# Barking at meal times



## mirthril (Jun 23, 2010)

So, let me preface this by saying that I’m exceedingly tired today – I’ve had a few weeks now of no more than 6 hours of sleep and sometimes wake up several times a night when the puppy moves or has a dream or whatever. But today I’ve found myself frustrated to no end by my puppies barking around meal times or basically whenever I’m in the kitchen. 

He started this new behavior this week. He’ll bark while I’m preparing food. He’s done this to a more minor extent when I’m preparing his food - one little bark when I open his meat (he’s raw fed), and I kind of let that slide thinking he was just excited. But now it’s becoming full on in your face barking. Even worse the behavior has now spread to when I’m making my meals. Especially if he hears plastic crinkling, he’ll bark. I think associates the plastic crinkling with my getting treats ready for training time, but it’s driving me nuts.

What have I tried? 

1. I’ve tried saying “no bark” in a variety of different vocal tones from gentle to firm, while pausing my preparations of his food and looking straight at him. He’ll pause for a second and look at me, then I praise him for being quiet and start making his food again only to have him barking like mad. 
2. I’ve tried walking away ignoring him – he just follows and barks/whines once I start standing still again. I’ve also run into a room and closed the door, and he just barks outside of it.
3. I’ve tried picking him up, and putting him in his x-pen gently, while saying no bark or “you bark you loose” and then leaving him there for 5 minutes. This has met with some success in the past, but today he barked in his xpen for about 10 minutes after I put him in there, I was just praying he’d stop for 2 minutes straight so I could go out and finish his food and feed him. When he finally did stop, I went out and starting making his meal again only to have him launch into another fit of barking which led to a repeat of my putting him in the x-pen and walking away.
4. I’ve tried preemptively putting him in his xpen before meal times –he still barks when he hears me opening the meat container.

I’m really hoping this is just a passing thing. Like maybe he’s more cranky this week or something. He’s going to be 13 weeks old this Saturday, so teething really shouldn’t be happening now, but he’s definitely been more bitey lately, and now there’s this barking thing.

Have any of you run into this problem – how did you deal with it, or how would you suggest I deal with it? My puppy barking just puts me in such a dreadful and unhappy mood. One of the reasons I chose this breed was because they are supposed to be non-barkers. I'd be grateful for any help you can offer.

Kindest regards,

Jessica


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## amy22 (May 11, 2008)

Get yourself a squirt bottle. Keep it in the kitchen as soon as he barks squirt him with water and turn and start making the food again. 
Holly would bark and bark when Misty would chew on a bone..nonstop..I tried no bark..put her in another room.I squirted her once..she barked again and I swuirted her again...that was it..she doesnt do it any more!! I keep that squirt bottle close. I have it set for a stream, not mist..it worked GREAT!


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

I would not use punishment, it can create frustration and aggression...and as your puppy is already frustrated... 

Prevention: Put your puppy in his crate on the other side of the house when you're making your meals. Cover the crate, give him a chew toy, and play some music. This is to PREVENT bad behavior from happening.
Training: Use his meals for training. Stuff his meat into kongs and freeze and dispense. Or thaw it and take the bowl outside. [during this preparation stage, he should be crated. When everything is prepared, go to his crate, leash him, and walk through the house..grab the bowl and go outside] Have him sit. Give him a spoonful. Walk a few steps. Have him sit. Walk a few steps. Have him sit. Give a spoonful. Repeat a ton. And soon food=sit instead of food= bark.

The other stage is to take easier-to-handle treats. Crinkle a bag and then put a treat in his mouth (so quick there's no chance to bark). Crinkle. Treat. Crinkle. Treat. And keep working on this. Soon he will be looking for his treat. Then crinkle "Sit!" *puppy sits. Treat.... and repeat.

If you mess up and he starts barking... walk away. As soon as he settles, lead him to his crate, give a chew, cover the crate, turn up the music. 

Once you've spent a week or two and got down to almost no barks.... we'll go onto stage II!


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## kkudi (Jun 30, 2010)

Eric was not as serious as yours but he would bark when we were taking our time to measure the food for the day and then give it to him. We were totally ignoring him,leaving the food on the counter and going away for 2-3 minutes. We were repeating this action until he would stop bark. Now he patiently awaits for his food


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Excellent advice from RedDogs. The only thing I could think of was setting his crate up in the FURTHEST spot from the kitchen, playing music, and giving him a marrow bone or something else to distract him. Eventually it could become a routine and no more barking.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

Tyson does this as well. He knows when meal times are and he starts barking like crazy the minute one of us heads to the pantry where the dog food is kept. He only does this when he knows we're getting his food. If we open the pantry any other time of day, he's totally quiet since he knows it's not his breakfast or dinner time. We ignore him and wait for him to be silent for 15-20 seconds before we let him have his food. He's an adolescent at 10 months, so we're hoping this is just a phase, but right now he is VERY vocal at mealtimes! Tucker, on the other hand, just sits patiently with a big smile on his face while we fill his bowl. :bowl:


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## james70 (Aug 30, 2010)

*Haha*

U r not alone ... No worry 
I'm having this problem too or should i say challenge ... They r just hungry n impatience. 
So i will have to love him more n train him to be more patience, i stop preparing n wait for the barking to stop n i'll continue ...
its part n parcel of growing the puppy up ...
Cheers


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## Darlenechilli (May 28, 2010)

Chilli would do this and we tried to ignore it and praise her for not barking, but she was not getting any better so one day when I had had enough I just picked her up & put her outside (I was a little rough, not the normal me) made her wait quietly for a few minutes the let her back inside to have her food. She has not barked since for any food. She was about 12 weeks old then and we are now 17 weeks old, 1 hurdle down bring on the rest LOL


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## mirthril (Jun 23, 2010)

Sorry to reserect an old thread, but I wanted to extend my sincere thanks to everyone here for your excellent advice. What did the trick for my little one was RedDog's training at meal times advice. I ended up taking a big bowl of his food outside with me and working on sit stays during meal times - this almost imediately prevented any barking, and had the added benefit of my little guy being a champ at "stay." I can turn my back and walk halfway across the yard, and he'll wait patiently until I give his release word. Thank you so much for your help everyone!


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