# Barking - puppy habits vs. adult?



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Unfortunately, from my own experience, yes. Barking only gets worse with age, it doesn’t get better.

My toy puppy, Beckie, is 10 months old now and started barking when she was about 5-6 months old. In her case, she is barking out of fear, and it’s hard to control.

Since I’m home most of the time, I can intervene every time she barks and now she knows she’s not supposed to, but she still does it a little bit and growls. The worse is when she goes outside, she goes berzerk and it’s frantic barking. Since we still have 4 feet of snow, I can’t redirect her or do much.

So for now I make sure I stop her when she barks from what she sees out the window. It it gets too much, I will have to block the window so she doesn’t develop a really bad and nasty habit.

But she will remain a barker.

Merlin, my other toy, barely barks, and when he does, it’s usually for a good reason.

So they’re all different, but yes, some tend to bark a lot. I would not have Beckie in an appartment, I would be scared of complaints.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

My spoos are still very barky in play. Frosty's always been more of a talker--barking when he's bored, wants to be fed, wants attention, etc. I ignore all of that. If he barks in watchdog mode, he quiets after I say, "That's enough." I am hopeful he will finally realize that barking isn't going to get him what he wants. Praise and attention come from being calm and quiet. 

Maizie can be reactive and she has a very hard time stopping the barking when she's acting as a watchdog. I'm praying she will learn to quiet down when I ask her to! Since her stubbornness is fading in other areas, I'm confident she'll get better. Otherwise, she will find herself in a vibrating collar  

Fortunately, neither dog barks in classes and trials. So, just because your pup barks a lot at home doesn't mean he'll bark in other places. Have you noticed a difference in him when you take him to the vet or out socializing?


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## skywoods (Feb 22, 2018)

Dechi said:


> Unfortunately, from my own experience, yes. Barking only gets worse with age, it doesn’t get better.
> 
> My toy puppy, Beckie, is 10 months old now and started barking when she was about 5-6 months old. In her case, she is barking out of fear, and it’s hard to control.
> 
> ...


Oh no. Not what I was hoping to hear! I am in a townhouse. I've already talked to my neighbors to let them know that I have a puppy in training and apologized in advance for any barking they may hear. They were all very kind and understanding, but if this is going to continue into adulthood I fear it may become an issue. I am fine with some alert barking but right now the constant barking is very overwhelming!


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## skywoods (Feb 22, 2018)

zooeysmom said:


> My spoos are still very barky in play. Frosty's always been more of a talker--barking when he's bored, wants to be fed, wants attention, etc. I ignore all of that. If he barks in watchdog mode, he quiets after I say, "That's enough." I am hopeful he will finally realize that barking isn't going to get him what he wants. Praise and attention come from being calm and quiet.
> 
> Maizie can be reactive and she has a very hard time stopping the barking when she's acting as a watchdog. I'm praying she will learn to quiet down when I ask her to! Since her stubbornness is fading in other areas, I'm confident she'll get better. Otherwise, she will find herself in a vibrating collar
> 
> Fortunately, neither dog barks in classes and trials. So, just because your pup barks a lot at home doesn't mean he'll bark in other places. Have you noticed a difference in him when you take him to the vet or out socializing?


I do notice a difference when he is in a new place, much quieter in these situations usually. He has had two puppy classes so far. The first one he was fairly quiet, but the second one he barked a lot. The class instructor also called him "rude" for playing very rough with the other puppies. He is a very feisty fellow!


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## lisasgirl (May 27, 2010)

If it's barking related to excess energy and frustration, then it might decrease as they get older and calm down (but that's, like, 3 years old and up). In the meantime, make sure you're doing everything you can to tire out both the brain and the body.

My reactive rescue (the non-poodle) barks pretty much continuously at anything unfamiliar, but she has learned to quiet down quickly. I say "quiiiiiet" in a low, smooth voice (a high voice just adds to the anxiety), and then the second she quiets down, she gets a treat. Over time, I've been able to wait for longer and longer silence from her before giving the treat. She does occasionally try to bark _at me_ and then quiet down for a treat, but I just ignore those. I don't know if she'll ever get to the point where she doesn't bark at all, but I can at least keep it to just one or two barks or woofing under her breath.

If she's on a string of barks and won't respond to me, she gets sprayed with a spray bottle of water. That shocks her into quieting down for a second. I try to do that very sparingly, because I don't want her to form even more unpleasant associations with whatever she's reacting to, but it does help.

If it's mostly attention-seeking, then try teaching a default "I want something" behavior. Archie used to whine and paw at me whenever he wanted something, so I started asking him to sit before he got _anything._ Toys, treats, his food, going through doors, anything. Now I can tell when he really wants something because he runs up to me, makes eye contact, and then sits and stares at me like, "Do you see that I am sitting?? Pick up my toy!" I'll admit he still jumps at me when he's desperate, but the sit did cut down on the annoying behavior. Maybe something like that would give your puppy an alternative to barking.

Archie is noisy when he plays, though. I've come to accept that that's just how he is - I don't even think he can control it. So we just only play when he can be loud.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I found my two went through an alert barking phase at around 6-7 months, alerting to anything and everything - it was as if they had realised they were old enough to be responsible for warning of danger, but did not yet have enough experience to know what was, or was not, dangerous. I followed the advice in Turid Rugaas' little book "Barking: the sound of a language", and things did improve with patience and perseverance.

I think the key is working out what is at the root of the barking - anxiety, excitement, boredom, excess energy - and working from there. And I recommend the Turid Rugaas' book - I can't remember whether it addresses excitement barking specifically, but it really helped me to understand why the dogs were barking, and how to calm them down and stop them. In our case it involved getting up and investigating every single bark for a week or two, but it did work!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

fjm thanks for that book recommendation. I have read Rugaas' book Calming Signals but not the one on barking.

All of our dogs alert bark when they hear unfamiliar noises around our property. Javelin will bark at pedestrians close to my vehicle when we are both in it but is quiet if he is there by himself (Lily used to do the same thing but outgrew it). He also barks when he can hear me but not reach me. In other words I hear lots of barking.

That said, neither of the poodles ever barks during training, at matches or at trials. I think the issue is that in those contexts they know they have my undivided attention and they also have a lot to think about to execute the right behaviors. I think you may end up finding the same kinds of things emerge with your pup, but yes you need to have it be a non-issue especially if you want to do obedience or rally as I have seen teams excused from the ring because of excessive barking. As an FYI obedience and rally trials tend to be very quiet even in the crating area. Agility trials on the other hand tend to be bark fests with lots of amped up energy in the crating area and at the ring entrances. You might want to start with rally or beginner novice obedience as a way to make sure that you have a quiet worker.


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## skywoods (Feb 22, 2018)

lisasgirl said:


> If it's barking related to excess energy and frustration, then it might decrease as they get older and calm down (but that's, like, 3 years old and up). In the meantime, make sure you're doing everything you can to tire out both the brain and the body.
> 
> My reactive rescue (the non-poodle) barks pretty much continuously at anything unfamiliar, but she has learned to quiet down quickly. I say "quiiiiiet" in a low, smooth voice (a high voice just adds to the anxiety), and then the second she quiets down, she gets a treat. Over time, I've been able to wait for longer and longer silence from her before giving the treat. She does occasionally try to bark _at me_ and then quiet down for a treat, but I just ignore those. I don't know if she'll ever get to the point where she doesn't bark at all, but I can at least keep it to just one or two barks or woofing under her breath.
> 
> ...





fjm said:


> I found my two went through an alert barking phase at around 6-7 months, alerting to anything and everything - it was as if they had realised they were old enough to be responsible for warning of danger, but did not yet have enough experience to know what was, or was not, dangerous. I followed the advice in Turid Rugaas' little book "Barking: the sound of a language", and things did improve with patience and perseverance.
> 
> I think the key is working out what is at the root of the barking - anxiety, excitement, boredom, excess energy - and working from there. And I recommend the Turid Rugaas' book - I can't remember whether it addresses excitement barking specifically, but it really helped me to understand why the dogs were barking, and how to calm them down and stop them. In our case it involved getting up and investigating every single bark for a week or two, but it did work!


It seems like he barks for many different reasons so it isn't as simple as following a protocol for one type of barking. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish frustration from excitement, etc. The first few weeks he really only barked in his crate, which was understandable and completely expected. We have made progress and he is great about going in at bedtime now. Still some barking while being crated during the day for naps, but he usually settles quickly. 

Then he started barking if he was out of his crate and I left the room for a moment or two. So I believe this is due to anxiety. I read about the best way to handle this and I will only leave the room for a minute and come back to give him a treat immediately if he was quiet. 

Then the "demand barking" started. He will bark at me as I am preparing his food, a kong, or if I do not give him his treat quickly enough during training sessions. I've read the best thing to do for this is again to wait it out and not reward until he is quiet. 

Sometimes he will get very energetic and bark which seems to be boredom barking/excess energy. The frustrating part about this is that when I take him out to exercise, the barking continues, almost nonstop. Perhaps it is just something I need to get used to? I have really always disliked overly barky dogs. I feel ashamed to say it but all of this barking is making me start to regret my breed choice. I thought I had adequately researched but maybe I hadn't. When I was researching I read many people say that toys can be barky but spoos usually aren't overly barky. I was so excited to get a poodle, and now I feel like I shouldn't have branched out from the breeds I have prior experience with.


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## skywoods (Feb 22, 2018)

lily cd re said:


> fjm thanks for that book recommendation. I have read Rugaas' book Calming Signals but not the one on barking.
> 
> All of our dogs alert bark when they hear unfamiliar noises around our property. Javelin will bark at pedestrians close to my vehicle when we are both in it but is quiet if he is there by himself (Lily used to do the same thing but outgrew it). He also barks when he can hear me but not reach me. In other words I hear lots of barking.
> 
> That said, neither of the poodles ever barks during training, at matches or at trials. I think the issue is that in those contexts they know they have my undivided attention and they also have a lot to think about to execute the right behaviors. I think you may end up finding the same kinds of things emerge with your pup, but yes you need to have it be a non-issue especially if you want to do obedience or rally as I have seen teams excused from the ring because of excessive barking. As an FYI obedience and rally trials tend to be very quiet even in the crating area. Agility trials on the other hand tend to be bark fests with lots of amped up energy in the crating area and at the ring entrances. You might want to start with rally or beginner novice obedience as a way to make sure that you have a quiet worker.


Thank you for this advice. I have been unsure of where to start (once we get through puppy and basic obedience). I think I will hold off on agility and begin with rally or novice obedience. From what I have read it seems that rally may be the best place to start, as it is less formal than obedience?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Rally is a great relationship builder so yes you may find it the best place to start. I am sure you will find ways to get a handle on the various things that trigger barking. One thing that might work well with some of what you are already doing is the impulse control game "it's yer choice." There are many videos and other sets of instructions about this game here and other places. Here is a link to one of them. It's Yer Choice: Teaching Self Control | Dog Trainer Games Here is a video of Javelin doing impulse control games at my obedience club. This is after lots of other variations in many different circumstances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=tTWegldeHiM


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

Our pup is 16 weeks he too started barking but it is getting better and better. He sits and waits quiet for his food. No barking. He still barks for me when he is outside the crate in the house and he can't get to me but mostly he is ted to me so..it hasn't become a issue. Waling in the street seeing people dogs and things he doesn't now...I use the :loo at me" command sometimes I stand right in front of him and the second he looks at me I click n treat. Lately I only have to have him sit while someone passes he does is quite and I treat then I say lets go ...I think there is hope. My puppy is also so different from other breeds I've had, much more puppyhood work to me but I think in the ends..maybe 3 years? LOL he will be everything and more..My next step with I'm ids to go get a mat, like those cheap things they make when your child starts preschool for napping, folds up and is plastic for easy cleaning. I plan to teach calm on this mat, that will lead him to staying put on it until released. LOL that will be a work in progress too. We are doing some calm but he ends up on the floor next to me I want to expand it to where he will eventually be calm wherever I have that mat. Wish me luck. LOL


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Noelle and Francis had a huge problem with barking when they were about six months old. I discovered there are one hour long dog barking videos on YouTube. I played the video, when my dogs barked along, I turned the sound off, told them to quiet and gave a treat. 

I had a barking trigger that I could control that way, so I was able to turn off what they were barking at, ask for quiet, reward the quiet, and turn on the barking trigger again. Eventually, and this was definitely not on day one, I could play the dog barking video, say quiet and not have to turn it off. 

Now we have a balance. Dogs are allowed to bark for two seconds, and then I tell them to be quiet and expect them to be quiet. It didn't happen overnight, but it did happen.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Poodles allegedly have the vocabulary of toddlers, so I named every barking thing and reassured when it was not a barking thing. The house next to us was razed and then rebuilt, a minute by minute barking opportunity coinciding with Buck’s puppyhood. I used the phrase “they’re working” while we did our thing in the yard. “Good boy! That’s enough” (Repeat) for real alarms.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I use "He/She/It is Allowed" to indicate people and animals that are going about their lawful business, and Thank You, that's Enough for vaguely useful warnings. But I have never managed to get the dogs to understand that people who bring things are not usually burglars, that the bin men come regularly and are a necessary part of life, and that the window cleaner's water brush is not a terrible monster trying to break into the house! But the greatest excitement is reserved for those neighbours who always have treats in their pockets - I swear they know when Tony across the courtyard even thinks about opening his door...


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