Dog barking at birds

[JoelSayers]

We rescued a 2 year old cattle dog called Gypsy 3 months ago who is quite high energy but came with basically no training which I am working on. 

She has had a problem with chasing and barking at cars which I have nearly trained out of her, but now she goes crazy at birds when she is on the balcony watching them or in the backyard. She does a terribly high pitched demand bark at the birds, and this often sends her into a barking fit where she just starts barking at everything and does not listen to the normal leave it command.

Is there anything I could do to stop this?

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

It's awesome that you were able to tackle the chasing and barking at cars! To tackle the barking and chasing birds, you will need to take a multi-faceted approach, tackling the issue from several angles for a holistic approach so to say. 

Here are some general tips:

Consider the Thrill of the Chase

When dogs chase birds, we might just see a dog having fun or being "naughty." In reality though, a lot more is going on if we take a look "under the hood."

The behavior is deeply rooted considering that in a dog's past, as a hunter and scavenger, the ability to hunt was linked to survival. You therefore cannot take the desire to chase away from the dog because it is deeply ingrained. 

Here's the thing: every time Gypsy engages in chasing something or engages in some other predatory behavior, her seeking system in the brain is activated. If your dog appears as if in a trance-like or hyper aroused state when she sees birds, you can bet it's because her "seeking system" is activated and her body is being flooded with powerful hormones such as dopamine and adrenaline.

It's all about the "thrill of the chase" and it can get quite addicting with all the built-up of anticipation and focus on satisfying the urge. All this powerful concoction will make it more likely for a dog to engage in the chasing activity in the future. It's all a cycle of anticipation, reward and reinforcement. 

Prevent Rehearsal of the Problem Behavior

If your dog is out on the balcony with nothing really productive to do, it will be almost a certainty that she'll engage in the barking and chasing birds behavior. Practice makes perfect so that the behavior will likely keep repeating and strengthening over time, sometimes to the point of becoming an obsession. 

It would therefore be important to prevent the dog from engaging in the behavior over and over. Prevention would therefore mean not being sent out in the balcony or yard without some form of control/supervision that prevents her from engaging in the addicting behavior.

For example:

-You can install motion sensor sprinklers that keep birds away from the yard

-You can attach to the balcony some of those pinwheel bird deterrents that use motion and reflections

-You can go out of the balcony or yard first to ensure there are no birds

-You can keep your dog on leash to prevent full chasing behaviors

The goal of management is to therefore prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior by limiting exposure to triggers/situations that are overwhelming and out of control. You want to instead create set-ups where you have more control over the environment by presenting distractions gradually, at levels where she is more responsive and less over threshold. Here is a read on dog threshold levels:

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

Train a Strong Response to the Smacking Sound

Train your dog in a quiet area of the home to respond to a smacking sound using high-value treats. Here is how to train it:

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

Practice "Look at thats"

Add gradually some challenges such as having her on leash by a window or at a distance from the balcony when there are birds around as outlined in this exercise:

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

If no real birds are around, you can practice with some of those remote controlled flying birds with a helper. There are also models without a remote control that can be cheaper or you can get a fishing rod with a mock bird attached and practice making your smacking sound over and over with a helper moving it around. The goal is to get your dog to come to you upon spotting birds and hearing your smacking sound.

Catch Her Early

When you notice your dog's attention orienting towards birds, be very fast to redirect her before she reaches "the point of no return" so to say.  If you are too late, she'll be way too focused to listen. With all the adrenaline pumping, her primal instincts will take over while her cognitive functions shut down as she's entirely focused on the "thrill of the chase."

Provide Outlets for Natural Behaviors

You really cannot remove a dog's instinct to chase. Expecting them to completely abandon that instinct is simply asking too much, but you can channel and train alternate behaviors to engage in. Being that she's a heeler and therefore a herding dog, chasing and herding big balls such as in the sport of Treibball can be a fun activity.

 The canine sport of Treibball is particularly attractive to herding dog breeds who do not have access to regular sheep considering that moving the balls around can provide an outlet for natural herding behaviors. Because of this, the balls are often referred to as “rolling sheep. " Some dog owners use large sturdy exercise balls as "sheep to herd."

  Consider as well nosework, brain games and food puzzles which satisfy a dog's "seeking system". Re-direct your dog to appropriate chasing/prey toys such as balls, Frisbee and tug toys. However, don’t overdo it; too many chasing games that cause persistent high arousal levels  will create an adrenaline rush which may be counter-productive in the long run.

I hope this helps! Keep us posted how things go.

Happy Training!

Best,

Adrienne

 

 

[JoelSayers]

Thank you a lot for the reply! Will let you know how it goes.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You're very welcome, keep us posted!