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Post by mummychicken on May 10, 2015 10:40:15 GMT
Re homed a lovely dog yesterday who is generally well behaved but this morning he wont stop barking!!
Do I ignore it and him or do I chastise him?
Thoughts please
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Post by garrick on May 10, 2015 14:56:02 GMT
First of all, congratulations on the new addition to your family - and brilliant that you've re-homed a dog rather than buying a puppy - well done you.
The barking thing can be a bit perplexing, particularly in the early stages. When I adopted my little girl from CDH two years ago, she would start madly barking whenever she thought she was going for a walk and just would not stop until she'd got out of the house.
Although what you've done is a lovely thing and I'm sure your new dog will settle pretty quickly, I guess it can be a pretty bewildering time for them - suddenly being in a new environment, new sounds, new smell etc. If your dog has been in a shelter with a lot of other dogs, it may be he has become used to the sounds of other dogs barking and is trying to compensate a bit now because he's in a much quieter place. If that is the case, then he'll definitely quieten down once he knows for sure this is his new home and he's become used to it.
It would be worth, in these early stages, to go through the various options as to why your dog may be barking. Is he barking because he wants to go out to the toilet? Maybe it's because somebody he doesn't recognise has come to the house. Perhaps he's thirsty? (I know that sounds an obvious one but I really had to 'train' my husband to check that the dogs' waterbowls were always full!!)
If you go through these various options, you'll quickly learn to recognise the signals your dog is giving you and act accordingly. I wouldn't chastise him because it may be trying to tell you something and isn't sure how yet. He may be bewildered as to why he's being told off if he's trying to be a good boy and tell you something. Once you've got to know him and 'read' him a bit better, you'll have a pretty good idea when he's just barking because he likes the sound of his own voice - a trait of my little one! If she is doing that, I don't tell her off, I just look at her and occasionally put my finger up (in a sort of 'fingers on lips' style) and wait until she stops barking. If she does, I tell her she's a good girl and carry on. I tend to praise her rather than giving her a treat because I don't want her to associate barking with getting treats.
Another reason why you don't want to chastise your dog for barking is that he will want to protect you if a stranger comes to the house - take it from me, it's very reassuring to have that warning system in place!!
Good Luck - I'm sure you're on course for a really happy future with him - just give him time
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Post by Becky on May 10, 2015 19:09:33 GMT
I agree with everything Garrick has said, please don't chastise your dog for a natural way of communicating. He could be barking for a number of reasons and you need to find out why. If you have only had him a day he could be bewildered and unsettled at his new surroundings and he needs time and patience to settle in, not chastising.
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Post by Baglady on May 11, 2015 10:59:34 GMT
None of on here are trainer/behaviourists, but we all share a passion for our dogs. If you want to form a lifelong bond with your new family member, it needs to be based on trust and understanding. I know dogs are not babies, but they have still have feelings, needs etc. Imagine you had just brought a new child into your house, and you didn't have a common language but the child was trying to tell you something, hopefully you would not think that the only two options were to 'ignore or chastise' the child...... You would try to work out what the child was saying, what it wanted.... Is the child scared? hungry? thirsty? does it want to go to the toilet? is it simply happy and wants to play? is it lonely and wants a cuddle? Is it overwhelmed and needs some 'quiet time'? I think the most important thing to do is try to empathise with your dog. Understand that the dog simply doesn't know what's happening, or why. May be missing his/her family, but whatever is going on, neither 'ignore or chastise' are going to make the dog feel better, or to help you. There are some really excellent trainers in the Cardiff area, if you are unsure how to help your dog settle, and would like help understanding how a dog's mind works, it might be an idea to enrol in classes. Dogs are very sensitive creatures, they form very strong bonds with humans, that's one of the reasons we choose to spend our lives with them. They have needs, and we need to fulfil their needs, in return they give us undying love, loyalty and affection. But it's a two-way street. Please don't ignore or chastise your new family member. Good luck, I'm sure things will get better really soon once to start to get to know each other
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Post by mummychicken on May 12, 2015 11:10:02 GMT
Thanks everyone.
We think we may have got to the bottom of it. It seems to start when he spots a squirrel in our garden which he naturally barks at. ( Don't know if he's ever seen one before).
The problem is once he starts barking he is loathe to stop.
We are now working on distraction tactics which seem to be doing the job.
Otherwise our new fella is a total delight and once we can get over the hurdle of introductions between him and the resident cat all will be fine and settled in our world
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Post by jellitot on May 12, 2015 12:54:37 GMT
Hi, just caught up with this thread. I am currently fostering a pug for another rescue. It took us a while to work out what he was barking at. Always in the evening, when it was getting darker. Turns out the little fella is completely spooked by shadows. Like you have said, we do all we can to distract him from it. Playing with him, and keeping him interested in toys. This generally does wear him out after a little while and will forget about it! I do think the trick is to keep the mind busy, so it distracts them to keep them away from the thing they are fixated on E x
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