# dog reactivity at home to outside noises - shall I make a cd of noises?



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Both my dogs went through this stage at much the same age - it was as if they decided they were now grown up enough to be responsible for warning of anything unusual, but didn't yet have the experience to know how unusual something needed to be! Sophy told me every time the jackdaws dropped a stick outside the window - and believe me, jackdaws drop one hell of a lot of sticks in 24 hours! 

I found the best way to deal with it was to actually check out what was worrying them - which meant getting up, going to the door or window, actually looking, and then telling them it was nothing to worry about. Plus teaching a really good indoor recall - have treats everywhere and in your pocket, and at the first bark call the dog and treat him for coming. That way you are rewarding and reinforcing the recall rather than the barking. I also worked on the Settle cue when there was nothing going on, so that they know what it means. A cd might work, but I suspect there is a lot of context involved - hearing a noise and seeing someone walking down the path, an alarm bark from the dog next door that signals the arrival of the postman, the alarm call of a blackbird that means that big cat is in the garden again...

Mine do still bark rather more than I would like, but they often let me know that someone is at the door when I have not heard a knock, or warn of strangers on the estate. No one will get into the house unheard, and they do stop quickly when asked!


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## Poodlemama99 (Feb 12, 2010)

My girls rarely bark unless it is important. Nicholas barks if a fly lands on the window and will keep it up forever. He drives me nuts barking at everything. Omar was the same way until he got old. Now he rarely barks unless he wants out. No more boy dogs! 


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

My Aussie, a male, was a perfect barker. If he barked we would always take note as something unusual or worthy of note was happening. Aussies are very vocal dogs but I used FJM's method of checking things out and distraction and gradually he barked only when appropriate. Swizzle is a work in progress. He was very quite until he was babysit by my nieces who have four barky dogs. He goes there if we travel on business and can't take him. He is pretty good but still barks more than I like.


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

Remy will soon be 8 months old. He tends to bark at anything unusual he hears outside and he barks at the TV - particularly when he hears or sees dogs, horses or people running. He barked at the thunder yesterday, but stop after it happened 2-3 times. 

Yesterday morning, he was barking a lot, he came running into my room and I followed him to see what the problem was . . he was barking at a bright pink pillow on the floor in my sister's room. It was not normally there so he had to warn about the potential intruder. 

I've found once I follow him and check it out, it then becomes ok. It's rather been interesting to see what he considers intruders.


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## Lizzie (Nov 21, 2012)

fjm said:


> No one will get into the house unheard, and they do stop quickly when asked!


Can I just ask how you taught them to stop when asked? Pebbles is quite the barker and I have plans to teach her a quiet cue, but I haven't decided how to yet!

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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Hi Lizzie - I taught them that coming to me when asked earned them something delicious - and that they needed to stop barking to come to me. I also taught them a few words - "He/she is Allowed", "Nothing to worry about" - by repeatedly checking out the things that worried them. Once the recall and reassurance were established, the same cues work even if they only have to come a few inches, and very occasional treats keep them active. They have also learned by now that I really do not like yapping, so The Look is usually enough to calm things, or a deep toned "Enough!" followed by a happy "Good dog!" for a moment's quiet.


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## walkies! (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks fjm  you're always helpful. Today I've been doing what you suggested and I can see that this is likely to work well.

Robin doesn't actually bark too much at the moment, though it is getting more frequent. He spends quite a lot of his time in the house running to the window and growling, occasionally breaking into a bark and will not settle. I think a lot of it is fear related as when he is like this he seems nervous and won't take a treat. Calling him away and making him focus on doing a command fixes that though. He's always been nervy to barking, I don't know why! If I make a 'woof' noise, he runs to look out of the window growling so I have started making a 'woof' noise whilst simultaneously feeding him a treat to try and change the way he thinks about the barking noise. It's working already as when we were in the park today I was pleasantly surprised when he didn't run and hide when he heard a dog barking.


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## Lizzie (Nov 21, 2012)

fjm said:


> Hi Lizzie - I taught them that coming to me when asked earned them something delicious - and that they needed to stop barking to come to me. I also taught them a few words - "He/she is Allowed", "Nothing to worry about" - by repeatedly checking out the things that worried them. Once the recall and reassurance were established, the same cues work even if they only have to come a few inches, and very occasional treats keep them active. They have also learned by now that I really do not like yapping, so The Look is usually enough to calm things, or a deep toned "Enough!" followed by a happy "Good dog!" for a moment's quiet.


Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question! I really appreciate that you explained what you do so well. Hopefully it should work for Pebbles too. I shall have to try your way of doing it  

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## Clackman (Jul 2, 2013)

Just so you know, our last standard poodle was a black male, and he would only bark when necessary (when he thought there was an intruder, or when we were on a walk and he saw a person approaching, and even then, it was just a single woof). Since we live in the country, usually no one approaches. As soon as the person got closer, he seemed to sense it was OK, maybe picking up on my vibes, as I was not worried. 

So we got another male (this time a white one), and this guy is ridiculous, barks at anything and everything which drives me crazy. All our previous dogs were female German Shepherds or Shepherd mixes, and they all barked more than our black spoo male. So it's not just that boy dogs bark more.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Wow!! So many coincidences happening to me today! This is one: 
*I just posted a thread with a video of Lou & Apollo chasing each other in the backyard. And I totally got off track and started talking about Apollo barking more than normal lately. So if it's ok I'm going to copy and paste it here.  I've done the same thing fjm described!! Isn't it cool when you do something instinctively and later read about someone (you admire) describing pretty much the exact thing you did? It's cool  I may have reinforce it now, but it does work!! 

http://www.poodleforum.com/showpost.php?p=1180753




Lou said:


> Patk, I actually have noticed Apollo is barking a lot more lately! I've been thinking about this, and how to stop it from getting worse... ... ...
> ---------------------------
> EDIT: I should probably search for threads on this, but like for instance, they both NEVER bark when inside their crate. He only barks in the crate if he really has to potty, then I take him to the backyard he goes potty than back in the crate and not another sound. (That happens rarely)
> He also won't bark if we are upstairs laying in bed (like for instance if I'm sick and we hang out for hours upstairs) he doesn't bark.
> ...






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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Oh!! By the way...

(I just took this picture ! Like right now!! I'm laying on the couch, poodles chilling while I watch TV)









I've been "wearing" this "pacifier pouch?" LOL I think that's what it is...  I found it at Walmart. 

It's full of yummy-dog-treats  

In case I feel like (out of the blue) saying: "Lou come!! Apollo come!!" 
or "QUIET!!" 

I have the treats handy to let them know they did good  

It buttons-on or off (see the handle? On the left side there's a button you push to close. I wrap the handle around my shirt and push the button closed) ---- wow that sounds as clear as mud!!! It's getting late, I'm sleeping , my English is starting to fade ... 


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## Rachel76 (Feb 3, 2014)

Lou said:


> Oh!! By the way...
> 
> (I just took this picture ! Like right now!! I'm laying on the couch, poodles chilling while I watch TV)
> 
> ...


That pouch is great! What a super idea. I gave bait bags and sometimes wear them in the house but that is so tiny and unobtrusive. Good idea, I'm going tk the baby store today!


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