Doodle barking in the house

[Julie & Wrigley]

I've read a ton of posts on here about this already but figured I'd see if anyone has some new tricks.

 

I have a 14 month old Labradoodle who loves to play/get attention. When I'm home with him he barks all the time for attention/me to play with him. *(We make him "sit" before he gets anything"). He gets plenty of exercise (3+ hours per day), always has fresh water and food and has enough toys to keep him plenty busy. A lot of the time he'll play with his balls and they get knocked under the couch, the table, behind a shelf etc. and he stands there barking until I get it for him. (I realize it's my fault for getting them out but I'm not sure how else to handle the situation because he's doing a good job of playing by himself, until he hits it under something). I can take him to the park for an hour (he's running the whole time), we'll come home, he lays down for 20 minutes and then gets up barking for more playtime.

 

We say "enough" when he barks and point at him and he knows we mean business, but I need some other tricks because it's starting not to be as effective. It's hard because I don't want to ignore him (we live in a condo so it will really annoy our neighbors if I just let him bark for a while until he stops) but I can't be home without him bugging me to play.

 

Our trainer suggested "time outs" in the bathroom and they work - he is quiet when he goes in there (for about 3 minutes) and then comes out and starts barking 5 minutes later.

 

I'm fine with a little barking but his bark for attention/play is getting old real fast!

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

no advise..but I wish I had his energy.

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy use to do this when he was 4 months old. He was constantly barking at us for attention when we were in the same room but not playing with him. We worked with a trainer and he suggested using a soft muzzle on him. When Teddy barked, we gave him two warnings (we use the word QUIET). If he did not stop, we put the muzzle on him for two minutes. Within a week or so, Teddy stopped barking at us. Now he NEVER barks when we are in a room where he can see us. He does still bark sometimes when we go upstairs or down to the garage, and we're working on this (he's 9 months old now).

 

Teddy used to do the same thing, throwing a toy out of reach and then barking to get it back. He continued this behavior after we got him to stop barking for attention, but we were able to get him to stop it after about a month. What we did is simply take the toy away and give it back later. He always had several toys around so he still had something to play with. Also, if the problem is balls rolling under things, give him things that don't roll as easily or a Nylabone or antler to chew on. Teddy would pick up stuffed animals and throw them with his mouth and then run after them, so he still had fun. Now, Teddy will still drop toys out of reach, but he doesn't bark to get them back, he just looks at the toy longingly. We leave it there and give it back after 15 or 20 minutes.

[Julie & Wrigley]

Thank you for the suggestion!!!!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We are shaking a can of coins when we give the no bark command.  It is not as effective when our doodles are in the midst of playing with each other.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Have you done any obedience training with him yet?  If you have, do you use corrections?  If so, I would keep a training collar and tab on him and correct when he barks at you.  When he stops and is quiet I would reward in the same way you do in all his other training (praise, treats, etc.).  I don't ever permit my dogs to bark AT ME for attention or any other reason.  It has honestly only happened once or twice, and they were corrected.  That put a stop to it.  Good luck...

[Julie & Wrigley]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Yes we've done obedience training...he knows what to do, it's a matter of us being more strict with follow through I know. I made some hot dogs yesterday afternoon and used those as high value treats and we had a GREAT afternoon/evening yesterday so I know I just need to keep it up and he'll follow along/learn quickly. Thanks for the support!