# Territorial barking :-(



## Sienna's Mom (Oct 23, 2007)

Our house sits on the end of a cul de sac. We have a big picture window that faces out down the short street where it T-bones another street. We have walking trails all around us- people use the other street to get to the trail and the trail also goes by our backyard (chain link)

Sienna would bark at people/things on occasion which was fine... lately though, it's been much more constant and starting to be upsetting/frustrating.

Out the front she will bark if she sees anything looking out through the window, even the neighbors she knows. She will bark at dogs walking down the street with their owners. Sometimes it's crows. One time it was a big leaf :doh:

Out the back she has started going nuts when she sees people with big dogs- running the fence. The neighbors on either side have dogs she will growl and run through my beloved garden plants to investigate. Given her leash nervousness she hasn't met these dogs face to face- plus they are small dogs and those seem to make her more nervous when they are yappy.

Any and all ideas on how to get her to curtail this behavior would be greatly appreciated. I do want her to be protective, of course, but not go bananas when the other dog/thing isn't doing anything wrong (like the poor leaf  They are just walking by and I don't want people using the trail to get upset at us.

This seems to be just a territorial thing, as if she would pass these people on the trail she is usually fine (can be leash nervous, but not always) she ALWAYS wants to say hello to the human. Is interested in the dog, but not sure.

(On a side note: The new neighbors next door have a new English Spaniel puppy. They have started leaving the pup out for short periods and sometimes she just stands there and barks. This morning it was 6:15 am. I am assuming they let her out to pee and she barked to be let back in, but not sure. Our bedroom is right by their yard. I don't want this to be a start of something that will drive us nuts. I'm nervous to approach them about it as I don't want to put them off when we hardly know them yet.)


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

1) Prevention. If you are not doing training or management, she should be in a place where she cannot be seeing out the windows. She should not be in the yard alone. ANY time this behavior happens, she may be more likely to do it in the future. She is getting worked up and that alone will make it easier for her to be set off.
2) Consider that it could be territorial, but it also could be frustration. She might really want to interact with whoever/whatever she sees...and that can get frustrating.
3) Come up with a training plan. Note, that if you use punishment, you could increase frustration and aggression...neither of which is really conductive to what you want! The training plan I would use... be in the room where the window is. When something exciting happens outside, whether she reacts or not (and even if she does!), stand up and feed her 5-10 small yummy treats, or better yet, scatter them on the floor at your feet. Repeat. Repeat. A lot. Before too long, she will likely see people/dogs/leaves and turn to you. And we want to stay at that stage for weeks... at that point, if you want more of a training plan, let us know and we'll help you go from there. Same sort of process in the yard, only I would have her on a leash so she's closer to you/the house. When she's automatically turning at the sight of people...we'll work on the next steps.


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## Sienna's Mom (Oct 23, 2007)

Thanks RedDogs :wavey:

Our house is VERY small 876 sq. ft. That front window is basically our whole living room into the kitchen. She is almost never in the yard on her own.

I definitely don't want to use punishment. When she reacts (looking out the window), sometimes she'll let out a talking growl. Sometimes she'll bark. Out back it's like she's telling the other dogs this is her place. It usually seems to be dog directed when she is out back.

She is very food oriented, so the treat idea would be good. I am always nervous about her thinking it is a reward, like when she grabs something to get me to chase her and I give her a treat to get the thing away.

She loves being out in the back as she is almost never outside anywhere else without a leash- given that she has horrible recall. We use a beloved squeaky toy to get her back if she gets out in front, maybe we can use it to distract her out back?

I am also concerned that if she gets out in front and the puppy is out (they don't leash her) she might go after her, being a small dog. It being her "territory". Our houses are close.


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