barking bruin

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peidaan11
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barking bruin

Post by peidaan11 »

hello all. so i have had bruin for the last 6 days and he's about five months old. initially, i didn't confine his area and let him have the whole living room. he growled at me after i took a shower the first time. then, we got a gate and now, i keep him in the kitchen. he was being pretty good about being locked up when i'm away. he would bark a little bit and then stop and he would sleep through the night.

tonight, i don't know what happened he won't stop barking. i tried to ignore him but we have thin walls and i don't want my neighbors to get mad at me. i came down and hung out with him in the kitchen but didn't show him much loving affection. i was just there in case he was lonely. it's 4am and he keeps barking sporadically and now, i'm sitting outside of the kitchen. he's even chewing a bone but he's growling while he's chewing and i'm just sitting here on my laptop.

extra info... he gets a walk in the morning and dog park in the afternoon. today is the first day he didn't take a nap before i officially put him into the kitchen. he hasn't really been sleeping all night. maybe it's because of the heat. we're in los angeles.
chowfrnd88
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Re: barking bruin

Post by chowfrnd88 »

A lot of it is still adjustment I bet. Ignoring him really is the best way to help get used to it. Try gating him a bit during the day too, walk by and praise him as he's quiet. You can toss a treat in to him too when he's quiet and calm. He's a teenager now so this is a hard time for him, just hang in there. Here's a threa that might help with some of the things you're going through: http://forum.chowchow.org/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=7447.

Here's some additional info on what you could do with the growling:

Once food is in a dog's mouth, it's theirs, whether it's the lowest ranking dog or the highest in the group. Don't say "no" when he growls. I know it seems logical to stop him by saing no, but you must address the issue not the symptom. For example, with the food, asking him to stop growling will stop the growling (the outward sign) but not his feeling that it's his. This could make it dangerous because he learns not to growl, that is he's learning not to show you how he feels. The next time, you may not see any sings because you've asked him not to show you he feels uncomfortable, and he may feel he has no choice but to nip. One of the things you can do is when he's eating dinner and treats, get fairly far from him (a few feet), call his name, when he looks up, tell him he's a good boy and toss him a treat. Not at him, but beside him. Over time, you get closer and closer and eventually he won't need to growl when you're near him because you are teaching him good things happen to him when you are nearby. He only gets things from you, not gets things taken away. Also, you can teach him "leave it." It's safe and very effective. It will take some time though, probably weeks if not months. Just go slowly.

Be very careful not ot do any physical corrections. Those things seem like fighting, not leading. He'll think you're not in control and the situation could get worse.Growling is an emotional response and correcting an emotional response phycially only disguises the symptoms but does not cure the underlying thing he's going through. Each time he growls she gets reinforced into thinking it works and that's no good, so be really careful to go as slow with the process described above as you can so you don't give him the opportunity to growl.

Also, teahcing him the "leave it" cue will help him and you understand it's an interaction in case you should ever need him to leave a bone he's found on the street or a piece of glass or a dead squirrel or whatever. You shouldn't try to take things from him, instead teahc him leave it so he's eager to leave things for you because it's a trade. Also, drop it is wonderful in case you don't see him pick up something and you'd like him to drop it.

Good luck and let me know if you need anything else.
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peidaan11
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Re: barking bruin

Post by peidaan11 »

he was barking all night from 10pm until 3am. he was actually chewing on his bone and growling while gated in the kitchen. i was sitting outside ignoring him. at 4am, he started to pee so i took him outside. i didn't realize that he had to pee because he was barking on and off the entire night. previous mornings, he'll bark like a madman right when he wakes up. i was planning on waking up before he barked to let him out but the whole night didn't go as planned.

i was going to take him out right when i saw him peeing in the kitchen and opened the gate. he ran upstairs to my room and started peeing in there too. once i wrangled him, i took him outside. when i got back, i had to clean up the mess in my room so locked him back into the kitchen. he started barking and barking. he was barking at nothing and wouldn't listen to me when i was sternly saying no bruin, no barking. he would stop just b/c i went down. so the second time, i marched into his area and pinned him and told him no barking. since then, he's been quiet and i will go and pet him.
chowfrnd88
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Re: barking bruin

Post by chowfrnd88 »

If it was me, I wouldn't pin him. Pinning is something that they used to think was the thing to do because it mimiced how they discipline each other, but it's been revealed that they actually don't so that to discipline each other. They only use pinning when they're about to kill another dog, so you can imagine what runs through their heads when they're being pinned. It can cause really serious fear aggression.

When you say no to him when he's barking, especially loudly, it looks like you're barking back. And among dogs, only insecure animals bark. One dog would never bark at another one to get him/her to stop. That's why it doesn't help.

Good luck.
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peidaan11
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Re: barking bruin

Post by peidaan11 »

okay. i will stop pinning him. i'll retry the ignoring strategy. he's a very loving dog and will let me hug him and pick him up. however, he has fits. i'm guessing that that's how puppies are. i don't yell at him because i read about how yelling sounds like barking. i just tell him in a serious tone and i cross my arms. he understands most of the time. thanks for the help. sorry, if i seem a little bewildered. he's the first puppy i've raised.
chowfrnd88
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Re: barking bruin

Post by chowfrnd88 »

Don't apologize! :D Believe me, I was very bewildered when we first adopted Special Dark. :D

Oh yes, crossing your arms can be very effective. Good luck, hang in there! Let us know if you have any more questions and post some pics if you have a chance.
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peidaan11
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Re: barking bruin

Post by peidaan11 »

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here's the puppy aka monster.
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Layla
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Re: barking bruin

Post by Layla »

Oh my, what a little cutie :D
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Thank you Elodie!
chowfrnd88
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Re: barking bruin

Post by chowfrnd88 »

He is too cute! What a squishy face!! :D
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fillyok
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Re: barking bruin

Post by fillyok »

Is there a reason why he doesn't stay in your room at night? I realize he'll need to potty during the night, but you'll probably get more sleep (and so will Bruin) if he's with you.
My Bear is a barker too. When I lived in an apartment I was afraid that he might be barking a lot when I was at work. I ended up adopting Ping to keep him company and I also found one of those bark inhibitors. it's a little box that's battery operated and when he would bark the box would emit a sound that only the dogs could hear (a red light lit up so you knew it was working). It got Bear's attention fast and I knew he wouldn't keep barking when that was around. It seemed cruel to me at first but I didn't want to get in trouble with the apartment management since I pushed the envelope by adopting Bear in the first place.
Good luck and hang in there...they don't stay puppies for long at all.
peidaan11
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Re: barking bruin

Post by peidaan11 »

actually, bruin was okay last night. he slept thru the entire night without barking. he's fine. if he does start barking, i just talk to him from my room to let him know i'm still here. i don't yell. i just say bruin, go to sleep, no barking... and i guess he just stops.

the barking isn't really that troublesome anymore. i'm mostly concerned with his nipping. actually, i'm going to start a new post to see if anyone has advice.
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