Hi everyone!
I miss you all and feel guilty that I have'nt been around and then here I am asking for advice. But hey, when you know where the very best expert advice is - you use it, right?
Anyway, some may remember my 2 dogs: Bear - 12-year-old chow/shepard mix and Murray 5-year-old collie. They are great dogs but they have developed 2 problems that I want to work on and I want to do it right.
1. They have become BARKERS. I do not mind them barking when someone comes in the front door, this is acceptable and expected. But, recently they bark when someone just walks into the room! I'm talking about people who live here and just walk into the living room from the kitchen - they bark as if a stranger has just busted through the window! How can I get them to bark at appropriate times and not all the time as they have been. They even bark when we are playing with our grand daughter and making amusing noises for her!
2. Speaking of my grand daughter (who is unbelievably cute at 7 months of age ) they love her and I am glad I never have to worry about them hurting her. But, they are TOO protective of her sometimes. If we approach her, making amusing noises as mentioned above, or playfully reaching for her - they have a fit. They get between us and her and (Murray especially) will make threatening barks at us in order to protect her. He misinterprets our "play" which is usually a funny noise or walk with a threat. It really interferes with our play time with her, because we're always having to calm down the dogs, who are in an uproar. I'm glad they are protective of her, but they need to realize she doesn't need protecting from US.
Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks so much!!!
I miss you all and feel guilty that I have'nt been around and then here I am asking for advice. But hey, when you know where the very best expert advice is - you use it, right?
Anyway, some may remember my 2 dogs: Bear - 12-year-old chow/shepard mix and Murray 5-year-old collie. They are great dogs but they have developed 2 problems that I want to work on and I want to do it right.
1. They have become BARKERS. I do not mind them barking when someone comes in the front door, this is acceptable and expected. But, recently they bark when someone just walks into the room! I'm talking about people who live here and just walk into the living room from the kitchen - they bark as if a stranger has just busted through the window! How can I get them to bark at appropriate times and not all the time as they have been. They even bark when we are playing with our grand daughter and making amusing noises for her!
2. Speaking of my grand daughter (who is unbelievably cute at 7 months of age
) they love her and I am glad I never have to worry about them hurting her. But, they are TOO protective of her sometimes. If we approach her, making amusing noises as mentioned above, or playfully reaching for her - they have a fit. They get between us and her and (Murray especially) will make threatening barks at us in order to protect her. He misinterprets our "play" which is usually a funny noise or walk with a threat. It really interferes with our play time with her, because we're always having to calm down the dogs, who are in an uproar. I'm glad they are protective of her, but they need to realize she doesn't need protecting from US.Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks so much!!!
