Teaching the Come Command

Excessive Barking

Dog “forgot” commands

Hi Julie,

I have a one year old black lab. She is great but can sometimes be a bit of a pain. For example we have a fenced off pen in our backyard that we let her in and out of. Problem is she doesn\’t want to come back in, so when she barks at the door we try to let her in and she runs down the stairs thinking your going to play with her. The only way we get her in is to lure her with bones. Another thing is that she is an excessive barker. How do we get that to stop. One last thing is she went to puppy school at our local Petco and she did pretty well but the commands we taught (sit, come, lay and leave it) have seem to worn off and she doesn\’t respond unless there\’s an award. How can we solve these problems? I found you on facebook and I live in Massachusetts!  I appreciate the help thanks!

Ben

Hello Ben!

Almost all three of your questions need to be solved with more exercise and a few additional tips.  She sounds like she wants to play with you so you may need to exercise her some more.  A young active dog needs about 30-45 minutes of exercise twice a day.  You can judge what is enough for each dog if they come home to lie down and rest when you get home than you know it is enough.  They also need to get out and explore the world, go on walks, new streets, new parks.  Once you know you’ve exercised them enough and they’ve gotten out you can move onto resolving the issues you’ve described.  I mention the exercise first because without it, you won’t be able to fix the issues.

Question One Subject: Teaching the Come Command:  If you teach the come command properly you can get your dog to come to you EVERY time you call them.  I have a great method to teach this on my online training program if you are interested in learning it. 

Question Two Subject: Excessive Barking: Barking is often a result of isolation, fear, frustration, boredom or a learned habit that they know produces attention.  Dogs need to be exercised a lot at least twice a day as well as go out and explore the world.  They do not do well to be left alone for long periods of time and also need to go out for walks, explore new sights and smells and not just stay at home every day.   A tired dog is a good dog and will most likely spend a lot of time sleeping if they have had their needs met. 

Also, make sure you praise your dog and give it attention when they are NOT barking.  We often mistakenly give our dogs attention when they bark which rewards the behavior and forget to give the attention when they are quiet.

I would highly suggest you begin an obedience-training program using positive methods.  You can train your dog to behave the way you want them to if you practice daily obedience with them in a positive way and with good timing. 

You also need to be very consistent with your dog and establish clear rules.

Here are some steps to follow for immediate results:

1. When your dog is barking say a command firmly, like “Stop Barking”, or “Quiet!” Pick one of the commands and stick to it as a family.  Do not be angry though and let your dog sniff a treat while you say that command.  Generally, when offered a treat a dog stops barking to smell it even if only for a second. 
2. Then, when your dog is quiet, give a treat and say “good quiet” or “good no bark” in a praising way.  Continue this but expand the amount of time you expect your dog to be quiet from say 3 seconds, to 6 to 9 and so on.  So the wait for the treat is delayed. 
3. They start associating the fact that you say that command, they stay quiet and then they get a treat. 
4. This method may take some time but it is one way for you to work on the barking problem right away.  It also establishes the meaning of the command to the dog so that over time you can just say that word and they will stop. 

There are many ways to resolve this problem and this is just one example.  It is important that you work on obedience training right away if you want to be able to handle your puppy well.  Do not wait or more behavioral problems can develop. 

Question Three Subject: Dog “Forgot” Commands.  Dog training is an ongoing, daily task.  If you do not keep up on the training that your dog previously learned, they will “forget” the training in a sense…well actually they didn’t really forget as much as they realized you are not being consistent, so neither will they!

Think about joining my online training program to learn how to more effectively communicate with your dog. This program includes access to email me 7 days a week throughout your training.  Your dog deserves it and you will feel much happier!  If you are interested, sign up at the join now page: http://www.webdogtrainer.com/join.php  

Let me know if you have any further questions.

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All the best!

Julie