My Ah Ha Moment!

[Wendy and Myla]

Myla is two years old on Tuesday!!!!  We live on an acre in the country and there are lots of people who walk by on the road and lots of horses that go by as we have an Icelandic Horse Farm down the road and they exercise daily!  Myla always barks and barks when anyone goes by and keeps barking until they have passed.  I always have said "Myla stop" or "Enough Myla" in a stern tone and she just keeps on barking!  The last few days I have just said "Thanks Myla - it's okay" in a normal tone and she stops barking immediately!!!  I can't believe that I have been getting mad every time and all she needed was an acknowledgement that she is doing her job!  I learnt this all on this website - mainly that she looks to us to protect her and when she alerts us, she knows that we have her back!  Such a different way of looking at a dog's protectiveness!  Thank you DK!!!!

[Deborah Brown]

Good story!  Horses can be scary.  :)

[Jennifer & Truffle]

I can't wait to try this approach with Truffle!  He is a great little guard dog but I do find myself using more of a berating tone when he barks excessively.  Thanks for sharing.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Good job Wendy & Myla!

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

That is awesome! I'm glad you guys figured out what each other was saying! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Learning to speak Dog is a lifelong process. :) 

Good job, both of you! 

[Camilla and Darwin]

Wow, great success story!

[Wendy and Myla]

Thanks everyone!  I can't believe that this is all she was trying to tell me!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Glad you discovered the solution to Myla's barking.

[Jen W]

I read this approach in The Dog Listener but it doesn't work for me.  I think the difference is that Dory isn't barking to warn me, she's barking b/c she wants to go play with whomever is walking by.  So me telling her, "thanks, I'll take it from here" doesn't work.

Glad you found something that works for you!  Dory's never seen a horse, I can't imagine how she'll react when she does...

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

great accomplishment! 

[Traz, Karen & Dale]

Happy 2nd Birthday (tomorrow), Myla!  You are just a little bit older than Traz, who will be 2 years old on May 8th.  Wendy, Traz too, has grown so much is the past several month.  His recall used to be "what recall?" and now it is so much better now that he is a bit older.  It's not 100%, but at least in the 90 percentile.  Good job to you and Myla and her ongoing training!  Enjoy celebrating her special day tomorrow!  Woof, woof from Traz :-)

[Wendy and Myla]

Myla says "Woof woof - thank you! It's been the best two years of my life!!!"