Barking

[Holly Paterniti]

Our Labradoodle is crated when my daughter is awake......but when she is at daycare or sleeping he is let out. My husband does take him for walks daily in the evening, which both enjoy greatly.

Now, when he is placed into the crate again he begins to bark and bark and bark constantly. He does stop when I come over with the squirt bottle with water inside of it. As I use the sign of quiet and say it, I spray him with the water. I was told to try this and it really does work, but as soon as I walk away, he starts back up again.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am asking for a lot of suggestions, huh? Thank you ahead of time for all of your suggestions and advice :) I really do appreciate it :)

[Suzanne]

I like positive reinforcement with my training. My first thought is to put the spray bottle away! Reward him the second he stops barking after you "Shhhh" him. We did this for our pup in the backyard as he would bark at strangers. Maybe have your daughter give him a treat when he is in the crate. Could he think she is a threat in some way?

[Tamara & Giada]

Why is he crated when your dd is awake? How long is he crated? How much exercise and attention does he get? My first thought is that these are the cause, and sometimes it is much better to deal with the cause of the problem:)

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

Oh, I didn't know your dog was crated when your daughter is around him when I replied to your other post! Why is that? I can't help thinking that this arrangement may be counterproductive to building a positive relationship between the two. If Bear is in the crate, your daughter may get the idea that he's a dangerous animal that cannot be trusted to run loose in the house. And Bear may see your daugther as a threat or competitor because every time she's there, he gets to sit in his crate. If they are to be friends, they will need to learn to tolerate each other; and unless Bear is an aggressive dog (unlikely!!), it should go just fine with supervision, positive reinforcement of good behavior (on both ends), and Bear learning that your daughter is "above" him in the family hierarchy, without punishing him, but by letting your daughter gradually take part in obedience / feeding / grooming etc. Just a thought - I can understand why he barks, he must be really frustrated to be left out of all the fun activities that take place outside the crate!

[Leslie and Halas]

I think he will eventually start to associate your daughter with going to his kennel, and he could start to resent that. I know your daughter is afraid of him right now, but keeping them completely separated won't solve the problem. There were suggestions on your other post about having her gradually start to help with grooming, etc. That sounds like a good idea. It also may be good for her to watch the dog on walks or at play, but from a safe distance at first. He may seem big and scary at first, but she'll soon realize that he's friendly and playful. And if he can gradually start spending time with her, with adults around too, he'll learn that he needs to be really gentle. It will take time, but I'm sure you'll get there. Eventually, she won't be as nervous, and he won't have to spend extra time in his kennel.

[Holly Paterniti]

Bear was actually fine about being in the crate while Rylie was out, but as he gets older he doesn't which I can truly understand. But when he is out and Rylie is up, he tends to bounce on her while she is on the couch and if we are holding her he will jump up.......which both of these she is afraid of and will start crying. I do not want you to think that I do not love Bear because I truly do, but Rylie is my priority, which I know may burn some of you.

We are going to try to have Bear out more with Rylie up, but I know this is going to be a long process. I am just worried about Rylie. I do not want to traumatize her by pushing her.........what I mean is make her be in a room with Bear when it may have longing damages to her.

I know that I may sound like a real you know what and that I do nto appreciate your advice, but I am really trying not to sound that way. I love both Bear and Rylie equally, but I need to do what's best for her first............I hope you all understand?

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

Of course we understand, lots of here have human children too!! You are a great Mom for recognizing the issue and dealing with it. My own son was scared of dogs when he was in preschool We waited until he was almost 6 to get our first dog and he did great, so I know that fear og dogs is quite normal, and that most kids will outgrow it. Mark is 10 now, and loves all dogs, big and small.

I just think that you may want to (re-)consider how the two can co-exist without re-inforcing your daughter's fear and making it worse. She will pick up on your clues, and if you're nervous, she will be too. If you're firm and optimistic and encouraging and telling her Bear is NOT dangerous and praising her for every little step she takes towards him, she'll come around more quickly. If you treat the dog like a dangerous puppy, she will believe he is dangerous. Maybe you can keep Bear on a leash so he's easier to control? Model good behavior with Bear and Rylie again and again by showing them how they can interact, and they will both learn how to get along. I really think that crating Bear every time Rylie's around will continue to make the problem worse.

[Leslie and Halas]

That makes perfect sense. Your child has to be your priority. And with a big, bouncy puppy, I can understand her being afraid. Is Bear more calm when he's tired? If so, maybe she can be around him when he's relaxed and she won't find him as scary. If you can find a time when he's less likely to jump, they could be near each other (with you holding your daughter) for a very brief period of time. If you can even get a couple of seconds of him not jumping and her not being scared,you can give both of them a lot of positive reinforcement and at least start to build on something. It will take a long time, but I'll bet you can get there with baby steps. You want to make it work, and you're willing to make the effort, so it will happen for the two of them eventually.

[Tamara & Giada]

Yes, we know you love both but you are right your child must come first, but I agree that if you continue with this method it will only become worse. It seems to me that you may need more help than we can give you here. Have you thought about a trainer that can come to the house and work with all of you on the best way to help the situation:)

[Adina P]

Tell us his daily exercise (what, where, what, how long?) and what training he has so far.
Some is an issue of exercise, some is an issue of training, some is just an issue of practice.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

ditto everyone. Your dog needs to learn to "Be nice" with your daughter. Crating him will probably reenforce her fear and make him more hyper. It will take continual surveillance by you and teaching of both child and dog how to interact. But it will really only be a very short time in comparison to how long you will have both of them. They will become friends, if you do this now. then when your daughter is old enough to have friends over you won't have to worry at all as your dog will know appropriate behavior around children. The younger your dog is when you do this the easier it will be. Crate your dog when your daughter is sleeping and put a sheet over the crate (like a parrot) and that will probably stop the barking. This way you have some time to at least brush your teeth and empty the dishwasher. Really It IS WORTH THE TIME INVESTMENT NOW..Happy Family. I have never understood the use of a squirt bottle myself -don't know of many who have used them successfully. Probably the best suggestion at this point is to hire a trainer who comes to the house. It may be a bit expensive, but it will be worth it as you must be exhausted with worry for both your dog and your child.. Talk to the trainers you select before you hire them. If they won't give you a free interview and an outline of how they are going to help you they definitely get cut from the selection list. There are as many ideas on dog training as there are on child rearing and you must find a trainer who fits your ability to follow through. I feel for you, as I feel guilty just leaving or crating my doods (two puppies) to go shopping. It will amaze you how quickly and easily everthing will come together is you hire good professional help. Your vet probably can recommend someone or Google "pet trainers" and puy your area or zipcode in.

[Tegan]

My dog Kali used to be a bit like that with our two cats. If they were around she would be trying to jump on them, lick them and play with them. It was really annoying the cats being pestered all the time so we started playing a game called "ignore the kitties". Basically whenever she ignored the cats (like when one runs past her or did something else enticing) we said good girl and gave her a treat. She soon got the idea that ignoring the cats was a good thing and if she did it she might get treats. She's not perfect, but the three of them now coexist fairly peacefully, the cats even play with her on purpose now (my younger cat loves to play hide and seek with her). I don't know if this will help for you but maybe if Bear is a little less focused on Rylie it might be easier for her to grow to like him. You may making your daughter more exciting and interesting to your pup if he is not normally allowed to be around her. I know anything thing Kali isn't supposed to have or be around is WAY more interesting than anything she is allowed to have.

Also, if Bear isn't getting enough exercise and mental stimulation it could be making his behavior a lot worse. He could be barking simply because he is bored and frustrated that he can't be with his family. I really hope you can work something out, it must be a very hard situation for you.

[Joannie]

Maybe I'm oversimplifying this. The fact that when he barks and you come (even if you use the spray bottle) is telling him you will come if he barks. When he stops you spray him and then leave. It's attention that he wants even if it's negative. He might not even see it as negative. Just a thought.