unique barking problem

To Whom It May Concern:





I have a very unique barking problem because of dogs yard access. We have
two dogs of mixed breed retrievers (mutts). We have an invisible around both
front and back yard and the dogs have access to both parts of the yards. One
dog that never barked before now barks all the time. She barks at anything.
I understand that a lot of it has to do with a dog's behavior but I can tell
she does it too much. She needs our attention or someone walks by. If anyone
has any ideas I would appreciate it. Email me if you need more information.





Thanks,



Aric

On Sun, 21 Dec 2003 20:42:51 +0000, Aric wrote:

> I have a very unique barking problem because of dogs yard access. We
> have two dogs of mixed breed retrievers (mutts). We have an invisible
> around both front and back yard and the dogs have access to both parts
> of the yards. One dog that never barked before now barks all the time.
> She barks at anything. I understand that a lot of it has to do with a
> dog's behavior but I can tell she does it too much. She needs our
> attention or someone walks by. If anyone has any ideas I would
> appreciate it. Email me if you need more information.

Your situation is not unique. You have a disaster in the making. Almost
certainly your dog is getting shocked when it sees something interesting
and moves toward your property line. I predict that if you don't take
corrective action the dog doing the excessive barking will some day
(probably sooner rather than later) "jump" the invisible fence and attack
whatever has it agitated (be it another dog, cat, whatever).

This past summer I came across a small dog weaving among morning rush hour
traffic near my house. I stopped my car and coaxed the scared dog to me
and picked it up. The dog had an "invisible fence" collar on which was
making a buzzing sound. I took it off the dog and got a hell of a nasty
shock. The damn thing continued to buzz periodically. I called the owner
and arranged to return the dog. When I did the nitwit blithely told me
this was the third time the dog had jumped the "fence" but she felt that
all that was needed was some more "conditioning". I was tempted to call
the SPCA.

There was a good article in The Whole Dog Journal this past year that
discussed the behavioral problems that invisible fences can cause. A
common problem apparently is excessive barking.

You couldn't pay me to use an invisible fence. Get rid of the invisible
fence and build a real fence around the back yard. Preferrably one
they can't see through on the street side. Then take your dogs for a walk
every day (preferrably at least two miles given your description of their
breed). I walk my pack of four dogs six out of seven days on average. Our
normal route is 4.2 miles. They all do a "happy dance" when I say the
magic phrase "go for walk". Remember: a tired dog is a happy, and calmer,
dog.

When in the house the dogs are allowed two barks when they see something
outside. I then praise them for alerting me to a potential danger. If
possible I also go to the window they're looking out just so they know I'm
taking their warning seriously. If they continue to bark I tell them no.
Having followed that regime consistently my dogs now bark very little. To
the point that I've received several compliments from neighbors regarding
how good my dogs are.