So, I took them for a longer off-leash walk after work- thought it would be a good chance to practice Tessa's Canine Good Citizen loose-leash walking... not so great. It was a "who's walking who" sort of day.
Then, after we came back to the house, I thought I'd practice some weave poles with Makin... another struggle. She loves it and wants those treats so bad, but we've regressed to luring her- not sure why.
And Tessa's got a case of the barks. Very bizarre- and I'm not sure if this is the best way to address it, but I find the only cure is distraction with positive rewards for whatever new thing she does. Probably she needs more exercise too. Still, I hope this is just a phase!
On a positive note, here is a picture of Neil: the way life should be- two snuggling puppies as he works on the blog.
7 comments:
That position is pretty familiar to us! You need a bigger couch, though.
Certainly our boys like schedules, too. And irrespective of whatever developmental phase they might be in, each of our dogs also seems to have one day a month when the lights might be on but they don't correspond to the switches. Hopefully your two are just having their goofy days for the month.
Barking in the house is however a non-negotiable for us, so especially if it's during a play period, it's greeted with stern words.
best
A+M+M+J
Totally agree on the barking. We don't enjoy it nor accept it. Makin will only bark with a door bell or knock. Tessa has found her voice and has started to use it a bit with anxiety! As far as the schedule is concerned, we are looking into some day care or dog walkers for a few days a week. The local trails are also better than they sound and have ample room for running and sniffing.
So what prompts Tessa's barking? For example, Ike is a guard/fear barker. Creepy people cause barking. Creepy people that offer eye contact? Oh no!
Turid Rugaas just released a new book on barking and she was on DogRead (a yahoo list) as a guest for the past few weeks. You might find it interesting.
Great pic - very lovey dogs.
Oops, sorry - Turid was on CSDogBookReview, not DogRead. Jane Killion is currently guesting on DogRead.
Here's a link to make it easy:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CSDogBookReview/
The barking tends to be more driven by anxiety/fear/unassuredness. It is relativeley easy to identify when it will happen and when possible we try to turn the time into a positive experience. An example is when we were driving to the park this morning a grumbling motorcycle came by and prompted a bark. I get her attention and she forgets about it. Not sure if this is the proper way of handling it? I will check out the link. Thanks for that.
Since you seem to notice when she is about to bark - you obviously know her cues. (With Ike, when he is going to bark he would start breathing more deeply or freeze.) I would try to catch her prior to the actual bark - when she first exhibits a cue she will bark - with a request for hand touch, eye contact, etc. This is where a clicker could come in very handy, too.
Oh yes, we too know the "ergonomics" of the Vizsla workstation. Comfy for Rocket not always comfy for us.
We are SO lucky with barking. Rocket hardly ever barks and when he does it has a purpose behind it i.e. workmen arriving in the neighbors yard, knock at front door, strange sounds in garage etc. It's rather alarming when he suddenly barks at 3AM and starts investigating the house with intensity tho.
Good luck.
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