# HELP! Barking at school



## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

Ever since spring hit, my Gracie has become a wild child! I know she is still a puppy and we are working hard on everything and she will eventually calm down. 

BUT... how do I stop her from barking when the only place she barks is at dog school? She really does not bark at home besides the playful bark here and there. Even out on our walks or at the park she does not bark. It seems the only place she barks is at school. :doh: And yes, it tends to be when she wants a treat. When we are heeling in a circle she is fine but when we are just standing there listening to the trainer, that is when she starts. I have started giving her treats while she is quiet and telling her good quiet. Is there anything better to do? It's just tough to practice because she doesn't do it anywhere else (not complaining). I work with one of the ladies that is also a trainer there and she mentioned teaching her the speak command, then teaching her "no speak". But she also said that it could easily backfire!


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

I'll trade ya! Enzo barks EVERYWHERE! lol


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Bring a bully stick that you hold on to and let her chew the other end during the "down time." She may be a dog who, right now, at this age and in that environment, has trouble with idle time.


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## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

We don't like to use bully sticks. It gave her an upset tummy last time.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

We went through the same thing when Jacks was the same age. Not so much barking, but restlessness and pulling towards neighboring dogs spaces and grabbing the leash and trying to chew on my legs... :doh:

Keep her constantly moving and working. Some people bring toys to class (like the disembowled squirrels) and play tug while listening. You can practice her downs, crawls, spins, sits - while paying attention to what is going on.

The other thing is to sit on the floor with her and roll her over while you rub or stroke her belly - this sometimes worked to get Jacks to calm down.


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## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

Did you ask the trainer? Maybe she or he has idea? If it is just excitement about the other dogs maybe some play dates sessions in your yard with other dogs or a couple visits to doggy day care will help. Jaro was always very excited at dog school didn't bark but pulled a lot. This weekend when he had the whole morning of free play with other Goldens was a really good experience.


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## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

Megora said:


> We went through the same thing when Jacks was the same age. Not so much barking, but restlessness and pulling towards neighboring dogs spaces and grabbing the leash and trying to chew on my legs... :doh:
> 
> Keep her constantly moving and working. Some people bring toys to class (like the disembowled squirrels) and play tug while listening. You can practice her downs, crawls, spins, sits - while paying attention to what is going on.
> 
> *The other thing is to sit on the floor with her and roll her over while you rub or stroke her belly - this sometimes worked to get Jacks to calm down*.


This is what I end up doing most of the time. I forgot to bring a toy last week. I will try that as well.


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## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

Ian'sgran said:


> Did you ask the trainer? Maybe she or he has idea? If it is just excitement about the other dogs maybe some play dates sessions in your yard with other dogs or a couple visits to doggy day care will help. Jaro was always very excited at dog school didn't bark but pulled a lot. This weekend when he had the whole morning of free play with other Goldens was a really good experience.


She was very interested in other dogs but she doesn't bark at them, just pulls. The barking seems to be more directed at me when she wants a treat or if I'm ignoring her while paying attention to the trainer. I wanted to talk to one of them after the class ended but they were bombarded with people and I didn't want to stand around for an hour. It was almost 10pm and I still hadn't eaten dinner. I might go talk to the lady here at work in a bit.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

It may help to think about training her to be quiet rather than training her not to bark. Does that make sense? Teach her an alternate behavior. The easiest thing is probably to teach her longer and longer quiet sit-stays when you see that she's in a barking mood.

She's barking for a treat or attention. So if she barks and you give her attention (even negative attention), she may learn that it works. Instead, show her that quiet focus is what will make you produce attention and treats and that barking makes you continue to ignore her. Rather than waiting until she barks to address the problem, teach her a sit-stay where she gets rewarded for devoting absolute attention to you. Each time she looks back at you, say "yes!" and reward her. The idea is to teach her an alternate habit rather than simply trying to get ride of an undesired action.

I realize that it may not be practical to let her bark herself out (as this kind of technique works, the dog will typically get worse for a brief period called "extinction"), but if you reward her by shushing her, producing a toy, or otherwise doing things that may reinforce it, you won't see improvement overall. Definitely manage the problem with a chew toy, but try not to create a situation where social pressure to keep your dog quiet forces you to inadvertently reward the undesired behavior.


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## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

That is pretty much what I have started to do... keep her quiet before it even starts. But what do I do when it DOES start? I can't just let her bark while the instructor is trying to talk. It's just difficult to try to train a quiet sit-stay because she will be quiet as long as I ask at home and I can't really let her bark it out at school.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

DianaM said:


> That is pretty much what I have started to do... keep her quiet before it even starts. But what do I do when it DOES start? I can't just let her bark while the instructor is trying to talk. It's just difficult to try to train a quiet sit-stay because she will be quiet as long as I ask at home and I can't really let her bark it out at school.


With really good timing, you may be able to create a reward series that will help you. Can you get her to look at you for two seconds without barking? If so, you can cue and treat for that quiet attention a few times in a row and then give her a chew toy that will distract her.

You can also ask the instructor if you can come early so you can get through the extinction behavior phase.


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## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

Getting her attention is another thing we are working on. She barely responds to her own name outdoors! I think I can typically get a couple seconds out of her though. Coming in early wouldn't be a problem except that there are classes going on before ours starts.


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