# Barking/Dog Park



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

OK PF, I need advice, suggestions and support! Dulcie is doing really well in her training (and we start the Adult 1 classes week after next, yay!) and there are two areas that are really challenging me. Both occur at the dog park (mainly).

The first issue is barking at the dog park. Dulcie is quiet MOST of the time in general life - walking on the busy streets, at home in the apartment (although that is starting to change, too, as she gets away with more barking at the park) and yet at the dog park when she is trying to engage other dogs in play, she starts barking and barking. When this happens, it can get very obnoxious. It is not aggressive barking (i.e. no growling or attacking behavior) and yet I can tell that some other dog owners find it intimidating. Most of the other dogs seem to be unfazed.

The second problem is connected to the first. Because Dulcie is off leash at the dog park, I am now having a problem getting her to come to me when I call her - and if she is barking and bothering other people, she will dart away from me when I try to take hold of her collar and keep barking. 

I have started having her drag a 6 foot leash at the park to give myself a little more to grab onto (and I am watching her all the time, so no danger of injury - the park is also clear of just about any possible snagging items) - and she has caught on to this strategy and simply runs faster to avoid me.

I am pretty sure that I have to get this behavior under control STAT and yet I am at a loss. I am thinking I have to stop the dog park outings for awhile until her recall in distracting situations is better - and yet I really hate to do that because even long walks simply do not give her the outlet for her energy that she needs and which she gets playing with other dogs. The problem then comes home with me instead and she takes up the barking/avoidance at home int he apartment as she is desperate to get some really tumbling play from me since she can't play with other dogs.

HELP!

She is calm and quiet for MOST of every day - even here in the apartment - and I take her out for a good hour or more walk every day (sometimes even two walks) and nothing works to expend that energy like the dog park. Yet, I know it is not good to allow this behavior to be reinforced.

In other situations, at home, in the building stairwell, other situations, her recall is good and her obedience (sit, down, wait) is very good, too. At the dog park, though, it is gone gone gone.

I know the usual advice is treats and make myself the most fun thing. I have of course been trying to do this all along, however she has little interest in me oR treats when at the park because she is mightily dog focused. I have brought cooked chicken, bits of salmon, bacon you name it - I have made sure she was hungry, etc. I am the most popular human at the dog park - with every other dog but my own!

Suggestions anyone?


----------



## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

I am looking for an answer to the ignoring when you call, a Cayenne when I got her came overtime, now it like she wants me to chase her. If I tell her by by she will come and does most of the time, but all my dogs have always comet to me when I called.


----------



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Thanks glory bee. This is the thing - Dulcie used to come when called,too and would come with me out of the dog park until about 5-6 weeks ago. Now she does not - at all. I have tried walking out between the gates - she just stays well across the park watching me. I have had to ask other people to grab her collar for me - and now she is on to that strategy too so she won't let other people get near her too! Even when all of the other people have left the park, she still won't come, unless she is very tired and/or very hungry and thirsty. Then she will reluctantly allow herself to be "caught". ARGH!


It's a real problem, because there really is nowhere else safe to allow her off leash (I live int he city in an apartment) and I guess she just wants to enjoy the off leash freedom, which is understandable to a point. The funny thing is that she is obedient and compliant most everywhere else. At home, at bedtime, for instance, she no longer scoots away when I indicate it is time for bed. I turn off the living room lights and say Bed time and she gets up from where she was dozing and walks right into the bedroom and into her crate! She waits at the door or the elevator when I say "Wait" (all trained and reinforced constantly, of course) and also on stairs and so on. She is really doing great! Everyone exclaims what a well behaved dog! And she is! EXCEPT AT THE DOG PARK! lol


----------



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

I am thinking I may have to just stop taking her to the park and just work work work on recall while letting her forget her bad habits at the park - then slowly introduce her back to the park in a few weeks, perhaps dragging a longer leash so that I can quickly stop her and redirect her at the first sign of misbehavior again. What I know I must not do is allow this to continue without correction - I need to be able to do some sort of time out or removal from the park as soon as she is ignoring my command.

Also, people have talked about putting barking on cue and OH how I have tried! In the early months, Dulcie so rarely barked that it was almost impossible to "catch" her barking and then work with it. Today, she still almost never barks - except when she barks nonstop - and so there is almost no opening for rewarding the little silences in between. This is the most challenging thing I have had to deal with and although it isn't a hugely serious problem, it is something I really want to train for.


----------



## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

One thing I am sure of is that I would not call her if there was a good chance that she was not going to come and I couldn't easily get her. When it is time to go, I would just physically go get her. I wouldn't even let on to her that I wanted to leave. Be matter of fact about it, leash her up and say "let's go." She's in a bad habit and I would avoid that bad behavior. She'll get it. She's a rebellious adolescent  Didn't you think you were done with all that with the kids off to college? Ha Ha, we have poodle teenagers.

pr


----------



## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

nifty said:


> I am thinking I may have to just stop taking her to the park and just work work work on recall while letting her forget her bad habits at the park - then slowly introduce her back to the park in a few weeks, perhaps dragging a longer leash so that I can quickly stop her and redirect her at the first sign of misbehavior again. What I know I must not do is allow this to continue without correction - I need to be able to do some sort of time out or removal from the park as soon as she is ignoring my command.
> 
> Also, people have talked about putting barking on cue and OH how I have tried! In the early months, Dulcie so rarely barked that it was almost impossible to "catch" her barking and then work with it. Today, she still almost never barks - except when she barks nonstop - and so there is almost no opening for rewarding the little silences in between. This is the most challenging thing I have had to deal with and although it isn't a hugely serious problem, it is something I really want to train for.


I taught Piper how to bark on command by knocking on the wall and clicking when she barked. Did you try that trick? Piper goes on a barking frenzy too and it can be really annoying and a little spray bottle snaps her out of it. 

pr


----------



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Haha Rebellious teenager is an apt description, Poodlerunner!

Yes, I knew it would be a bad idea to be calling her when I knew it was unlikely she would come - thus reinforcing that she could ignore me. So I haven't been doing that. I have waited until he exciting crowd thins out at the park and then I casually walk up and....she darts away! Serously, there is no "going and getting her" -- she is on to me and she keeps an eye on me and stays well away. This is why I had even asked other people to take hold of her when I was frozen and desperate after overstaying the park time for almost an hour one day - I knew it wasn't smart to start chasing her and calling her - and yet whenever I walked anywhere near her, she was off in the other direction.


----------



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

That's an interesting suggestion, PR! At the moment, Dulcie doesn't bark at the sound of knocks, however, she will SOMETIMES bark at a sound out in the hall - not often but occasionally (say, a baby shrieking/laughin or something like that). Perhaps I can get one of my sons to do something out there and see if we can get DUlcie to bark on command.


----------



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

The only time she comes near me at all in the park is if there is an unfriendly dog there or a large dog who she finds intimidating. Then she will do the poodle lean/velcro thing against my leg. 
Otherewise, lalalalala I can't hear you or see you, Mama!


----------



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

I should add that I have been working really hard to catch her in quiet times at the park - perhaps with one other disinterested dog or two there - and I call her with a tasty treat. I praise her when she comes and give her the treat and then let go and say "OK, go play!" and she does. I have read this suggested here before and we are getting somewhere with that. However, when I really do want to go, I don't use that, I just try to take hold of her. And she knows it! :O


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

You have the rebel adolescent on your hands. I would not call her if the conditions don't guarantee that she will come. Then your order to come will lose meaning. Work with a long line or a flexi leash to reinforce Dulcie's recall. You can try doing it in PetSmart or someplace like that. Use a quiet aisle at an off hour.

I would not take her to the dog park until you have reinforced her recall. Once you think she has earned the privilege back try putting a tab on her collar rather than having her drag the leash. It will give you just a little handle to reach for and will be very safe. Here is a link for pull tabs. Pull Tabs | Training Aids | JJ Dog

Ian Dunbar suggests putting barking on command (as poodlerunner suggested). If you have bark on command the next logical thing is hush on command. In the meantime, if you are at the dog park and Dulcie is barking watch her body language to see if you can see what underlies the barking? Is she nervous, overexcited, thinking about being aggressive, not liking one of the other dogs, etc?


----------



## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

nifty said:


> Haha Rebellious teenager is an apt description, Poodlerunner!
> 
> Yes, I knew it would be a bad idea to be calling her when I knew it was unlikely she would come - thus reinforcing that she could ignore me. So I haven't been doing that. I have waited until he exciting crowd thins out at the park and then I casually walk up and....she darts away! Serously, there is no "going and getting her" -- she is on to me and she keeps an eye on me and stays well away. This is why I had even asked other people to take hold of her when I was frozen and desperate after overstaying the park time for almost an hour one day - I knew it wasn't smart to start chasing her and calling her - and yet whenever I walked anywhere near her, she was off in the other direction.


Really? Wow. I don't think I would take her somewhere where she is misbehaving. Maybe she doesn't deserve to be off leash since she can't be trusted right now. Today was the first day that I went to the beach and didn't let Piper off. Not that I thought I could totally trust her before, but now I know how she can just fly away and I would be powerless to stop her if she bolted. ESPECIALLY, now that she did it once, I believe she is apt to do it again. In Dulcie's situation, that is exactly what is happening.

pr


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Yes, nifty, I would take Poodlerunner's lesson. She was very lucky that good people found Piper the other night.

If you have an off leash dog with no recall, you don't really have a dog! Recall is something to practice continuously. We play hide and seek recall in the yard with our dogs.

nifty you have lots to be proud of with Dulcie, but you can always take a step back to reinforce what you need to. Also while I know that spoos love to fly, they can be happy not having off leash time. When I am away with Lily she has no off leash time other than in the rings and in our hotel. She has a good time anyway.


----------



## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

i think maybe reward her for "quiet" when she's quiet at home and has her attention on you, so she knows what that means. then get her to bark and teach her what "bark" means. then you can put the two together and even make it a game. 

the refusing to obey "come" at the park is going to be harder to fix, since you don't have a yard. if there's an open area where you can work her on a long line, you may be able to reteach the command, including always touching her collar when she comes and you give her her treat then releasing her to "go play" after she does come, so that the command does not automatically mean playtime is over. once you have her back to a certain level, use this routine even at the park - call her and release her to go back and play several times while you are there. i think a lot of people teach their dogs to "check in" with them while off leash by using this technique.

also, do you take her to the park in your car and does she like the car? i used to ask my female, "want to go for a ride?" she was always up for that and ready to get in the car even if it only meant going home.


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

All good advice, two things I would add - taking an obedience class with her would be a good place to practice with controlled distractions, and having an expert outside eye on the issue might help to spot a mistake that you are just too close to see (no reflection on your skills, that could happen to any of us).
And a reminder - when a dog is in a mindset of "catch me if you can", the best thing to do is get down on the ground, even roll around and make squeaky noises, and they will come to you to investigate!


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Tiny Poodles you are so right about how to get the dog back when they go on the zoomies. I should have thought to mention that, since I've been there/done that. The first time I took Lily in an obedience ring it was at an outdoor trial (silly me!). As soon as I took the leash off for the stand for exam she was off like she had been shot out of a cannon. She stayed in the ring, but there was no way to get hands on her until I was just about lying on the ground and Lily came over to see what was wrong with me.


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

lily cd re said:


> Tiny Poodles you are so right about how to get the dog back when they go on the zoomies. I should have thought to mention that, since I've been there/done that. The first time I took Lily in an obedience ring it was at an outdoor trial (silly me!). As soon as I took the leash off for the stand for exam she was off like she had been shot out of a cannon. She stayed in the ring, but there was no way to get hands on her until I was just about lying on the ground and Lily came over to see what was wrong with me.



Hard to imagine Miss Lily being so naughty, but that is a good reminder for us with youngsters that they were not born perfect - lots of work and perseverance to get them there!


----------



## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

If you take your dog to the opera, I can understand quiet... but people who try to 'shush' dogs at the park drive me CRAZY! :afraid:

The park is for dog etiquette... not for people etiquette. 

Outside of a two or three dog melee, Tonka and one dog other will usually circle and bark. Not joining in to the wrestle-and-chase, but stimulated. We jokingly call them the play-by-play guy and the colour commentator.

Dogs bark... that's what they do.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Countryboy, I agree that barking at a dog park is not by itself an issue. It is more about the lack of recall that I am concerned for nifty to figure this out. Also if Dulcie is barking in a way that seems to indicate she is anxious or fearful and the other handlers are disturbed I think nifty is right to try to understand why she is doing it.

Tiny Poodles that case of the zoomies was an explosive release of anxiety! Lily was a green dog at the time, and as far as formal obedience I was a newbie myself for that trial. I had not practiced outside enough for Lily to be comfortable there, my bad... Green dogs often do zoomies as a way to release stress. It is important to understand that is what is going on and not to get mad about it or to amp yourself up, but to send calming signals to the dog.


----------



## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

I'll only discuss one issue here. Over and above the flood of advice on recall that will deluge this thread, I will only speak to the barking. Recall has been covered ad nauseum in PF.


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Countryboy said:


> I'll only discuss one issue here. Over and above the flood of advice on recall that will deluge this thread, I will only speak to the barking. Recall has been covered ad nauseum in PF.



I have absolutely no problem with dogs barking in play at the park, Timi will certainly do that, but I am thrilled to pieces that she has zero reactive bark, even if all the other dogs are reacting to something, Timi just stands there and watches them.
There is however one dog that goes there who get on my last nerve - the owner goes there to socialize, she entirely ignores her dog, except for maybe every 15 minutes she will scream "shut up Munchee" at the top of her lungs - the dog does not play, it just stands there and fires out a continuous drone of ear piercing static barks - for hours.
Once the woman was bragging about how the day before, a TV show was filming on the street, almost a block away, and they sent someone over to pay her to leave the park so that they could film without the noise! I only wish that I could afford to pay her to leave every time that I arrive!


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Why do you want her to come? Why do you want to get hold of her? What are you doing with her once you get her? What is your purpose in other words?


----------



## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

nifty said:


> The first issue is barking at the dog park. Dulcie is quiet MOST of the time in general life - walking on the busy streets, at home in the apartment (although that is starting to change, too, as she gets away with more barking at the park) and yet at the dog park when she is trying to engage other dogs in play, she starts barking and barking. When this happens, it can get very obnoxious. It is not aggressive barking (i.e. no growling or attacking behavior) and yet I can tell that some other dog owners find it intimidating. Most of the other dogs seem to be unfazed.


LOL - It seems like somebody is having problems with barking at the park. 

And my reply was hopefully non-judgemental, and directed ONLY at the barking. I would never, never get involved in here in a thread on recall. Only 'cos my voice would almost certainly get lost in a flurry of advice, not all of it the same. So I'll leave recall up to the rest of y'all. 

Kudos to everybody who can put up with barking at a dog park. Too many people can't.


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

You don't want to put barking on a cue without putting "quiet" on a cue. Training is greatly assisted by being able to volley back and forth between "speak" and "quiet. "In other words, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. lol. Actually, in animal behavior, it's referred to as *differential reinforcement of an incompatible behavior.* It helps show the dog the contrast. It's like teaching a dog not to jump up. It helps to teach them, using positive reinforcement_to_ jump up when cued. AND he _can't_ jump up when he's not jumping up, but doing something else instead, like sitting. So your dog can't bark when he's being quiet. 

But it's pretty hard to teach this at the dog park where there is too much stimulation. You need to do it at home and start out with mild forms of the triggers. It's pretty hard to teach anything when you're in the midst of real life situations.


----------



## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

Countryboy said:


> LOL - It seems like somebody is having problems with barking at the park.
> 
> And my reply was hopefully non-judgemental, and directed ONLY at the barking. I would never, never get involved in here in a thread on recall. Only 'cos my voice would almost certainly get lost in a flurry of advice, not all of it the same. So I'll leave recall up to the rest of y'all.
> 
> Kudos to everybody who can put up with barking at a dog park. Too many people can't.


I figure, it's a dog park, and dogs bark so... but a dog that won't stop is never enjoyable to me.

pr


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Hum, just had a thought - when we first got Timi, we began by taking her to the park during the weekday when there was nobody else there, and immediately began practicing her "comes" back and forth between us. After a few weeks, when she was solid with that, we began going when we might run into one to two other dogs, and kept up with her "come" practice. If she hadn't done well, then we would have backed up to no dogs, but she did great, and we slowly progressed to going and practicing at more crowded times, until finally by the Fall she had graduated to being a "prime time" dog park dog with a perfect recall.
Perhaps you could create a similar scenario with the same type of gradual progression? If you are in a cold climate, it shouldn't be that difficult to find the dog park empty at this time of year!


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

nifty said:


> I should add that I have been working really hard to catch her in quiet times at the park - perhaps with one other disinterested dog or two there - and I call her with a tasty treat. *I praise her when she comes and give her the treat and then let go and say "OK, go play!" and she does. I have read this suggested here before and we are getting somewhere with that. However, when I really do want to go, I don't use that, I just try to take hold of her. And she knows it! *:O


That's what I was getting at. Then I re-read your previous post (above). So, she's feeling "punished" to have to leave the dog park. Is there anything you can do when you leave (right soon after you leave) that's equally fun or better than the park just was? I know that's a tall order. Its good how you're getting her, then letting her go play again. That should show her that all is not lost when you get her. But eventually the time must come when you have to go. Anyhow, I'd get her however you can and try to make it super fun and rewarding as you're leaving and where you wind up afterwards. 

I wouldn't let her have that freedom off leash until you get a better recall on her. The more she escapes your grasp, the worse she'll get. A long line to trail behind might be an idea. But getting that freedom probably should be earned as she gets more under control. Don't ever use a cue ("come" or "let's go") unless she's already coming and within your grasp. Get hold of her collar, treat, praise and let her go again, but keep a long line trailing just in case. Try not to have to reel her in if you can avoid it. Try to entice her with a squeaky toy or running the other way, hiding behind a bush...something super fun. If none of this works, I'd not let her off leash at all. She's learning that she doesn't have to come. 

Of course, practice, practice, practice in low distraction areas at first until she is good at it in that context. Only gradually add one or two distractions at a time. Check out some Kikopup videos and see what you can find on getting a reliable recall. No dog can be 100% reliable because they're animals and animals are imperfect. But you can get a very reliable recall with loads of practice. My Doberman was awesome at coming when called. Part of it was his breed. It's just inherent in that breed to be obedient. But he, with quite the prey drive came in mid chase of about 5 deer once when we were hiking. But we had lots of practice with faux prey and a really systematic training method that involved a lot of practice, a helper, a bucket, a rope and faux prey.

Anyhow, best of luck. It will come along with time and practice. Only, don't let her practice the unwanted behavior. That can be reinforcing in and of itself.


----------



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Thank you everybody for the great feedback and suggestions! Tiny Poodles, after I have finished with some remedial training and feel ready to go to the park again, I will do what you've done with Timi - no more dog park at the busiest times!

Poodle Beguiled, thanks for the helpful tips. I will refer back to this thread often.

LilyDCRe, yes I came to exactly the same conclusion - no more dog park and nO off leash for a while..

COuntryBoy, I wish there were more people like you at our dog park! I had to laugh at your description because that is EXACTLY what Dulcie does (circles the dogs who are playing) and I always say she is either the referee or the sports announcer, too! 

Good point about lots of info on PF about recall. I did a search and found some great stuff (including the piece you wrote PG! I have bookmarked that one!) and also someone had mentioned having a bonanza like Cezar's for the occasional super treat. I also bookmarked the Ian Dunbar page on this (yes, I agree it is a training emergency) and also the other one that someone linked and today I started a new regimen where DUlcie and I are going back to square one with recall. I've given it a new cue word, too and we are starting at home - also playing the find me game (i.e. Chagall's mom's video) etc. 

Dulcie is smart and energetic and she also does want to please and have fun with me. I am on the autism spectrum and have to really work to remember to stay engaged and I think that was the problem. That is how I stopped being the most fun thing in Dulcie's life. I have a handle on that now and a strategy to rebuild her recall AND more fun games together. 

Thanks to all for your help!


----------



## NH10023 (Oct 16, 2014)

Hi Nifty 
I was wondering how things were coming along with the barking? I am having this same issue. Mariah is very vocal with playmates and, from what I can tell, she is only barking when her friend stops paying attention to her or is tired of running. I love her personality and the barking wouldn't bother me so much if we weren't losing playmates because of it  We go on an off-leash trail walk almost daily and she is always looking for her buddies to run and romp through the forest and river together and you can see the disappointment when she doesn't find them. It's to the point where I feel like we're being avoided because of her incessant barking. She makes one dog nervous, even though she isn't being aggressive. She just wants to play. It breaks my heart and I need to do something so that she doesn't keep chasing her friends (more like their owners) away!


----------



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Hi NH1003! I was out of town and just seeing this.

Things are greatly improved with Dulcie and the play barking, I am happy to say! We took a long break from the dog park while I worked on her recall and establishing myself as the most fun ever! 

Before our break, Dulcie was entirely other dog focused - like your Mariah, she was eagerly looking for other dogs to play with ALL the time, and that was part of my problem with her recall. I had to get myself as the top choice in her mind.

We started going to a regular park nearer to home and I kept her on a long leash (but let her drag it) while we played fetch. Before this, she only showed a mild interest in balls and fetch unless there was absolutely nothing to do (i.e. no other dogs about). So, by keeping her away from dogs**, she kind of had to settle for fetch, which she quickly got enthusiastic about, especially when we played lots of training games as well. Dulce likes her training games (puppy sit ups and recall training) - she often doesn't even take a delicious treat, just laps up the verbal praise and scritches she gets when she does her obedience work.

Well, NH10023, you would not believe the progress Dulcie has made. The biggest improvement is with recall, which I have been training really diligently because I was so worried about it. A couple of weeks ago after several weeks training, I had thrown the ball for Dulcie and from out of nowhere another dog came charging toward her chasing a squirrel. Dulce joined int he chase and both of them were headed for the park entrance and busy road. Dulce was dragging a 30 foot leash, but wouldn't you know it? I had just begun to get more confident and had thrown the ball further.

Well, it was do or die and I called out the emergency "nuclear" recall, ran in the opposite direction and held my breath. When I peeped around, I was thrilled to see DUlcie do a U-turn and come charging back to me/ HOORAY!! and PHEW!

She now is VERY interested in playing fetch and ball and I am the most fun owner ever. She will even IGNORE other dogs now, preferring to play fetch with me. However, she still enjoys playing with other dogs. We have recently begun a few short visits to the dog park and her obedience is much better AND the barking is greatly diminished.

It may be partly that she is getting more mature, however I really think that establishing myself as her go-to playmate and getting her interested in playing ball PLUS the time away to recalibrate everything did the trick!

It's not perfect, but so much improved that I am very pleased.

Good luck with Mariah! I hope this helps. I know just what you mean about feeling badly for her when she is looking around for doggy playmates. Perhaps a brief change of routines will be helpful while you get her focused on you -- and if any other dog owners Do happen to be giving Mariah a wide berth at the moment (it could be just coincidence and then again, they could be worried about their own dogs' barking behavior) - then a little time away can give everyone a chance to reintroduce themselves!

**ETA I don't mean I kept her away from other dogs entirely - obviously I still needed to keep her socialized. However, PLAY with other dogs was kept to a bare minimum for several weeks. She still met and greeted other dogs every day. Just wanted to clarify that point.


----------



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

NH10023, is there anywhere on that trail that you can find space to play fetch? I use a chuck it to save my arm and really play for a long time - sometimes up to an hour (incorporating other training too). Dulce would gladly go longer as long as it is not too warm out.

The park we play in has lots of other dogs passing through and it was helpful in training to keep her focused on me (this is where the long leash was helpful). I would have her sit to greet (if the other owner allowed greeting for her dog) and then we got back to fetch. No free play. Eventually, she was enjoying fetch so much that she might look at passing dogs with interest but was quite easily redirected to me and the ball. On a few occasions, after a couple of weeks of this, she would start to run toward another dog after retrieving the ball and an "Over here!" or "Ah ah ah!" from me would have her circling back to me! Before we started this focused training regarding other dogs, recall and so on, this would never have happened. She was just too focused on the other dogs. Now she is less frantic to get to other dogs and play. And I think that is the secret to the reduced barking too. She is just not as intensely focused nor does she now see it (taking off with other dogs) as her only opportunity for some fun.


----------



## NH10023 (Oct 16, 2014)

Thanks for the update, Nifty! I'm so glad things are better  

Recall or running away hasn't been a problem (knock wood). It's just the barking and it's horrible. She LOVES to run with friends on the trails and if the friend stops running/chasing/playing she goes nuts with the barking as if to say, "Come on, let's go!" The good thing is, she will not run out of my sight and will come when I call her. It's just the barking that I haven't had any luck controlling. I really do want this time to be for her to run with friends so I haven't ever brought a ball, as we play fetch a lot in our yard. Perhaps that might be a good distraction for when the friend stops running. Hmm... 

I'm trying to clicker train her to "Shhh! Quiet", click and treat, "Good Quiet", but it's slow going. I can't seem to get a hold of the dual training of "Speak!" and "Quiet"... (big sigh).


----------



## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

I deal with over-excited dogs at the park regularly... with a 'time out'. Get a hold of their collar and just hold them. Pet them, talk to them, but restrain them. SOMETIMES they will calm down to the point where you can release them and they're back to normal behaviour. Sometimes... 

ETA: Your 'ball' idea is good as a distraction from what she's getting excited about.


----------

