Territorial barking

[TheresaPrice]

Hi there, how can I stop my 6 month old cocker spaniel from barking? The only time he barks is when he hears a noise or thinks he has seen something in the garden. I guess he is protecting his territory, which is great but I can get him to stop. Any advice on how to bring him out of it and calm him down would be appreciated. Thanks

[Adrienne]

Hi there, 

Welcome to the forums!

Does this happen when he's in the home or outside? 

If outside, is he alone when he barks? Or with you?

Do you know what noises seem to trigger his barking? And what he sees when he barks?

Thanks

[TheresaPrice]

It is mainly when he is at home with us there. Most often we don't know what he is barking at, we let him out at night for the loo and sometimes he will start barking. We live in the country so he might hear or smell other wildlife. Sometimes he barks when a car drives up to the house but other times he doesn't react at all. It's very random. It would be helpful to know how to calm him down. I have tried to distract him which may work for a second and then he's off again! Thanks in advance.

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the details, they are very helpful!

At 6 months, more than territoriality in the sense of a confident dog barking to send intruders away, it may be more an issue of fear,  in the sense of feeling intimidated by something/startling and simply reacting. Regardless of the intent, I can see how this behavior can turn annoying in the long run, especially if he's very focused and difficult to distract. Hopefully, in the country you don't have many neighbors who can complain!

If you are planning to ever keep your dog outdoors alone for periods of time, consider that left to his own devices, he may revert to barking considering that many dogs may feel more "responsible" or insecure, if you will, when alone and allowing this behavior to happen sometimes yes and sometimes no, puts it on a variable schedule, plus the lack of consistency makes it difficult to curb as we may like. If he will be mostly indoors, and when outdoors he'll be for the most part under your supervision, I may suggest it would be worthy of investing in some training. 

If so, I would start indoors doing the look at that exercises described below and working on it to a fluent level. Make sure to use high-value treats. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

Then, I would move outdoors with him on a long line (long leash) and practice the same exercise to a fluent level, making sure to keep him at a good distance so that's he under threshold. Here's a read on how to read your dog's threshold levels. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ When a dog is over threshold he is less likely to respond. 

Once he gets better at this, to the point where he's responding to you reliably,  you can then practice off leash. If at any time he isn't responsive, consider this as a sign that he's not ready yet for exposure to that level of distraction. Make a note of it and see if you can have him on leash next time to work on that trigger in a more systematic way (like creating setups and giving more distance). 

If barking is important to you, (I know many in the country want a dog who alerts to things) make your smacking sound after he barks 2-3 times. This tells your dog," OK, that's enough, now come to me and get your reward for stopping to bark" (while also creating positive associations with the trigger). This gives you some level of control over the barking, while allowing your dog to perform a natural behavior he was selectively bred for for thousands of year. 

Often, we may assume dogs bark at nothing, but often it's because they sense some triggers we may not sense. Here's a read on dogs who seemingly bark at nothing:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/behavior-training/barking/nothing/

I hope this helps,

Let me know if you need any further help or have more questions!

Best,

Adrienne

 

[ElizabethMarucci]

I just joined the program and am looking forward to working with our 3 yr. old rescue.  We got Teddy (dachshund/minpin mix)  in mid November.  We are his 3rd home and he was abused in the first one.  We met the 2nd owner and he was very outgoing with us.  We brought him home and had him neutered in January.  He was a delight with us and never realized that he was territorial until my sister came to our home and he wouldn't let her in.  Because of covid our social life became non-existant and Teddy became our project.  He was ok outside of our home and neighborhood with people and dogs but ballistic in our home when people came.  I contacted the vet and he suggested a trainer. We called him and he came to our home and declared him dominant aggressive and put him in an e-collar.  We used it for 3 mos. and it seemed to work in the beginning but we now know it was a mistake.  His agression is fear based and not dominant.  We are now in our summer home in rural northern NY and trainers are hard to come by so we have been relying on books and youtube videos.  It is very frustrating as many contradict the others.  Our adult children are coming to visit at the end of July.  Two live in Europe and we haven't seen them in 2 yrs.  I am dreading what should be a joyous time because of the dog.  We have set up an area in the main living area where the dog can be safely restrained and have been working with neighbors to bring him into the mix in their yards.  I find it helps for others to ignore him and not talk to him.  Any suggestions are welcome as we are at our wits ends.  I think my husband and I created much of this behavior by not being strict enough and taking pity on his former life and surely covid and the "trainer" did us no favors.  The good news is we are retired and we have lots of time to help rehabilitate this little guy.IMG_5514 2.heic

[JMFS]

Here's the picture converted for non-iPhone users.  What a handsome boy!

I'll leave the advice up to Adrienne, but I'll offer encouragement as I've worked through fear-based aggression with Momo.  I used to do the "alpha" training with him and that put us on not the best of terms.  We muddled through for 8 years trying our best to understand one another, and kind of failing, kind of succeeding.  When I stumbled upon this resource it was the beginning of a whole new life for Mo and me.  :)  I learned about the PGP site:  https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/Find-a-Member and I was able to find a local trainer.  Between her and Adrienne Momo and I were mending our relationship every day.  I had 5 weeks with the trainer and Adrienne was there the rest of the way.  I was seriously considering rehoming Mo after 8 years together because I just couldn't handle it any more.  I was that far gone over it and understand how it can control your life.  There Is hope.  😊

[Adrienne]

Congrats on getting a new rescue! It's awesome that you have the time to help this fellow out. 

Mostly the work with fearful/territorial dogs is changing the dog's emotional response towards by passers/ visitors from dreading their presence to looking forward to it. 

 The below tips are therefore just examples of what a behavior modification plan may entail, as every dog will need an individualized approach.

Use Management Techniques

Have you ever heard the saying "practice makes perfect?" Well, on top of allowing actors to perform well after rehearsing a play over and over, dogs practicing territorial behaviors over and over allows them to get particularly good at it, turning it into an established habit that is more difficult to eradicate.

Here's the thing, every time your dog barks, growls or lunges towards visitors, he will come to think that it's thanks to his barking, growling or lunging that the person ends up moving away. This allows the behavior to establish a strong reinforcement history. On top of this, every time a dog rehearses a problem behavior, stress hormones flood the body and cause dogs to be more on edge. 

Management therefore entails taking steps to prevent dogs from rehearsing their problematic behaviors. Here are just a few examples:

• If your dog acts fearful/ territorial towards people walking by the yard, prevent access to the yard when people are walking by. If your dog must be taken out the yard, keep him on leash at a distance from the fence-line.
• If your dog acts fearful/territorial when he sees other people through an indoor window, prevent access to such window (use baby gates, remove furniture the dog jumps onto or cover the windows with window film).
• If your dog acts fearful/territorial  when people enter the home, keep your dog in a separate area where he doesn't get to rehearse the behavior. 

Provide Exercise and Mental Stimulation

Dogs thrive when they are provided with exercise and mental stimulation. Deprived from this, dogs are more likely to feel chronically frustrated which can lead to undesirable behaviors. Aerobic exercises has been proven to allow dogs to release pent-up energy while also releasing feel-good endorphins which are known for promoting calmer behaviors. Mental stimulation provided under the form of brain games, food puzzles and training provides the mental enrichment dogs crave allowing outlets for instinctive behaviors in a positive way. Training and brain games also can help build a dog's confidence. 

Implement Behavior Modification

While management prevents rehearsal, the goal of behavior modification is systematically exposing the dog to its triggers using baby steps in a structured, gradual manner (through desensitization) so to keep the dog under threshold, while also creating positive associations (through counterconditioning). 

Here is read about desensitization:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

Here is a read about counterconditioning:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

And here is a read about threshold levels: 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

So in the case of a dog territorial towards people walking by the property/visitors, behavior modification may entail the following (please note this is only an example, every case requires a personalized approach)

• Train your dog a solid response to the smacking sound: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/
• Begin feeding your dog high-value treats anytime he sees people walk by, by watching through a window. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/
• Practice in several sessions, always ensuring your dog is comfortable. If your dog ever reacts, that's often a sign that he wasn't ready for that level of exposure. Keep tabs on what may have caused the setback (the person was walking too close, was swinging the arms too much, was wearing a hat) and aim to reduce the level of exposure next time before progressing.
• Aim to obtain what is known as a positive conditioned emotional response. In other words, your dog looks forward to the other people walking by/approaching rather than dreading their presence.https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/
• As your dog improves, start gradually raising criteria. In other words, raise the bar. Have somebody by the window walk a little closer, then practice outdoors with your dog by the door, then by the porch area, but always being extra careful in taking baby steps as always and using the leash. Use your dog's body language/reactions as a barometer of whether it's time to progress to the next step. If there's a setback, it means going back a few steps to a level of comfort again and building up gradually.
• Once the dog does fine watching people walk by a similar type of work can be done gradually having guests enter the home. Here is a case study: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/
• The treat retreat game may also help once the dog is more comfortable with people entering the home and sitting on the couch: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions. 

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques (no shock, prongs, or physical corrections) for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

[Adrienne]

Thanks Jennifer for opening up the picture! What a lovely boy indeed!