help with my lab

[emmalouisa]

hi i have a lab his a year old and his abit of a naughty boy well his a brilliant dog wth my partner but not with me.
when we go out if my partner sees him last b4 we go he doesnt bark when we r out or chew anything but when i drop my little one at nursery or pop out he continues to bark its becoming a real problem with the neighbours
ive been looking on this web site at the anti bark collar and the ultra sonic area bark controller does anyone use these?
thanxs in advance

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=17&pf_id=3999

 

[Tickled Pink!]

i had a lovely black labrador (wooster) who sadly is in doggy heaven now...however, he was a little sod for whinging and barking when we were out. so much so (and quite rightly) the neighbours didn't like it!
took advice and he had to be 'retrained'...

this is the dog trainers advice, not mine but here goes!

firstly, they advised shutting him in the room where he is going to 'living' (kitchen usually) and go about your business in the rest of the house and upstairs, making beds etc so he gets used to being in that room even if you are in the house.

Only enter the kitchen (or whatever is his room) when he is being good and quiet and making a fuss of him then - never when he is noisy.

If you are out the house and he is barking, stand outside your house till he stops (flask of tea and a good book might be handy!) and only enter the house and his 'room' when he is quiet...he'll soon recognise that you only return when he is quiet.

to get him used to this, they suggested, deliberately going outside your house and shutting the door, waiting for just a few minutes to start with then extending to longer periods and again, only going in when he is quiet.

never say 'goodbye' to him, don't look him in the eye - just go out

put a jumper of yours/your partners the other side of the door - he'll be able to smell familiar scent and this will calm him

wooster was 8 when he had to be 'retrained' and it worked surprizingly quickly (a week or so)! You've got the best breed of dog to retrain as they are so intelligent.

we had to have a word with the neighbour and ask them to bear with us whilst we were retraining and proferred alcohol as an incentive!

best of luck, i know how stressful it is when you are constantly worrying about your doggy annoying the neighbours.

 

[emmalouisa]

hi thanxs for the tips ive been through training with him sometimes his as good as gold but other times he barks for ages he stays in the kitchen now his fine when im in the house just when i walk out of it , anyway gonna try by putting my partners jumper or something near him maybe that mite help,
im dreddind saturday as im at a wedding all day thanxs for your help dianne xx

 

[Carrie29]

Hey,

I know how you feel, we have a 3 yr old boxer. He's the baby of the house and most probably the ruler awell!!
We leave the TV or radio on for him as he used to pine for us and bark all the time. He now goes to sleep in his favourite spot on the sofa as he thinks someone is in the house :biggrin:

Good luck for sat

Love
Carrie x

 

[Jaydee]

Hi Emma, what you need to be doing is distracting the dog. I have done a lot of training with my staffordshire bull terrier. I would either purchase a plastic feeding ball with holes in it or a Kong. Dont feed the dog in the morning, just as you are about to go out give the dog the ball or Kong stuffed with dried food. This way as the dog moves the ball about the food will drop out as with the Kong. This is making the dog work for his reward and keeping him distracted. Doing this will stimulate the dogs mind and make him think. You will be suprised how this little thing tires them out.

David

 

[bimbogeri]

My boyfriend never had much problem with their first dog, but his son is a bit of a terror - three years old and still likes to chew things.
With both of them they always leave the radio on when they go out, not music cos it tends to send them a bit mental, but radio 4 or another talk radio.
I'd try to train him yourself rather than getting one of those anti-bark collars. To be honest I'm not sure if they're a bit of a gimmick, but I know it can be hard. Alex still gets frustrated when to this day Mac chews on things he shouldn't (he must have a cast-iron stomache because last xmas eve he ate the WHOLE xmas cake that was seeped in alcohol.... and daffodil bulbs.... boxes of eggs....!).
Sounds a little like to your dog, your partner is the 'alpha' in the family... whereas with you he'll push the boundary a bit - either that or he just doesn't give a damn when your partner leaves but he misses you! Who does more of the training and disciplining?
Maybe if it's your partner you need to be a bit more proactive at aserting who's boss, and that he can't push the boundaries with you either.
Sorry I can't be more help! Good luck!
Lol x

 

[emmalouisa]

hi ya thanxs for all your replys ive been to training classes with him and done most of wat u have all reccommended perhaps then ill invest in some more training classes as i leave the telly on , ignore him when i go out he has improved since he was little just the barking its not good, the funny thing is jaydee i got him one of those balls with treats in and the minute u go out the house he doesnt touch it , he doesnt touch no toys or eat any food if u leave him alone , his fine being left alone in the kitchen or in the back garden as he knows im in the house the trouble starts when i walk out the frount door xx

 

[Bunny]

How spooky, just been looking at a site about this! It's for my local Petshop Wolfits & on there is a girl who is waiting to answer questions on animal behavioral problems so try her. The site is either Wolfit.co.uk or Wolfit.com i think. You can find it on Yell.com under pet shops in Tonbridge.

Good luck.

 

[emmalouisa]

hi thanxs for that will give that site ago xx

 

[nailroom]

Hi Emma,
looks like you got some advice from other replies.
Just in case you didn't know, Battersea Dogs Home have a behavioral helpline. I used it about 7yrs ago (my male Rottie Max is now 7!) and it helped.
He used to get really upset and frantic when I went out and had to train him to accept my temporary dissappearance.
He used to go silly as soon as I touched my keys, so I had to de-sensitize him to the sound of them.
I would start by picking up my keys and move them, then put them in my pocket or bag and then take them out again and put them back, all the while ignoring him, and when he was quiet while I did this aferwards he got a treat or fuss. Then I progressed to going out the room, then extended the time, then the front door, for a minute and back, and all the while he only got treat or fuss when he was quiet. Then just extended the time even if only to go to the car on the drive then back, so gradually, very gradually, built up the time and only when he was quiet did he get 'quiet' attention to reward him. He is fine now but he is naturally a mummy's boy and if I let him rule the roost, he'd let no-one near me!
Also a raw marrow bone (not cooked ones from petshop - they splinter) keeps them busy while you are gone, and you can stuff with cheese when the marrow is gone.

ps my husband is better behaved too since I went dog training (for about 2 yrs regularly) and done some research on dog behaviour lol!!!

love Sarah x (hope I didn't ramble too much - oh alright then I know I did!! )

 

[luckybird21]

my mum owns a pet shop in kent, stay away from the bark control collar. do some training with your dog. not just the training mentioned but also basic stuff, like hold the dogs favourite toy in front of its nose and keep telling it to leave it, when you feel it has left it long enough tell him he can have it and praise him. this is not only about barking say for attention it is about respect. you say the dog behaves for your other half? it clearly has more respect for him. my dogs are the same with my hubby so im going thru similar. treat the dog like a dog no privileges allowed, ignore it, if the dog comes to you, as such asking to be stroked, ignore it, then when you feel ready call him over.


as a last resort, if u do need a bark control collar, do not get the ultra sonic one, it is cruel and actually damages their hearing, and dont get the one that gives shocks for obvious reasons. the best one is one that has a little cannister connected to it, when the dog barks it sprays a little in its mouth. it is totally harmless to the dog, it is just a bit like nail bite you use for children to stop them biting nails or sucking their thumb. They are expensive tho, about £80. so training is best.

one of our reps came in the shop today, and we were talking about the above mentioned shop, they are fellow nutro dog/cat food sellers, which is the best possible food you can give your animals, it is a premium food and is fab! any who, if they sell nutro, they are defo a good option of a shop to go to!