Barking

[Bailey08]

Hope it's okay that this isn't in training as it's more of a general question (in addition to a training one!). While I'm an avid Chaz reader, I am not the trainer many of you are, so please be gentle.

Bailey has had to transition recently from a SFH set back from a relatively quiet street (with a big fence surrounding) to a unit in a multifamily building on a busy street (also from a smallish city to a big one). So, we get a lot more random pedestrians walking by and have much closer neighbors (including some who live upstairs from us). He also recently turned two, and I don't know to what extent that really matters other than that he should be at or approaching maturity.

He likes to bark at everyone who comes near that house. We have been working on it, and at this point his threshold his higher (he doesn't bark at every little thing) and he's better about giving a warning bark and shutting up. It's still a work in progress.

Anyway, I do kind of still want him to bark when someone enters the building or something else "big" happens, since I do think there is some safety value in having a dog that barks -- so I don't want to extinguish it completely. (He wouldn't do a thing if someone actually came in the house, btw.)

Has anyone had to teach their dog these kinds of thresholds? What is the best way to teach them how to judge when they should and shouldn't bark?

Thanks in advance. And sorry that my posts are always was too long, lol.

 

[Maura]

He's learning what to alert to by you. When you don't alert to somebody walking down the street, or walking in the hall he realizes that it is okay. He's getting used to the idea that his territory to guard is much smaller. He may actually like not having to guard so much territory.

Don't worry about him guarding the apartment. He knows that the apt. is his area and he will still guard bark if somebody comes to the door. He's getting used to the familiar footsteps etc. It sounds like he is adjusting nicely.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I'd just teach a "quiet" cue (there are several threads about this in the training forum). Then if he barks, you can let him bark for a few seconds and then just ask him to be quiet.