Dog Barking At Dogs in the Alley

[PatsyIppolito]

Hi there,

I have a one year old puppy who barks at any dog going past our yard in the alley whenever she is outside or if she even hears another dog barking.  How do I get her to stop?  Any ideas would be welcome as it is very annoying for me, my neighbours and anyone walking their dog in the alley.

Thanks!

 

[JMFS]

Hi Patsy and welcome!  I have a similar issue and mine is absolutely bonkers about other dogs.  We're finally getting to a point to where we can watch TV without her going into a frenzy if a dog shows up, and heaven forbid it bark or whine!  She'll bolt upright from a dead sleep.  I've never had a dog so nuts about other dogs.

We're discussing solutions on this thread if you'd like to join the fun: 

It's about running to other dogs, but the solution is similar for barking at other dogs.  It involves repetitive training and it can be mind-numbingly boring for us, but it definitely pays off at the end.  I'm over here with Esther watching YouTube videos with dogs barking, running, howling, whining, etc . . . so we can work up to training with actual dogs.  I used the methods we're discussing with the neighbors' dogs and she ignores them now so there's hope!

How long has she been with you?

[Adrienne]

Hi Patsy, welcome back!

Your pup is part Yorkie and they can be quite prone to barking. If your dog spends a good amount of time in the yard alone without directions or anything else to do, they'll just take up the watchdog role and make it their favorite hobby. 

Preventing rehearsal of the troublesome behavior is important so to prevent excessive barking to become the norm. Barking at triggers can soon get out of hand because it's reinforcing to the dog/dogs especially when the trigger the dog barks at moves away. This will create persistence in barking as the dogs will bark insistently until a trigger leaves.

Reducing this form of barking would entail always monitored time out in the yard and redirection. Yard time should ideally be quality time spent sniffing, exploring and interacting with the owner (playing brain games, playing with a ball, digging in authorized spots, and rewarding desirable behaviors as they unfold) rather than rehearsing problematic behaviors.

I would suggest practicing with "look at that" starting first indoors and then moving to practicing this in the yard. 

Firstly, obtain a good response to the smacking sound:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/

Then practice with your pup on leash watching other dogs walk by a window:

Here is the section on how to train this: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

Then practice in the yard, first just by the door with your pup on leash and then on a long line. Then gradually move more and more outside as your dog progresses. 

The hear that method can help too to desensitize to the barking sound, it's discussed at the bottom part of this article:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/

It's important to ensure your dog is under threshold at all times:

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

And of course, keeping the dogs occupied during the day with brain games, obedience and walks ("look at that" can be done on walks too adding steps of attention heeling https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ ) will help reduce certain forms of barking because dogs are provided with "outlets" for pent up energy and this helps fulfill their need to have a "job," whereas dogs left in a yard with nothing better to do, may easily fall into the pattern of rehearsing undesirable behaviors such as barking, digging and chewing on stuff.

As Jennifer pointed out, this is something that needs lots of practice. You are working against ingrained instincts, and Yorkies/Yorkie mixes are notorious for wanting to be watchdogs and shihtzu like to be watchdogs too (they were used to alert intruders in monasteries).

[PatsyIppolito]

Thanks to both of you.  She is not left in the yard alone since my yard would be one big hole if I did - lol!  I am out there with her.  Most of the time she is playing fetch with me, playing hide and seek with treats, or playing with the dog from next door.  She also has a digging box, several toys, and things to chew on.  No matter what we are doing or she is doing,  if a person or dog appears in the alley or one from down the alley starts barking, she runs to the fence and starts barking.  We have practiced the smacking sound and me whistling, both which she responds to if we are out for a walk or are in the house.  We have a great place we go to with trails and trees where we meet other dogs, but she doesn't bark at them except for the very rare occasion.  She also has quite a good recall most of the time and we do "look at that" as well.   If there is a dog in the alley, she won't respond to any of these.  

We have also done 2 levels of obedience training which she did very well at.  We go for walks daily to practice, loose leash walking, leave it, etc.  She loves to learn things and knows several tricks.  We have also started agility training which she loves.  

I took a peek at the "hear that" method and am going to give it a try.

Thanks again!

[Adrienne]

She is not left in the yard alone since my yard would be one big hole if I did - lol!  I am out there with her.  Most of the time she is playing fetch with me, playing hide and seek with treats, or playing with the dog from next door.  She also has a digging box, several toys, and things to chew on.

This is great! She's very lucky to have all these opportunities to keep herself busy! If there is another dog next door and he/she barks too at other dogs, it can be contagious as they form a sort of "social group" who bark at intruder dogs. 

 If a person or dog appears in the alley or one from down the alley starts barking, she runs to the fence and starts barking. 

In such a case, it would be important preventing her from going to the fence line and start barking as this type of barking is highly reinforcing to the dog considering that it's a distance-increasing barking. In other words, when she goes to bark at the fence she's telling the person or dog to move away and when they do since they are coming and going, she'll come to think that it's thanks to this barking that they leave. The more this is practiced, the more it puts roots. 

We have practiced the smacking sound and me whistling, both which she responds to if we are out for a walk or are in the house.  We have a great place we go to with trails and trees where we meet other dogs, but she doesn't bark at them except for the very rare occasion.  She also has quite a good recall most of the time and we do "look at that" as well.   If there is a dog in the alley, she won't respond to any of these.  

When a dog is able to respond to a trained cue in some settings (like on a walk) but not in others (dogs/people passing by the alley), it's because the dog is too over threshold.  It would be important therefore to find ways to lower her threshold. This can be done with distance and some prior foundational ground work.

The hear that method can be a good introductory method that helps create a different response to the sound of other dogs barking or other sounds like dog tags jingling. You can find these recordings on youtube, and practice playing them at low value and creating positive associations with them.

The goal is to obtain a CER: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

Then, the volume can be gradually raised. Then, the sounds can be initially played in the yard with her on the deck/by the door, and then even by the fence line with her on a leash at a distance where she's not over threshold.

Then, one can move to creating visual setups. The look at that exercise by the windows watching people or dogs passing by and then maybe even creating setups with volunteers willing to be walking back and forth for you when you are ready to train. Open bar closed bar is another method that can work well with this, you can use the smacking sound as well to announce treat delivery. 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/

Once gained a more responsive state and her being responsive on a leash, then on a long line (long leash often sold in horse tack stores on online for training dogs recalls), she would graduate to being off leash, but it is important catching her before she start rushing to the fence and barking. Once she's off it's often too late for her being responsive. You would therefore have to use your smacking sound or "leave it" cue the moment you see her acknowledging the sound of somebody approaching, practicing a lot up to where the dog learns to come to you when she senses somebody approaching versus rushing and taking the matter in her own hands. 

Worth mentioning is that adding some visual blockage initially and then reducing it very gradually (or keeping it permanently if it helps -some dog owners skip all the training and just manage this way) may also help lower the threshold. Installing a privacy fence or anything the prevents seeing can help, however, dogs can still sense others through smell and sight, so not always it helps 100 percent. In your case, you may need nothing drastic if there is only a portion of the fence allowing visuals of the alley so maybe even a panel of privacy fence or some other visual blockage can help. Some dog owners find this as the best compromise.  Here are some options:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fence-ideas-dog-owners/

[PatsyIppolito]

Thank you for your response - lots to think about, work on and figure out!  Your suggestions are great!  We will continue to work on it.  

 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome! Keep me posted on how things go. Feel free to post here and we can always do more troubleshooting.