barking for attention question UPDATE 5 months old

[dal]

Hi everyone.  I'm back with yet another question.  Every time I think I get a handle on one thing, another issue pops up that I'm not sure how to deal with.  I'm sure I'm not the only one...

So the last few days, Cooper has started barking at me for attention.  He is 11 weeks old and I am home with him for most of the day.  Then my three kids get home between 3 and 430 and then my husband is home in the evenings.  He gets plenty of attention from all of us but most from me since I am the one usually home with him and he is still super nippy and jumpy and has to be supervised at all times with my kids.  My day usually involves taking him outside to potty, feeding, playing (which is usually just trying to redirect his nipping LOL), training, taking outside for a walk around the yard (we don't have a fence yet so I can't let him run off leash) and sleeping in his crate.  He is either in his crate, his ex pen, or tethered in the kitchen.  If he's awake, he can always see me but he likes my full attention - like he wants me in the ex pen with him, he wants me to play with him as soon as he's done eating in the kitchen etc...

I did just let him bark for a bit while ignoring it and I have to say it did work.  He is lying down in the kitchen quietly (he can see me in the next room).  But I don't think this will always work and it's harder to do when my kids are all home because he's so excited.  That is when I need it to work more though because I have to spend some time with my kids!

Any advice?  This is normal puppy behavior, right?  Please tell me they do outgrow this with proper training!!!

Oh and one last question, any suggestions for the evenings?  He gets super hyper and barky even if I am playing with him - last night he was overtired and as soon as I put him to bed all was good - does barky/hyper usually mean overtired?

Thanks and I'm sorry for my cluelessness!  I've never had a dog before.  Thank you!

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Quite honestly......sounds like you are doing everything right! First: absolutely, this is one of the wonderful fazes they go through. Some are worse than others,but most grow out of it...only to hop right into yet another faze! Much like kids!
If the ignoring fails....get a can of pennies or something similar. Each time he barks...rattle the can at him, with a firm NO. He will soon get the idea. Praise when he waits quietly.
Evenings for us, and bewitching hour was around 7 ish. Enzo would get what we called the " zoomies" and tear around the house like her tail was on fire. I learned to head the zomies off, by throwing a ball a gazillion times until she was tired out. A tired puppy is a good ( and sleepy) puppy.
Patience and consistency!

[dal]

Thank you for the reply!  The barking is getting better with ignoring but I am going to get the can too to help with barking for food.  I don't like to withhold the food from him once he knows I am preparing it (pouring it into the dish LOL).  He always sits for it but he barks and I don't think he will realize why I am not giving him the food if I just ignore him.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Yes, normal puppy behavior that will get better with time and training! Even though we don't have kids, my husband and I have noticed that Winnie is always more active and attention-getting when both of us are at home. So, I can imagine with children it would be even more so!

She has largely outgrown it, but I still remember the days when Winnie would pester me constantly if I was talking on the phone, reading a book, working on the computer, etc. It was soooo annoying! Ro is right- a tired puppy is a good puppy. All of that annoying behavior changed when we started taking her to a doggy daycare. There she could play with other pups and come home tuckered out. Win, win! :-) 

[dal]

Thank you!  So good to hear this is normal puppy behavior!  Will work on tiring him out.

[Lucy , Alex and Madison]

My second dog first mini golden doodle. This time my dog was already 5 months old when I rescued her.

On you tube I follow Zach George, a dog trainer with great videos for many issues and he will also accept suggestions to address on new videos.

Madison has crazy time in the afternoons According to Zach it usually means the dog needs more exercise. I have attempted training Madison  to walk on a treadmill, we need more practice. She is nervouse with new experiences so I had to give her chicken pieces to lure her on to the treadmill but when I started it moving she sits or lies down on it!  Someone else on DK has done it by straddling her dog on the treadmill on a leash and with treats in front of her doodle.

I don t know hos she can do all 3 things at once.  I haD my husband hold the ,l eash while I had treats in front of her.  

I have given Maddy pig ears to chew on when she gets too excited

and she immediately focuses on it and starts chewing.

I hope this helps a bit.

Good Luck with that cute Cooper!

 

[dal]

Thanks for the reply!  Going to check out the Zach George videos!

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

Sounds like my days with Gracie!

Gracie gets super hyper in the evening and we have chalked up to her being toddler like. When they need sleep they get wound up!

We have a similar barking issue and I read that it's best to ignore it, but if you can't then you can try other things. Shushing. Saying enough! A shake can - pennies in a can. The only reason I can't ignore her barking just because she wants my attention is because my husband works from home and is always on the phone. So, when the shushing techniques didn't work, I resorted to a pop can with about 15 pennies and tape over the hole. I then give her a warning by shushing with my finger up to my lips. If she doesn't listen then shake the can and say quiet. It's working. I'm working with her in situations when it's not as important so that when it is she will quiet down quicker.
I have noticed since using this technique that when I first shush with my finger up to my lips - she is responding much quicker than she was before.
It's worth a try if you need a little bit more than a verbal and visual cue.

[dal]

Thank you for the reply!  I really like the ignoring, shush, can technique.  I think that will really work for us and am going to try it as soon as I get a can to fill with coins.  Thank you!  Glad it worked for you since I'm sure it was stressful when Gracie was barking and your husband was on the phone for work!

[Pat, Mary & Cooper]

Sounds sooo familiar! lol! We had a period with Cooper where this barking for attention phase was really bad! We even had our trainer come to our house to see first hand what was going on....

First thing she did suggest was to ignore , which you are already doing .

Then she asked about our routine when we were getting home from work. We were giving him so much attention because we knew that he had been by himself for part of the day and when we were getting home it became ''Cooper time''! We were playing on the ground with him , doing his training , going for a walk...

She suggested that we wait a little before giving him this attention so that he would not associate us being home with ok they are back to ''entertain'' me! So as I come in , I don't go straight to his crate ( that was when he was being crated) , I walk by him, do one or two  little things in the house and then get him out.

She also suggested that I wait a while before going for our walk . It use to be one of the first thing I would do with him...

When ignoring was not really working and if  the barking was only escalading , she suggested that we take ourselves out of the room or close the door from that room if possible.

We even videotaped some episodes and showed it to her so that she would see the problem. I watched one recently and could not believe what it use to be like ,

It has been 10 months since we had to face this type of episode and let me tell you it's been great!!

Getting him to let go of all his energy is also the key.

[dal]

Well Cooper is now almost 5 months and has outgrown two of our major new puppy issues (nipping and jumping, especially on my 6yo son) BUT this barking for attention is almost worse now!  It's not everyday but wow does he have some barky days.  He really only barks when he's in his expen and is only in there when he starts acting wild because that usually means he's overtired and won't settle himself if not confined if too many people are around.  But if he sees us while in the expen, he wants out.  He is fine in there and usually relaxes when he can't see us.  Issue is that it's in our family room which is off the kitchen and where we spend 99% of our time.  Please tell me they outgrow this and learn to entertain themselves a bit!  The shake can with coins did not work for us.  In the mornings, if he is barking in his crate before it's time to get up, I can shush him and he responds well to that.  But during the day in his expen, he is a barking maniac and it's making me nuts.

Thanks!

[dal]

Also, could this be an extinction burst or something like that?  I remember reading something about that and last night, for the first time, he went in his expen on his own and relaxed.  Today has been a million times better already.  I will say exercise is key but do they eventually outgrow the barking for attention anyway?

Thanks!

[SoSa]

Our puppy, now 4 months old, has found his "voice" too. Last week, he was a bit out of control, but this week he's better. He doesn't really bark when he crated, but whenever he sees someone outside, he'll bark. Last night, my daughter and I took him out just before 10pm to potty. Ace saw our neightbor in their window. He starts barking, loudly. We had to rush him inside, while shushing him. We will soon have him in a puppy training class and we hope that will help.

I read your original post and had to laugh. It's so true, just when you have one thing under control, another issue pops up. :-) :-(