long it takes for a dog to settle in a new home - must differ from dog to dog but it sounds like he'll get there sooner rather then later as you say he's made huge improvements already    I'm so glad you have given him such a lovely home - I love hearing about him, he's such a cutie 

[Penelope]

We have a yorkie and she can be quite yappy if allowed... that leads to the rest of the gang joining in.
We find that if we keep her quiet, the rest are quiet too - so guess you could be right about Rufus coming from a "yappy" household 
Hope he continues to settle well.

[julesph]

Yes he was fostered for week by a lovely lady who had westies......not my favourite breed I have to say....and they were very, how shall I say, talkative!  Suspect he has picked a bit of that up!

Alice is such a peaceful and quiet cocker....and has been a dream to rescue and rehabilitate despite her being a long way from 'mended' but since joining COL I have realised that some cockers can be extremely...vocal! Enter Rufus....!

[mcphee]

Yes he was fostered for week by a lovely lady who had westies......not my favourite breed I have to say....and they were very, how shall I say, talkative!  Suspect he has picked a bit of that up!

Alice is such a peaceful and quiet cocker....and has been a dream to rescue and rehabilitate despite her being a long way from 'mended' but since joining COL I have realised that some cockers can be extremely...vocal! Enter Rufus....!

Oh dash, I was hoping a miracle cure for barking Rufus's was to be forthcoming. The particular difficulty at present is that he seems not to realise it is our cat going across the garden each evening, and makes us jump out of our skins by manic barking. Oh well back to the crate.

[Top Barks]

Sounds like  adjustment nerves but if it continues you may also want to get his hearing and sight checked over too.

[julesph]

He is actually blind in one eye and this is probably contributing to his nerviness but I have to say that day by day we are seeing huge leaps forward.  He is a little treasure and is actually very smart I think - he learns very quickly and is very busy.  Totally unlike Alice who is a bit lazy and a total cuddlemonster!

[cindere528]

I think all the barky cockers should come & spend some time with Violet. I've had her 6 weeks tomorrow and have hardly heard a sound from her 

[sharonmansfield]

aww bless little Rufus, he is just telling you he is having a lovely time.
I have a gobby cocker, and the noise is quite shrill, she does it when excited especially if we go and play ball in the garden she barks with every step of the chase!!!!! She just gets very enthusiastic about everything and has to tell us.