7 month old GSD barking at nothing

[[email protected]]

I've read thru all of  your posts, but don't recall seeing exactly the problem we are having.  Gemma is a 7 month old long haired shepherd.  In the last few months she seems like she's looking at nothing & will start to bark a few times indoors, even while we are in her presence.  When we let her outside to do her business she races off the porch barking, seemingly at nothing, and continues to bark as she runs around the outside of the house.  Even if we are outside.  She doesn't listen to anything we have tried, even if we ignore her, nothing seems to distract her.  We live in the country on 7.5 acres.  Is there anything we can do to curb this?  When we bring her to the groomers, where she hangs out twice a week to hang with & play with other dogs, she never barks inside let alone outside, but she's on a long rope outside.  When we take her out on her leash she never barks, only when she is off leash.  I get dogs bark but this is crazy.

We are also struggling with her jumping on us or people, if you turn your back to ignore her, she will jump up on your back.

Other than this, she's a great dog.  We really want a well trained dog & are trying very hard.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums!

Gemma's (lovely name!) behavior can certainly be puzzling, especially when we cannot pinpoint the exact source that triggers the barking.  In these cases, we need to trust a dog's superior senses. In a nutshell, dogs may be seeing or hearing (or even smelling) something that we are not able to sense.

The fact that you describe her barking in the home and then when let outside she barks as she runs around the house seems to suggest that there is something going around the house. Perhaps some critter lives in the walls or right as the base of the foundation. Once Einstein and Petra were acting weird (whining a lot) in a country home we were renting and turned out, there was a mouse in a kitchen cabinet! In another case, their barking led us to discover there were squirrels in our attic. 

Being that you live in the country, the critters can be anything from small country mice, to squirrels and chipmunks to even bugs. This may explain why the behavior is not observed at the groomers, they likely are localized in a more central area or may have pest control. If there are mice or other rodents, please avoid using rat poison as it's toxic to dogs. Consult with a pest control company that can find pest removal options that are safe for your dog.

Short of having a pest control/ exterminator inspect your home, general tips that come to mind is taking her out on a long leash when taking her outside so as to prevent her from rehearsing the barking behavior  and keeping some type of white noise in the house to muffle any sounds. She may still smell critters, so that makes it more difficult to cover up, but it may help if her barking is noise-induced (like from critters scurrying).  

Letting her interact with some toys that have smelly foods may help distract her and possibly give her some type of "closure." Another option is letting her play with a flirt pole or tug toy made of rabbit fur. These can work as "outlets" for her prey drive. 

In regards, to jumping, when dogs manage to jump on the back when we turn around, I like to add a further consequence which is having the people temporary leave by exiting the door. You will need to invite over helpers to help your dog succeed. 

Here is a general guide:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/case-studies/02-maggie-assessing-jumping-behavior-desensitization/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/case-studies/02-maggie-practice-greetings/

I hope this helps,

Happy Training!