Dog barking all the time when on lead.

hi, wondered if i could get any advice for my friend. she unable to access internet so i thought i would ask you guys as you seem to be full of good advice. Her dog is just over a year old now, king charles spaniel , and barks the whole time when on lead, from the moment she puts it on, till the moment she takes it off in the park. He then stops while running around, but starts barking again when she puts it on to go home. He barks all the way home. its a real problem and we would like any advice, have considered a dog behaviourist but they are so costly. any advice please.x x

Bet that ruins the fun of walkies a bit

I don't have a CKCS so please someone correct me if I'm way off; I recall watching a documentary about them that mentioned some kind of brain/nerve issue with harnesses and collars.
Is it possible at all that whatever the lead is attached to (collar or harness) is causing the dog pain or discomfort when the lead pulls on it?

If it is just a behavioural thing, distraction is good for a number of situations - stop walking when he barks, wait for him to quiet down and reward, then continue walking and repeat.
May take a while but hey, thats dog training haha!

hi blue jay, i didnt see that programme, but its a good point. maybe she should try a harness in stead of his collar in case its a issue with his collar. thanx for that

I'm inclined to agree with BlueJay in that it could be a problem with the collar or harness and I would get your friend to take a good look at which ever it is as there could be something sharp or rough which is irritating the dog's skin.

I remember buying my late Shar-Pei a new harness and had no problem until we went for a walk. We'd get about 50 yards down the lane and then she'd dig her heels in and refuse to budge. It took me (her dozy mum) several days to realise I was putting it on upside down. Once I put it on the right way round everything went back to normal.

Hello Linda dogs bark for a variety of reasons in this instance it may well be excitement.
This little dog is very young and may be over excited at the anticipation of a walk and when the lead is put on which signals a walk because he is under stimulated the rest of the time . This can be helped by introducing other stimulus during the day eg playing and games like hide and seek /fetch/ and hiding treats under a cup.
I would introducing lots of small walks too going to various places not just the park.

I would also try desensitising to the lead by putting it on at 'calm times' when the dog is gently stroked then taking it off again so that the lead can start to be associated with calm things as well as excitement

Does he have a special toy? Getting him to carry it during walks will also help, dogs can't carry something in the mouth and bark at the same time.

thanx minihaha, that was some really useful advice, i will tell my firiend , i sure it will help. thanx

I would at home teach dog what click and treat means. I would then take the dog somewhere so that we would not annoy others with barking. Then put lead on and ignore all barking. The moment the dog stops barking click and treat (needs good timing). Need to reinforce the wanted behaviour and ignore the not good. If you can stand the barking in the house do it there so you can repeat lots. Once the dog is getting used to reward for quiet associate a command with the quiet. Teach a command for barking and then work between asking for a bark and asking for quiet, when quiet click and treat.

All the above advice is worth trying.

If it doesn't work, your friend could try attaching the lead in the house and dropping it the moment he starts barking, picking it up again when the barking stops. If the garden is secure, the same again (once it's been cracked in the house). From there, moving on to outside the secure area but instead of dropping the lead (which would be way too dangerous), just stopping dead the moment the barking starts and not moving until all is quiet