My dog is a koolie and she is 8 months old. Whenever i walk out of the room she goes pscho and starts barking. We have tried everything from going back and playing with her, yelling, squirting her with water, and even flicking her on the nose (dont freak out, we arent abuseing her-our dog trainer/vet suggested this, it doesnt hurt them) the only way we can get her to be quiet is to go back to her and sit with her and play... but as soon as we leave again she barks and we have to go back. any ideas?
2006-10-16 01:42:55 · 11 answers · asked by jengator17 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Your dog has serious separation anxiety. She needs to learn that it is OK to be on her own. You should start by teaching her a 'Stay' command. Once she has got the hang of this, you can start to go further from her until you are standing the other side of an open door while she is lying in the room. Repeating the command, close the door just slightly. Go back to her and praise her like mad if she has stayed put. Repeat this until she learns not to worry about you messing with the door. She should start to think 'Oh, it's mummy playing that silly game again, but I always get lots of fuss and treats when she does it, so I'll play along.' Once she is comfortable about you leaving the room, then you can try actually closing the door, just for a second. Go straight back in the room, but only pay any attention to her if she has been quiet, if she has barked then you must ignore her. Never give her any fuss if you enter a room and she has been barking, this will make her worse and worse. She is not barking out of naughtiness, but because she is genuinely worried about the situation. This is not a quick process and will take a few weeks of effort, but eventually she should be able to accept you leaving her in another room while you go elsewhere in the house. Separation anxiety can be a very difficult issue to solve so you may want to take more professional advice. Sounds like your dog trainer needs to go back to dog trainer school - sorry!
2006-10-16 01:58:06 · answer #1 · answered by stienbabe 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have a hound dog who when she was a puppy was a big barker. The thing we always did is said to her "No, Bark" and that was it every time she barked. We would try to say it before she even got the full bark out. You can tell right before your dog barks and if you catch them before they fully get worked up it is easier to keep them under control. Also if they are sitting they don't usually bark. You just have to be consistent and assertive. Squirting water never worked for us as my dog was never afraid of it she would try to drink it more. We also tried a collar that made a high pitch beep every time she barked but that didn't work that well either. It just doesn't happen overnight. Some dogs just aren't barkers and some are. My mother has a dog that never barks but mine was crazy.
She might just have alot of energy and needs a very long walk daily to aid with the training. Eight months old is still a young puppy. Dogs don't really work out all those puppy problems until about 2 years old.
2006-10-16 01:58:30 · answer #2 · answered by walkerhound03 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
koolies are working dogs, more specifically, herding dogs, and she's just doing what naturally comes to her....she's herding you and your family, trying to keep all of you together around her....does she bite at your ankles when you're trying to walk by?...because that wouldn't be uncommon, either....The best thing that you can do for a working dog is to give them a job, so they can use their natural instincts in a positive, constructing way...there are many herding schools around, where she can have fun while getting a good exercise....or, if it's safe, take her to a park with a flock of geese, or ducks, and let her chase them around...In the mean time, work on your status as the pack leader, so she learns to respect you in that way, the pack leader is NEVER told by lower rank members what to do....
Also, teach her the word QUIET before you start saying it to her with no meaning to her whatsoever....Associate the word with her being quiet (say the word as she IS quiet) and give her a reward (you could use treats in the beginning, then start incorporating other life rewards, anything that she enjoys, like a belly rub, a walk, playtime, and so on...) Stop rewarding the barking, sometimes even negative attention is enough of a reward for a dog to continue doing the behavior because it pays off...If you yell at her, she might think that you just joined her and you can have a nice bark fest together, lol...
Good luck!!!!
2006-10-16 02:08:15 · answer #3 · answered by LilyF 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have to ignore it!
Seriously...remember something about dogs and kids alike.
Punishment=Attention
Attention=Good
The dog wants attention...even negative attention is better than no attention at all. The barking is attention grabbing behavior. But in punishing the behavior you have been giving the dog attention. So the dog is getting exactly what she wants!
Behaviorist psychology stuff says if you want a behavior to continue you reward it, and if you want a behavior to stop you punish it.
The problem is you have been seeing these techniques as punishments....but the dog has been seeing them as rewards.
It might be really hard to ignore it, but you're going to have to if you want it to stop. And it wont happen overnight, so you'll have to be consistent and patient. If you leave the room just leave the room and do whatever it is you were planning on doing (eating dinner, doing dishes, going to the bathroom, etc). Come back when you are ready to come back and dont pay much attention to the dog when you FIRST get back to the room either. Its going to be hard but it will work!
2006-10-16 01:56:23 · answer #4 · answered by jenNdan18286 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I had the same issue. She will outgrow it, but to help that along she needs reassurance that you will come back. I have a special beef jerky that my dog knows is the "see you later" cookie. When I have to leave for a while, I give him this cookie (which is different from other cookies he gets) and say "see you later" while I pet him gently for a minute. He knows I will be back and saves this treat until then. When I come home, he runs to show me his cookie that he saved and then he eats it! It's our solution.
2006-10-16 01:53:49 · answer #5 · answered by dgm 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Stay in the room!! jk my dog does that alot too. The thing we tried to do was leave the doors open in every room and let her follow us around the house so she doen't get lonely. If that doesn't work give her a nice belly scratch or take her for a walk to calm her down. Other than that idk what to tell ya!
2006-10-16 01:46:36 · answer #6 · answered by LizziFishie 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Hei, don't torture your pet. You should speak to her nicely. Tell her Bye Bye...and assure her that you would come back immediately. Dogs are intelligent. They use to understand the master's instruction.
2006-10-16 02:23:35 · answer #7 · answered by ZeeMan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She is still a puppy and may feel scared when you leave her (she thinks of you as her her mother) just reassure her that you love her. She will probably grow out of it.
2006-10-16 01:49:45 · answer #8 · answered by Bella Donna 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Try to train your dog.........train her when to bark and not to bark, when and where to pee, and other stuffs too.......Be patient until it finally learns what to do by itself.......
2006-10-16 01:53:50 · answer #9 · answered by coollykice 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The truth is that dogs belong outside.
2006-10-16 01:48:53 · answer #10 · answered by samssculptures 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋