Woof! Bark! And also Whiiiiiiiiiine.

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BaronessBL Aug 2017 9:16am, 30 Aug 2017 6,776 posts	0 BaronessBL That sounds like sensible advice from hp. Does the puppy also have his own safe space such as a crate where he is always left alone? Does he get repeatedly told to be quiet when he is doing all this barking (ie he is then getting attention and not the visitor). If the visitor plays with him for a few minutes on arrival would that help? Can he get rewarded for quiet behaviour, ie if he doesn't bark for a few minutes then he gets fuss and attention but not while he is barking. All just thoughts off the top of my head really - I am certainly no expert in this behaviour.
Sharkie Aug 2017 9:26am, 30 Aug 2017 11,796 posts	0 Sharkie Collies are clever - how about teaching him 'shush' or 'quiet'. Finger on lips as hand signal. Because of the layout of our house we don't always hear the front doors - and it's good for Jess to alert us. So with Jess we praise her initial bark and then tell her to shut up. it took a bit of doing but usually works (unless it's her friend .B. at the door!)
Chrisull Aug 2017 10:28am, 30 Aug 2017 11,692 posts	0 Chrisull Thanks for the advice. Yes he does bark at them in the garden. Yes K's mum's partner does try to play, but Dougal just insists on continually barking. He is fine with them, away from the house, although there's been a couple of incidents that if he thinks he's being ignored on a walk, when we are talking to them, he will start barking, but generally good as gold. The most frustrating aspect (and with, barking at the cat too) is he will stop barking 10-15 minutes, seemingly settle, and then for no apparent reason, start it all over again. The trouble is he can be quiet for treats and then when he wants another treat will start barking again a minute later (so it gets hard to tell whether he is still barking at them, or barking for treats). Yep trying to get him to be quiet with a command would be a good one, he is so bright with so many other words , such as "water" or "lead" and he can go to them. I have taught him "chase", which is useful when he is refusing to walk or wants to go another way, then it turns it into a game and he will chase me, or whichever boy I have with me.
Alice the Camel Aug 2017 11:26am, 30 Aug 2017 3,301 posts	0 Alice the Camel We had(have) the same problem, Chrisull. This is what our trainer advised: Schedule training sessions with Charlie and try to get him excited enough to bark and/or jump up, then wait for him to be quiet and stop jumping and throw a treat on the floor and say "shush". This way Charlie is learning what the word means. Try not to talk or react to Charlie's barking in any way, by responding to him vocally he thinks you are having a conversation and responding back to him. You could then build this by eg getting each other to knock at the door, wait for Charlie to stop barking then do exactly the same exercise, throw the treat on the floor and say "shush". In this way we are building the distractions which Charlie can cope with. Try not to make contact with Charlie when he is barking, he is trying to get your attention and eye contact, talking, etc means he has got it. Look away and wait for the few seconds he is quiet before throwing thetreat for him. We talked about the extinction burst, which basically means it will get worse before it gets better! Please persevere through this stage as it will be worth it in the end. Charlie will possibly try to bark louder and harder to get your attention, when he eventually works out that this doesn't work, the proverbial penny will drop and you will be able to use the verbal cue "shush". Obviously this is training that you need to do when there aren't visitors around. She suggested that if you have willing visitors, you can ask them to reward in the same way, by throwing treats and ignoring the barking. She also suggested putting him on a lead if he's being a nuisance until he calms down. Charlie's getting better and usually settles after a few minutes although we still get that initial, embarrassing over excitement. Remember our dogs are puppies, they're still learning! Perseverence and consistency...
Helegant Aug 2017 11:38am, 30 Aug 2017 5,213 posts	0 Helegant AtC advice is excellent. And hard work
halfpint Aug 2017 2:12pm, 30 Aug 2017 23,867 posts	0 halfpint I knew someone would be along who actually knew what they were doing
Chrisull Aug 2017 8:33am, 31 Aug 2017 11,702 posts	0 Chrisull Cheers AtC, sounds like good advice, we will try to follow.
D2 Sep 2017 6:02pm, 2 Sep 2017 10,043 posts	0 D2 Yay, we passed the bronze test! I managed to distract the judge so she didn't notice how badly I was being mauled in the "groom you dog without difficulty or resistance section" Relieved. And he ran a very fast 75 meters at the Fetch mile, it should have been 100 meters but he was trying to kill my daughter for taking him away from his mummy!
Helegant Sep 2017 6:19pm, 2 Sep 2017 5,217 posts	0 Helegant Congratulations on both fronts
BaronessBL Sep 2017 9:15pm, 2 Sep 2017 6,778 posts	0 BaronessBL Well done D2 - did you do Bronze test and Fetch mile both on the same day