Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I got a new dog a couple of weeks ago from the Humane Society. He is a smooth collie mix. The problem I am having is inside the house he is pretty quiet and good. Outside he barks at what seems to be everything. Frog noises, cars going by, bikes going by, other dogs, cats, truck noises and other things I have not determined. He also barks to go for a walk out of the yard so he can go poo. What is the best way to handle this? I do not want to annoy everyone in my neighborhood by having a dog that barks at everything. He also barks while playing is that okay to let him do that? How much barking should I expect and how much should I try to change? I have not had a young dog in a long time, my last dog was around 15 or 16 when she passed.

Thank you for any help on this...

You can see a picture of the dog at http://www.ttcbikes.cjb.net under what's new.

>>Hello,
>>
>>I got a new dog a couple of weeks ago from the Humane Society. He is a smooth collie mix. The problem I am having is inside the house he is pretty quiet and good. Outside he barks at what seems to be everything. Frog noises, cars going by, bikes going by, other dogs, cats, truck noises and other things I have not determined. He also barks to go for a walk out of the yard so he can go poo. What is the best way to handle this? I do not want to annoy everyone in my neighborhood by having a dog that barks at everything. He also barks while playing is that okay to let him do that? How much barking should I expect and how much should I try to change? I have not had a young dog in a long time, my last dog was around 15 or 16 when she passed.
>>
>>Thank you for any help on this...
>>
>>You can see a picture of the dog at http://www.ttcbikes.cjb.net under what's new.

>>>>>>>>>

Collies do have a strong genetic tendency to bark, and it's likely to disturb neighbors. A good solution is to keep the dog in the house when you're not able to supervise. Use a crate if the dog isn't ready for unsupervised house time yet. It will come. For barking when you are supervising, the recall method in this article works great:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1378&S=1&SourceID=47
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

From what I've learned taking Cookie to training class, the best way to get them to stop an undesirable behavior is to distract them. With Cookie, she flips out whenever she wants to play with other people and dogs. Our trainer told us to rapidly click and treat (or just treat if not clicker training)until the dog is so interested in the treats, it forgets what it was flipping out for, and then you gradually decrease the amount of treats, always switching up the time between treats. But at first just rapidly give him/her treats. Find something really yummy that your dog really likes and get them in 'the mode' before you head outside. Maybe buy a treat bag? We did and unintentionally learned that it works much better than a pocket cause when Cookie sees that bag, she knows it's time for business. Then gradually weane out the treat bag, first just placing it a few feet away and actually moving to the bag to get the treat.
But for now, I would do whatever I could to distract the pup. And if the pup still freaks, take him/her right back inside. I would hold off on long walks until the pup is better behaved outside. As for barking while playing, it's up to you whether or not you want to tollerate it. I think all dogs should be allowed a certain time and place to bark, so that they can get it out of their system. With Cookie, we let her bark only while playing in the backyard.
Hope this helps! Good luck!