no barking - Page 1

Hi does anyone know a way to stop my dog from excessivly barking at people,kids or anything moving at the dog park?

Let me know

Don't go to the dog park?
That's what i do.

Yes, clear and consistent leadership and good obedience that has been practiced and proofed. You would do best getting help from a good local dog trainer who can show you how to work with your dog one on one. Honestly, dog parks are accidents waiting to happen and with your dog behaving as you describe, you are really asking for trouble. I highly suggest you rethink visiting dog parks, particularly until you get a handle on your dog's behavior.

Well, I'm going to say yes, you should probably grab a trainer and get some help on this one. The problem with excessive barking is it can trigger a reaction from other dogs in the park, and it demonstrates that your dog is not in a calm state. I do, however, agree with your decision to go to the park! I think it is a wonderful place to let your dog excercise and learn how to socialize. On the other hand, you have to bring your dog when he/she is in a good state of mind, and have to be mindful and watchful of all other dogs at all times. Be willing to move away from or even leave the park entirely if its clear that your dog is not going to get along with another dog-- you don't want the park to become a place where your dog anticipates aggression and confrontation.

I'd have a trainer help you walk through the entire dog park experience. From the moment you get out of your vehicle to when you exit the gates, you need to maintain your position as alpha. The dog doesn't get to come out of the car until you say, and you don't let the dog out until he/she is calm. The dog should walk with you, on leash, to the gates in a calm heel. If he/she doesn't want to calm down, then you keep walking until they do. I've found it to be very useful to take my dog for a jog prior to going to the park-- that way she starts at a lower energy level, making it so I have less trouble keeping her calm. The dog should sit at the gates and wait, not leaping forward when you open them, but rather waiting for your voice command for him/her to release from a sit and move forward and start experiencing the park. You always enter first, because you are alpha. The second your dog begins to bark you should greet it with correction, i.e. a shoulder tap and "Shush!", or a quick jerk on a leash to snap them out of that state of mind. Jump on the behavior early so that your dog doesn't get a chance to intensify and wind up. I'm not saying that a happy bark every now and then is bad, but excessive barking shows frustration, nervousness/fear, etc..., all of which can lead to a fight because other dogs will get annoyed or see it as a sign of weakness and seek to dominate. You might try maintaining your dog on leash and walking at a brisk pace until you can see your dog physically relax. Don't let him pull away from you, stop to smell things, or anything else besides focus on the walk with you. By doing so you can establish that even though you're surrounded by all of that noise and commotion, you are still the leader and the only thing that really matters. ;)

Remember too that your dog feeds off your energy, so if you're overly excited, anxious, or nervous, your dog is going to pick up on that and reflect it in a negative way. Waiting to exit the vehicle and approach the fence until your dog is calm may seem like torture, but remember that the goal is to make the park a wonderful experience every time you go, so that your dog can relax and participate in the doggie fun and so that you enjoy it and want to keep going. It will take awhile to establish a new pattern, but with help and a little patience, you can get there. You want to leave the dog park with everyone going, "What a wonderful dog!", not, "Geesh, glad they finally left..."

I know people are divided over the dog park, but I have to say it has been priceless in helping my dog to overcome a lot of her issues. Between my OB classes and consistenly exposing her to places like the park, my Belgian Malinois has blossomed into a beautiful young lady with wonderful manners. Her toy aggression and everything was taken head on, and just the other day a lab pup kept attempting to remove a ball from her mouth. With a simple "No" from me at the first sign of her lip curling, she simply dropped her head and trotted off. This is lightyears from where we were a year before. If you treat the dog park as a place to learn first, and have fun second, then I think you will be truly impressed with the benefits you can get out of it. 

Best of luck!  

 

Is this a collie? They like to bark.....a lot.

That was my thought.  Based on another thread from this OP, if this is the collie, isn't barking alot part of their nature?

Yeah, look at Lassie...couldn't go more than one scene without barking.
Loony is speaking from experience...stay out of dog parks.

First - stay away for dog parks.

Put a prong collar on the dog and dog treats in your pocket.  Start off with taking him places where you aren't going to encounter many people or dogs and make sure he's hungry.  On walks, call your dog's name and give him a treat when he looks at you.  If he doesn't look, give him a correction. As this becomes more automatic, take him to places with light pedestrian traffic.  When you see a person approaching, call the dog's name and give treats as long as he's looking at you.  Light correction if he looks away.  And a hard correction if he barks at the pedestrian.  As he gets better at this, hold the treat until the pedestrian gets past you and then reward.  Also add in verbal praise and physical praise.  He'll quickly learn that barking at people results in a correction and not barking at people gets him a treat.

It helps if there is a place or something that he can bark at and is encouraged to bark at.  That way he learns that there are places and things where barking a lot is good and places and things when barking is bad.

Collies bark. Don't like barking, don't get a Collie. Or specifically select a collie from bloodlines that aren't prone to compulsive barking. They will also grumble to themselves, and moan, and yodel, so if you don't like that either, don't get a Collie ;-)

Obedience can help, but if you are looking for a dog that, when playing, doesn't bark....don't get a Collie.

I believe there is a big difference between a dog barking in play, and not that barks at other dogs, people and animals compulsively. From what was described, that sounds like more of the issue than a dog that simply barks during play. Barking at any and all others denotes a nervous or reactive temperament. Continuation of this stressful behavior can lead to further behavior issues. I'm still not a fan of dog parks, and I still stand by my earlier advice, but if this is just a simple case of a dog that expresses it's joy and exuberance through barking during play, then I wouldn't really worry about it.