BARKING IRISH SETTER

[PatSmart]

Our 2.5 yr old Irish Setter Malone, whom we adopted from his breeder a year ago after he finished his championship, came with few manners. We started immediately teaching him basics, using a clicker as well as food, and he's very smart. He's had some formal training, CGC and private training, as well as scent training. Because of COVID, classes haven't been available, and I have been lax. His barking has increased to the point where we are extreme;y frustrate. Most of  it is centered around food (meals and treats) or playing ball/retrieve. Our English Setter is hypothyroid and needs her medication at least an hour before a meal. Malone's clock is better than mine; knows the time to eat or have a treat almost down to the minute! He then starts barking and jumping up on us. I have tried becoming "a tree", with my back turned, before going to the garage where their runs are, but he barks and jumps the whole way. I know we have reinforced the behavior; we didn't catch it quickly enough before realizing we had a serious problem. He was mostly a kennel dog with his sister, so I'm sure he was already an attention-seeker barker before he came to us. He also does his barking/jumping routine later in the evening when it's time for treats, and barks when he wants to play ball. We mostly do that in the house because we live in West Texas, and it gets hot here early and stays hot  until well after dark. I know he needs more exercise, as well as working his brain. We have a dog walker who comes early twice a week and walk him for about an hour. I know he needs more. We have a pool, but we haven't been able to entice him into it yet. We adore him, and other than the barking and jumping, he's very sweet and very much the perfect setter. Our being home most of the time has accentuated his being demanding, I think. I was planning to get him into the Pet Therapy program I help direct, but we're not able to go into the hospital right now. I admit, I've fallen down in training and have allowed this behavior to become excessive. We are both in our 70's and in good health, other than some of the usual joint issues, and I am afraid he'll knock one of us down.

if it would help, one of us can video his meal-time antics and attach it.

I'm also not sure sure where to start with your program. He knows the basics, but should I just start at the beginning with pre-school?

How long do we continue to work & grade an exercise.after he makes a passing grade?

[Adrienne]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Congrats on your dog finishing a championship and receiving his CGC title. 

Barking centered around food or play/attention is mostly owner/mediated, which means that it derives from us dog owners who provide access such resources/reinforcers. This gives us more control over this form of barking, also considering its predictability, (knowing when it occurs the most) and the fact that we can control such resources. For example, we can train dogs to perform alternate behaviors and ask them to implement them ideally before the barking starts. 

So you know when the barking is about to occur? Let's say when it's meal time? Anticipate him and engage him to do a few tricks or do some "doggy push ups" (sits, followed be downs, sit-down sit-down). When dogs are in a down, they often find it more difficult to bark. Reinforce these behaviors with the treats/his meal hidden behind your back. If he happens to bark, move away and possibly even leave the room the moment he manages to bark and jump too. Come back only later once he's calmer and try again. 

Same with the ball,  you hold the ball... he barks? You turn around. He continues to bark or jumps? You leave. Then, a little later, you come back, ask him to sit or lie down and toss the ball contingent upon sitting or lying down. 

The goal is to send the message that barking/jumping doesn't lead to any reinforcement- making you turn around and even leave the room, while the alternate trained behaviors, lead to reinforcement. Be persistent. You may encounter some extinction bursts along the way (barking, jumping getting worse before getting better) but if you keep up with your plan, the behavior should gradually decrease and extinguish. 

If he knows the basics, you can skip those and proceed with what he doesn't know. There are no strict requirements, so you can go at your own leisure. 

Once you have a passing grade, you can move on to the next exercise and use each exercise once mastered at your own convenience during the day to keep your dog mentally stimulated. 

Happy training!

[PatSmart]

Thank you for the suggestions. This morning as I was going to prepare his meal , every time he barked and jumped, I stopped and turned away from him. Needless to say, it took a while to get to his run (stopping about every 2 steps) . I think he confused because his usual antics weren’t working so well. Following your suggestions, should I have turned and left the room each time?

[Adrienne]

Hi Pat Smart,

The first trials, it may seem to take forever to prepare the meal, but there's a good return on the investment if we persist. With dogs like yours, during meal preparation, I will walk towards the bowl, if the dog barks or acts impatient then I walk away from it, then I try again, I tentatively walk towards the bowl and try to pick it up, if the dog barks, I put the bowl down and walk away. Then I try again. Once he he gets the idea, trial after trial, I finally prepare the meal. I like to also ask for a sit/stay before providing the meal (see the obedience 101 section on how to train a dog to sit/stay or down/stay).

Timing is important here, as soon as you hear the bark, you need to stop what you are doing and move away. With good timing, after a while your dog should get the idea that quiet makes you prepare and serve the meal faster, while barking and acting impatient slows you down and even leave. 

It seems like, in your case, the barking mostly occurs when you are walking with his food bowl towards his run. In this case, barking/jumping makes you slow down and even turn around (therefore you stop progressing towards the run) while quiet makes you progress/advance towards it.

Dogs are often confused initially, as they are used to us moving towards the run no matter what they are doing, but if we make it clear to them that their behavior is what makes us slow down and walk away, you should see some progress after several trials.