BARKING!!!!!

Hi
it's me and my lovely Debo again. We've started a Kennel Club Good Citizen course for puppies 3 weeks ago.
Eveything goes smooth ,he does everything they want him to do but.... everytime he wants someones attention he barks,when I hold him on the lead and he wants to go and say hello to other dogs -he barks. Try to distract him with a treat,toy -doesn't work. He's like that on the walks as well. And there is new thing. I can take him with me to work,I'm a nanny. He better now with the kids,less nippy. He has his cage there as well ,I put him in there everytime we're going out and when we back he starts to bark on people,just on them. he does it even when everybody is at home and he has to be in the cage because I'm busy with something-when some one pass by he starts to bark. please help,don't want to have a dog who barks- I've always hated that dogs.

Mine very rarely barks so I don't know what to suggest

Have patience, he's only 15 weeks & he's looking for attention. Pups need so much attention, far more than adults. If you put him in a crate where there's loads going on he'll want to be part of it. Can you put the crate somewhere quieter? How long is he in a crate for during a typical day, and for what periods?

Also, it helps to teach him "Quiet".

Wait for him to stop barking and the second he stops say "Quiet. Good boy!" & give him lots of fuss, but you have to be quick & say the word the second he stops!

Sometimes you have to teach a dog to bark on command before you can teach him to stop. When he barks, tell him "Speak, good boy!" If he'll bark on command, it'll be more controlled & the "Quiet" may be easier to teach.

It is in a quiet place and he doesn't do in my place. The most he's in a crate is 2hrs but he's a sleep then and maybe 3 times for like 20mins. I'll try to teach him " quiet", he learns quickly ,will see. Thank u again

We are going through the same thing with Suki right now as well. Was never an issue until a couple of weeks ago

Callie only barks at things that scare her so I don't know what to say, sorry

Jstaff,same thing with Debo

I'm with Caryll, a good way of dealing with problem barking is to put it on cue; teach the dog to bark on command then teach him to stop barking on command.

Here's a good little article on barking:

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1125

Rocky rarely barks unless he has reason too. The "Quiet" command does work very well when we need to use it too. Please give this a try.

@ Galadriel

with regards to clicker training. I know this is supposes to be used for good behaviour, but we turned it around and used it for bad behaviour. Our dog was very stubbourn, and verbal commands to quiet him down, or stop him doing naughty things didn't work. I tried the clicker and it sort of snapped him out of what he was busy doing. So we praise with the voice, and correct with a clicker.

I know its not how its meant to be done, but it worked for us, so I'm sticking to it.
Its even working with Loki who is only 13 weeks old now

Chantel wrote: I know this is supposes to be used for good behaviour, but we turned it around and used it for bad behaviour. Our dog was very stubbourn, and verbal commands to quiet him down, or stop him doing naughty things didn't work. I tried the clicker and it sort of snapped him out of what he was busy doing. So we praise with the voice, and correct with a clicker.

Actually, you're still using it for good behaviour, because he stops when you click. I take it you praise him when he stops?

Clicker training is just a way of conditioning to the sound of the click. Everything a dog does is a 'behaviour'. I sometimes think we should stop thinking in terms of good & bad, and think in terms of acceptable & not acceptable, because all behaviours are instinctive reactions for a dog - it's just that some are ones we want & others we don't want.

Caryll wrote:

Chantel wrote: I know this is supposes to be used for good behaviour, but we turned it around and used it for bad behaviour. Our dog was very stubbourn, and verbal commands to quiet him down, or stop him doing naughty things didn't work. I tried the clicker and it sort of snapped him out of what he was busy doing. So we praise with the voice, and correct with a clicker.

Actually, you're still using it for good behaviour, because he stops when you click. I take it you praise him when he stops?

Clicker training is just a way of conditioning to the sound of the click. Everything a dog does is a 'behaviour'. I sometimes think we should stop thinking in terms of good & bad, and think in terms of acceptable & not acceptable, because all behaviours are instinctive reactions for a dog - it's just that some are ones we want & others we don't want.

Never really thought of it that way, but you're right. We do praise him when he stops, obviously encouraging him to listen. Sometimes he even gets a treat