Stop Barking Dogs! Step-By-Step Action Plan And Anti-Bark Strategies To Avoid #240 #podcast

🍿Did you miss the first and second episode of Susan’s barking series? Watch both here: https://youtu.be/hT3hrn0QZyE and https://youtu.be/BfoFvBAue7c

How do we deal with barking at every sound outside? Car doors, key fobs, neighbors talking.

Perfect timing. Beagle pup has noticed his voice. Doesn't bark really yet but will be watching close as he's at that second fear stage of 19 weeks. Luckily still off work so keeping the routine the same. Just have to figure ways to keep a pup stimulated now that winter has hit in Canada.

I love ALL your podcast and videos! I'm not sure if it was this episode or the others on barking but you said to comment if you wanted to see a video on the puzzle games and how to introduce them at an easy level and moving to more advanced ones, I would LOVE to see that!

All these videos are enlightening. I keep on learning. Thank you, Susan. I'd like to add that sometimes barking indicates extreme stress about that person arriving which is a whole new episode needing a vet behaviourist since that is where I am at.

Thank you so much for all your helpful videos! Are you able to share what you do if the dog is still barking at triggers, but now they’re just doing it in the hot zone?

LOVE LOVE LOVE this protocol. Thank you!

Thank you Susan! This is a fantastic series as always!

This is exactly what I needed!

This is ON POINT for my Border Collie! Thank you so much ❤

You are amazing !! I can listen to you for hours !!

This is amazing thank you so much Susan for everything you share with us so generously. Sending all the stars and all the cookies for you and your team for your videos and how much you help us.

Thank you for this excellent and very much-needed series 😁 Apparently, I have done some of the stuff mentioned already... However, quite often, I face some details where I'm not sure how to handle them best. 🤔 So greeting guests is the ideal scenario for my hyper-friendly, over-excitable dog, and we've been working on conditioning the doorbell and inheriting the hot zone behavior for a while now, despite not having a remote feeder so far... (I know, it's on my list for quite a while already 🙈) I have listened to the relaxation (Ep. 191) and FRIDA (Ep. 200) protocol episodes again and will try to properly build that up and then restart the step-by-step action plan. But meanwhile, maybe you could elaborate more on when and when not to reinforce your dog in certain situations during a "greeting of houseguest". One situation I'm often facing is: What if the dog IS already in a dog bed and even remains there but starts barking? I can't really reinforce him staying there as I don't want to reinforce the overall behavior with barking? Same question how to reinforce/handle the situation when he stays there even while I'm doing business at the door but he remains barking? (I mean, so far, I always have to go back and forth between the door and the hot zone for reinforcement due to the lack of a remote feeder.) Or what if the dog goes into a hot zone, however, is barking on the way there, and continues occasionally while staying there? Also, what if the dog manages to be quiet there but is just below threshold (super tense, vibrating, and just barely containing himself and his voice) Another situation we're struggling with is the "meeting/greeting" itself. What if the dog doesn't care whether the person is ignoring him / turning their back on him and instead is trying to squeeze into the front or jumps on their butt xD I often feel like me stopping the dog from this reinforcement by grabbing the collar and holding him or putting him back in the hot zone isn't really doing any good / the next time he breaks the hot zone, or when he's even released, he just bolts into the person again. Another big challenge for us is our own people coming home. Like, I'm working at the desk, my dog sleeping beside me, and when someone (parents, girlfriend ...) comes home and unlocks the door. He will immediately go into bark mode and won't stop, not even when the person has already entered, and he has seen who it is. He will only stop a couple seconds after or after being able to "go see." Fun fact: when he's home alone, and one unlocks, enters, rings, etc., he will be quiet. For me and my girlfriend, he will even remain on his bed. So he somehow def. thinks he has to do this behavior "for us" or just knows there are usually no visitors coming over when we're not home too ^^ So the main trigger for him is definitely "seeing people" or the "expectation to see/meet them" as he has a similar behavior of rushing to the fence when strangers walk by. However, he will only run to the fence barking, and after a couple seconds, when he realizes, "I don't know you/you prob. won't enter into the property and greet me," he turns around and ignores them. As you also asked what barking scenario you have not yet covered. My girlfriend and I have been wondering for a while already how you managed that your dogs do not bark waiting their turns doing agility and while they are running themselves. I mean a big part is probably already that they can wait for their turn in a relaxed manner and thus start already in a calmer state. A point I also do understand or can see in our dog is frustration barking if the handling isn't ideal. However, there are situations where he's barking just because of the (over-) stimulation itself 🤔 Thank you so much for this series and we're looking forward to your response or follow-up episode 🤓 Edit: PS: since you recommended a remote feeder again... could you maybe also do an episode on "(how to introduce) remote feeders" please? Like the advantages of your three main options you mention and how to introduce them for the various scenarios?

Thanks soooo much!! This is one of my biggest concerns about bringing the new pup to our apartment 😅. Can't have her barking like crazy with the door bell.... We'd be exiled from the building. Wonderful advice as usual xxx

This protocol totally makes sense - thank you! I've been trying to find some good ideas to conquer some of the barking in my home!

I keep my journal on my phone so I can do it 'live' as and when I make an observation. Also, it's easy to scroll back and pinpoint a 'light bulb moment', and there have been a few recently. 😊

I'm really mulling over how to use the hot zone/remote feeder in the backyard when my boy starts going nuts spinning and barking at the squirrels who are taunting him from the tree tops! Not sure about the hot zone, but I might be able to (slowly) get him more interested in the Remote Feeder! lol

Thx for the barking video. I am doing some of the things you mentioned but need to watch your ‘how to relax your dog’ podcast. She is a MS and they tend to be verbal. There are days that she will bark at any and every sound she hears outside….cars, garage doors opening, walkers, landscapers, and lord help if a UPS, FedEx or Prime truck pulls in my quad….the site and sounds put her into barking frenzy.

Thanks Susan, you're a never ending fountain of knowledge. I love learning and your teaching is my high reinforcement! I stole your 'hop it up' cue, when I joined Recallers some time ago. Thanks to the team too. 🎉❤

Thanks so much for this! While my girl does not bark at much anymore, she will react to the door bell or knocking at times, as I do not get many visitors at my door. I try to use the hot zone for this, but she gets too excited and we have struggled with this. I am off to buy an auto feeder and follow your lead in reinforcing the value of going to her hot zone. My journal has been a game changer and I recommend that everyone keep a journal. I appreciate you so much. You and your team have helped Poppy and myself to learn and grow together. 🐕‍🦺💕