What am I missing please?

[Mel]

Ok we tried the lavender and that worked, for a while but even that and the DAP are not proving very successful.
Tali has restarted this barking at every tiny noise. Trouble with this is, being in flats, it's going on all the time. It's also loaded with attention barking. I've tried ignoring it and he just won't stop, tried 'shhhh' with praise, tried lots of calming signals but to no avail. He can learn. I got down on the floor with him with the hairdryer yesterday afternoon and by last walk yesterday he just sat there letting me dry him after being petrified earlier on.
I have ordered a book on clicker training and a clicker to purely use it as a calming aid not as a continued method of training. Was hoping to try something I read on here about bark=click=treat, shhhh=click=treat, I don't know if it'll work.

I lost my voice yesterday morning and although it came back, it's gone again today and I'm extremely tired, think I have a bug, so the barking is as unappreciated by me as my neighbours.

[SimonandMandy]

In reading some of your recent posts it is likely that Tali is developing reactions that are linked to the environment and potentially how you are feeling and reacting each day, ultimately you do have stress and dogs do read this and one of the things you need to consider is not just what Tali needs but what do you need too.  The more the house is calm the more Tali will calm, lavender and DAP can not achieve that alone.

You need to be very very careful giving treats for barking as you may be rewarding the bark  which will compound your issues.   If Tali is affected by noise you could try and use a noise CD so that noise becomes a norm not an exception - you need to use this very carefully though starting on zero sound and increasing in micro units where there is no reaction.  Ultimately though the issue may not be noise, it may be that Tali is just always on his toes and therefore tense and these reactions/anxieties could start to grow in a range of ways as Tali matures.  I don't know how much you have looked at it but T touch is a fabulous way to relax both of you as you can use the techniques on humans too, it is worth going to an actual course or having a one to one session rather than reading books though.  The courses are more than reasonable in price and you would spend more on toys and books in no time so they can be a great place to start...

[Mel]

Thank you for your reply. I have the Clix noise cd and it doesn't bother him at all. Been using it since day one. I've no stress at the moment, mum is away. No visitors. We are having lots of walks and games. Been trying TTouch but not really achieving much there either. Anyhow just thought I'd ask, I'll go back to being ill 

[fizzyntiffy]

No advice, plenty of sympathy - I tried the bark-click-treat followed by shh-click-treat : obviously got it completely wrong as my two are worse & actually stand right beside me woofing sporadically.  Back to the drawing board for me.  Am trying the 'don't react' now when they bark.

It DOES get you down.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

I agree with stress levels making dogs worse, even if things have quietened down at home, to date, it's been quite a stressy environment for him so he won't switch off instantly. I haven't had to deal with this specific problem (I don't think) but my two will occasionally kick off - Normy more than Dave but it's only when people arrive at the house or she sees people over the road loitering etc.. and when she barks I just firmly say 'No' then 'Bed', she goes to her bed and that stops her instantly.. would it help giving him something else to do so he focus's on that rather than the noise and barking? Going to her bed is enough for Normy, but she's 5 now - what about as soon as he barks say 'no' then give him something else to do and reward him for doing that quietly - teach him to go and fetch something?

Normy NEEDS direction from me and needs to be told what to do in situations she finds worrying. If I ignore her (I have tried id ) she gets more stressed because she doesn't know how to handle some things and if she doesn't have any direction, she worries then starts barking. When we're on a walk I have to tell her what to do around other dogs too (as an aside) otherwise she gets very stressed and doesn't behave well - maybe Tali is similar in some situations?

She's a very different dog to Dave, ignoring Dave really works... ignoring Normy just makes her worse.

[SimonandMandy]

Thank you for your reply. I have the Clix noise cd and it doesn't bother him at all. Been using it since day one. I've no stress at the moment, mum is away. No visitors. We are having lots of walks and games. Been trying TTouch but not really achieving much there either. Anyhow just thought I'd ask, I'll go back to being ill 

There was no suggestion that you are ill and I apologise if this is how you have read it, what was meant by how you are overall i.e. whether you are relaxed, stressed etc, dogs have an incredible was of picking up signals that we are not even conscious of - I heard of one the other day with an owner whose dog pulls on the lead, when focussed on this the dog really played to it which made the owner tense resulting in the dog pulling a bit more, when the owner was distracted and relaxed in talking to another person the dog immediately stoppped pulling and the owner hadn't actually realised this until it was pointed out.  If you are remotely nervous of Tali barking at noise such as hearing someone coming in and you think 'Tali please don't react' this is exactly when he will as he will pick up on this change in you..

I agree with Hannah about distraction techniques, these can work well but look options that won't hype him as that could mean more noise, Tali is a cocker after all    'Whats this' is a good distraction game which you could then reward when he changes the focus to you - even maybe just giving a simple request  - we have a whole game with sits, downs and twirls but this can lead to happy barking.  If it is a time of day like people going to work you could try to use a kong to keep him busy or give him his breakfast at this time, even put a bit in a treat ball to keep him busy

T touch is something you can just do to wind down but you have to be very relaxed yourself for good effect

[Mel]

Oh dear you misunderstood. I AM ill at the moment. Keep losing my voice and in the throws of going down with something. I'm sure I put this in my post. Sorry if you thought I was being sarcastic this wasn't the case.

Thanks for the replies. Tali is great, if a little exhuberant with other dogs. He met a female cocker, Sammy, yesterday and they took in turns to bark and play bow. I think he was very good, then again anything is better than Keli who hated all dogs.

He just started as someone called lift. I called him back and treated when he sat quietly but just as I was going to treat him he barked and simultaniously nabbed the treat. He looked as shocked as me!

It's like a habit, the more he barks the more hyper he gets and the more he barks. However it's fear because if I'm stroking him or grooming him or something he'll chomp me in the process of trying to get to the door and yes I've tried restricting access to no avail.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Sorry I wasn't suggesting Tali was like Normy with other dogs - I just mentioned that to highlight her need for direction. She's not a naturally dominant dog and she's quite unsure of herself and a real worrier but she also feels she needs to do something if no one else gives direction, if that makes sense? And she usually chooses to do something that's not ideal But if I'm on the ball and spot what's about to happen, I can give her something else to do and that works in two ways 1. She relaxes because she hasn't got to decide how to deal with the situation that's worrying her 2. Less dogs get chased

Can you be one step ahead of him and the second you hear a noise that you know he feels he has to bark at, give him a different job to do so with time he stops focusing on the noises and barking at them?

It took a lot of time to get Normy to focus on me rather than worrying about another dog or barking too much at something she was worried about near the house and we still have the occasional problem, but given time it mostly works now.. Some of the time it took was also for me to get into the mindset/habit of being one step ahead of her and thinking 'Weim' rather than focusing on what I was doing

[mlynnf50]

I really sympathise with you, we live in a flat and I am always worried about the barking, although his more in the car I had to get out of the car 8 times yesterday and turn my back on him until he stopped.  i will be trying all the things that have been mentioned.  Hope all goes well for you and a big hug and hope you feel better soon