Frustration Tolerance

[CharlieDog]

I need some help with Ozzy, before I kill him.

Just kidding. But, I do need some help. He either has a low frustration threshold or something else. What I need to stop is the BARKING when he wants something like a toy or a treat.

We TRY to play chuckit in the mornings when its cooler, but I can only throw the ball once or twice for him because EVERY TIME I go to throw the ball for him, he will NOT shut up! I've been just ignoring the barking, not throwing the ball for him until he is quiet, but it seems like every time I raise the chuckit to throw it for him when he's quiet and not whining, he starts barking again. Throwing it WHILE he's barking only reinforces the barking (I've tried that), and it just gets worse from there.

The same thing happens if I put him in his crate to take Jett and work on her training. He will bark, howl, etc if Jett is getting asked to sit or getting treats for working (she hasn't reached any kind of proficiency in anything yet, so I'm still treating her often. )

When we try to play ball, or any kind of game, all he wants to do is bark until I throw whatever it is, or he gets whatever it is he wants. I can't do his flirt pole, I can't throw his water bumper at the lake, I cant even throw a tennis ball without him barking.

How do I teach him that being quiet means he gets what he wants. Right now, what I do is if he won't stop barking, I put whatever it is up and walk away from him. He will stare for a good fifteen minutes at where I put it and after that he will continue to go back and forth from me to the object for about thirty minutes. I just want him to STOP BARKING. ARGH.

 

[Dekka]

you can send him here.... I has ear plugs hahahahahah

seriously though have you taught him a 'quiet' cue?

 

[CharlieDog]

you can send him here.... I has ear plugs hahahahahah

seriously though have you taught him a 'quiet' cue?

Yeah, he knows what "Hush" means. In those situations though, he will not listen. The only way to get him to shut up is to remove whatever it is that's making him bark.

 

[bnwalker2]

I wish I knew what to tell you. I have the same problem with Scooter and Juno. We're giving Scooter an extra hour of exercise every day and that seems to help quite a bit with him. But Juno is another story!

 

[CharlieDog]

It's getting really bad because I can't play with him without getting angry at him. His bark is the most annoying bark ever. Like, it makes me want to explode. It bothers everyone in the house and neighborhood when he barks like that non stop.

He gets plenty of exercise everyday. Not too much, and not too little. He also gets plenty of mental exercise as well, with training, kongs and games we play in the house.

 

[DanL]

It's pretty simple- don't reward him with the ball at all when he barks. If he's quiet and you raise the chuckit to reward him and he starts barking again, don't throw it. Leave it raised, give him his quiet command, when he's quiet, even for a split second, throw it from the already raised position. Gradually he'll learn that quiet keeps the game going and barking makes it stop.

I know where you are coming from. Gunnar has a piercing bark when he wants to play. You have to stay calm and patient- no matter how hard that is!

 

[CharlieDog]

It's pretty simple- don't reward him with the ball at all when he barks. If he's quiet and you raise the chuckit to reward him and he starts barking again, don't throw it. Leave it raised, give him his quiet command, when he's quiet, even for a split second, throw it from the already raised position. Gradually he'll learn that quiet keeps the game going and barking makes it stop.

I know where you are coming from. Gunnar has a piercing bark when he wants to play. You have to stay calm and patient- no matter how hard that is!

That's pretty much what I've been doing, but he can bark for fifteen minutes straight. He doesn't listen to the quiet command when the chuckit has even been LOOKED at.

 

[Dekka]

what if as soon as he barks you instantly turn away and walk back in the house?

 

[DanL]

what if as soon as he barks you instantly turn away and walk back in the house?

Yep- make the game end when he barks, he'll learn pretty quickly that barking doesn't get him what he wants.

 

[Sch3Dana]

I would take the time (and bite the bullet) to completely extinguish this annoying behavior. Keep the toy on you 100% of the time that you are with him- hiding it only worsens the situation. He is only barking to make the game start again. If you just ignore the barking it will eventually stop, giving you a chance to reward a more appropriate behavior, like sit, down or look away- he can't bark 24/7, so he will eventually do something else.

Start by going in a yard with a chair and the ball. Sit down and relax bc you'll be there a while. When he gives up the hysterical barking and lays down, sits or turns away, mark that behavior and toss the ball. Maybe play two ball fetch so there is no down time for barking. When you are done, tell him so with a word (all done, or enough), put the ball in your pocket and mean it. Put in ear plugs if you have to, but do not hide that ball. Keep it in a pocket and go back in the house with him. Again, if he barks hysterically ignore him til he gives up, then reward with food or praise (doesn't sound like the sort of dog you want playing in the house).

The first day or two might be torturous, but extinction is the best way to eliminate this kind of annoying behavior. Once he is clear that hysterical barking is something you really are not going to reward anymore, now you can start training bc you will have his attention. He is clearly super-motivated, all he needs is clear communication about how to get what he wants. If you go down this road, make sure no one ever again throws a ball or gives any kind of attention for unsolicited, innappropriate barking. If everyone is consistent, you should see huge improvements with days.

 

[DanL]

excellent post Dana!

 

[Dekka]

yes that is a good way as long as your neighbours don't kill you .. and also make sure it NEVER works for him again, or he will start back up.

 

[DanL]

I feel bad for the neighbors where we do our training, with 6-8 dogs all barking non stop at 8am on Sunday morning. My other training guy breeds GSDs and he's got 6-8 of his own and some of them never shut up either. It'd drive me nuts.

 

[Dekka]

hmm Dan maybe I will 'hire' you and your training friends. We have neighbours who love to do donuts and gun engines at all hours right beside our house. We could go up and train in my field, which is by THEIR house

 

[DanL]

That would be cool. I don't like those kind of loud engine/loud motorcycle types anyway lol. It's all for attention- "look at me and how loud my bike/car is".

 

[corgi_love]

Regis does this as well(not as bad) but, great advice. I'm going to have to try these things and get him to not bark like mad!

That would be cool. I don't like those kind of loud engine/loud motorcycle types anyway lol. It's all for attention- "look at me and how loud my bike/car is".

But that is SO attractive. Especially at 1 AM when you have to get up 5:30 AM for work, it just draws me in like nothing else.

 

[Zoom]

Sawyer does this, also with a Chuck-it. I did essentially what Dana posted and it's worked pretty well. He'll still bark at first, but once he sees that he's not getting anything until he shuts up, he quiets down. He also has an auto-down for throwing as well, because "down" used to make him "quiet" as well...then he figured out he could bark from that position as well. It's been a lot of "Freezing until quiet" "turning around until quiet" and just trying as hard as possible to not reward. Unfortuently, the training gets underminded every single time we go to the park or someone new comes over to the house, regardless of my instructions. *sigh*

 

[skKi]

Not trying to hijack any threads here, but what do you do to stop barking AFTER the ball is thrown. I'm in a similar situation, but the dog in question only barks once the ball has left my hand or chuckit.

 

[CharlieDog]

Sawyer does this, also with a Chuck-it. I did essentially what Dana posted and it's worked pretty well. He'll still bark at first, but once he sees that he's not getting anything until he shuts up, he quiets down. He also has an auto-down for throwing as well, because "down" used to make him "quiet" as well...then he figured out he could bark from that position as well. It's been a lot of "Freezing until quiet" "turning around until quiet" and just trying as hard as possible to not reward. Unfortunately, the training gets undermined every single time we go to the park or someone new comes over to the house, regardless of my instructions. *sigh*

This is exactly what Ozzy figured out. Now he will down, but he will keep barking. I've been putting the toy up and leaving when he barks, but not when he first starts barking.

Also, thanks Dana, I will be doing that today and see how it goes. I guess I will have to keep the chuckit away from everyone else except for Steven, because they all find it hilarious when he starts going nuts for the ball.

 

[Sch3Dana]

Not trying to hijack any threads here, but what do you do to stop barking AFTER the ball is thrown. I'm in a similar situation, but the dog in question only barks once the ball has left my hand or chuckit.

Do you mean he barks as he chases the ball? That's an unusual problem! I'll think on a solution for you opcorn: