Barking for attention.Need help.

Fudge has always barked to get attention but it is escalating to lots of very loud barks, normally connected to her toys and wanting to play, particularly her beloved tennis balls.This happens both inside and out on walks.

I have made it worse by teaching her the speak command. Unfortunately she picked this up quickly and we have found the quiet command very difficult.

I would like to know any strategies we can use to stop this. It is very annoying when I am busy doing other things. I want to play with her on my terms not hers. She gets a lot of attention and is walked regularly and has play sessions . I also use kongs and treats balls when I am out.

I use the "enough" command in a strong voice or "eh". Guess Ive worked on this since Minnie was a pup- its mostly for when someone comes to the door and she goes nutso. As with everything- a command- then she stops barking- then I reward with a treat. It is something I do have to constantly re-enforce tho - I would find it very hard on the head to live with a dog that barked constantly. Interesting to hear of anyone elses techniques ,as my friend's daughters Lakeland Terrier is 2.5 years old and has started doing what Fudgeley does- barking for attention-Id love to know what to advise them too !

Cath

oh dear youve gone & done it now, i cant give any advise,all mine are sooooo chopsey!!!

It's pure attention seeking and our pup is trying this one at the moment. WE vary our response with the situation.If he is staring at us wagging his tail then woofs to play we totally ignore him, no eye contact etc and that does work, he may come up and try other methods to get our attention but he gets no attention whatsoever. If he is woofing at Biffters trying it with him he normally gets a firm 'oi' or 'no' and he knows enough is enough.

Thanks everyone, unfortunately at the moment Fudge is flexing her muscles and ANY from of verbal correction whilst she is barking seems to spur her on even more.She believes it is a game and goes down into a play bow still barking.....

My only other thought about Fudgeley is that whatever command you try to teach to stop them barking- it has to be re-enforced by everyone in the family- kids including. Easier for me I live alone and have 100% control over Minnies training but I think it must be must be more difficult in a family situation . Everyone in the household has to try the same stratedgy otherwise the dog will get mixed messages about when its playtime and when its NOT

ha ha sounds like Henry the Lakeland.............he's going through a defiant stage and barks at every movement, word, noise.........................

Fudge is Mrs. Gobby at the moment. Everyone walking by, the postman, us when we come home. Us when she wants to play, etc etc....the list goes on.A quiet command would be superb. Any advice on this would also help. My Oh just shouts shut up loudly.I think she thinks he is just joining in...I can get her to bark on command but she is struggling to learn the quiet command. She now comes and barks to get the treats .....I can`t help feeling she is training me......

As one of the things that kicks her off is her toys - why not start with those.

If she brings a toy and is barking at you to play, why not take it off her (if she knows 'wait', use this)...as soon as she stops barking, say 'quiet', give her the ball back and play with her. Hopefully she will soon get the message that you will only play when she is quiet and from there she will understand what quiet means.

Quiet is really hard to train and people often make the mistake of training it alongside a speak command. That often just confuses the dog.
The best thing you can do is to reward her when she IS being quiet and put a word to it...so she's lying on the floor when you are watching the tv, every so often say 'quiet' 'good girl' and reward her with a treat.

IGNORE her if she barks at you. Totally. Any contact is good contact for her remember...ignore her.No eye contact no speaking no nothing...totally blank her, tunr your back. She'll soon get the message and AS SOON as she is quiet for more than a couple of seconds, calmly tell her good girl and give her a tickle.