Looking for ideas on fear based territorial barking

[ruffledfeathers]

As many of you know, i have 3 chihuahuas and the one, Pinto, is the one i play agility games with in the back yard. It wasn't started so much because i wanted an agility dog, but more because Pinto has always been hyper, and definitely benefits from specific training and exercise.

Pinto is the one i got as a baby, and i later took his mother when she was determined not to be ideal as a breeding female (she is extremely shy and high strung, but VERY sweet if you give her time to feel safe). So i know some of it is genetic and just his personality.

I noticed that Pinto has a bold and hyper but over-sensitive/shy personality from the time he was a baby, so even before he was cleared to go for walks (not vaccinated yet), i carried him places to begin socialization. He is still quite hand shy but has learned to go for walks without barking at everything like he did when he was young. He actually walks quite well, doesn't pull, etc. (I am able to walk 3 dogs and a bird, down busy streets, so they are pretty good that way.)

BUT there is an exception. He is territorial when it comes to protecting our house and yard from strangers. I don't mind a little barking at the mail carrier. My problem is that it seems to run deeper. He starts panting and has a LOT of anxiety at strangers approaching. Twice recently he actually darted through my picket fence into my neighbor's yard to bark at them for getting too close. (He didn't actually scare them or anything, and wasn't growling or being nasty, but barking and following them up the steps like he was saying "GO HOME AND GET AWAY FROM US!") They have a bird feeder right on the property line, and Pinto has somehow associated them filling the feeder "at our house" as a threat. Luckily the neighbors think he is funny and don't mind, but i know it is truly a problem when your dog is so spazzed out he will dart THROUGH a fence to protect the yard, panting with fear.

He has a thundershirt and it does help him, but i don't make him wear it out in the yard when it is hot. He generally is very respectful of my authority so it doesn't seem to be an aggressive/dominant thing in general. In some ways, i have to watch that i'm not overly dominant because both he and Kisses will submissive pee if you raise your voice too much. So the freaky bold behavior is more fear based than aggressive.

Sorry this is so long, but i'm curious if anyone has any personal experience and anything different that has worked for you??? I have done a lot of the 'textbook' training methods to deal with this (and i do have faith that little by little it will improve over the years, but i guess if i can try something new and work faster, why not?) I don't think HE even enjoys the way he feels and would be happier if i could help him overcome this a little bit better.

 

[MonicaMc]

Barbara Heidenreich actually had a great video of teaching a dog not to bark at those on the other side of the fence. She would grab the dogs attention, then reward the dog for paying attention to her instead of the neighbors dogs.

Unfortunately, I don't know where to find the same info online.


I did find a video by someone else. I know the behavior is different, but it might help.


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDdy2vdhFRo"]Reducing dog barking and jumping at fence lines - Dog Charming Training - YouTube[/ame]




My dog barks at people as well, and he keeps his distance from them. However, it's not aggressive or fear barking, it's more of "I don't know you and you weren't invited in" kind of barking. If I introduce him to a new person, he's generally fine with them. If someone walks into the yard without his knowledge, he's fine with them. It's only when someone walks up that he doesn't know and he sees them coming that he barks at them. He'll also bark at cars that park in front of the fence that he's not familiar with and sometimes the neighbors as well (perhaps more specifically the neighbors friends?)

He doesn't bark very much though, so it's not a big issue, and if I call his name, he usually stops. He never really learned to be a barker like some other dogs, but then again, in all the time that I had his mother, she only barked twice! And she generally loved strangers!

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Thanks for the response. I kind of do this type of training anyhow but what I am thinking now may help is maybe spending more one on one time doing this training. (it is hard to do--even when I do his jumps and tunnel and weave poles, it is very brief periods that I have one on one time with any of them. I am normally out with the three dogs and Gilbert, which makes the situation harder to really manage.) Maybe he and I will have short bursts of outside time when I know the neighbors will be out, because i can definitely control his behavior better when it's just the two of us.

Ideally i would have my neighbors actually come over some time. I have hinted that i would like that, because then he would see they are his friends and maybe the "bad scary people at the fence" would be perceived as potential friends.

It doesn't help that they have a huge dog he is scared of (she is a total sweetie but she is a giant).

 

[aliray]

I am going to follow this thread too. At the very end of last July I adopted a 6.5 mo old chi from CL. She has turned out to be the most destructive, dog I have ever dealt with, She is also a fear barker and will tuck her tail and raise her fur and bark non stop when company comes over but does not try to bite. She is also sneaky getting into things when she knows I am busy, like in the kitchen or taking a shower etc. The problem is also I am as bonded to her a s she is to me, Our other dog and cat also love to play with her and she with them, so I guess were are stuck with each other, The two dogs will also get on hubby's lap and play fight. Bentley our chiweenie and hubby's baby is 5 lbs, Chloe my chi is 10 lbs. and those two are best friends.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

She has turned out to be the most destructive, dog I have ever dealt with, She is also a fear barker and will tuck her tail and raise her fur and bark non stop when company comes over but does not try to bite.

Have you tried the Thundershirt on her? I had initially bought one for my Chu because he has loud noise anxiety (thunderstorms, fireworks) but it didn't work well for him. I tried it on Pinto one day during a crazy barking frenzy and he stopped dead and went to take a nap. It was amazing. It works on Pinto with a lot of his jazzed up/spazzy issues. I don't even need it now for the nail clippings because i think it helped me train him that it isn't so bad.

 

[aliray]

I have heard of them but have never tried it. I will look into it. Unfortunately we do not have a fenced yard for her to run in and our yard backs up to a small canal with alligators so running free is not an option. We do take the dogs to the dog park once in awhile, and hubby takes them for a walk once or twice a day. We have also had water moccasins in the next door neighbors yard three times that I know of in the last 6 years and probably some in our yard that I just haven't seen. I think she would have been better off with a doggy door and a fenced yard and a younger family to burn off the excess energy. Due to some medical issues I sleep in a recliner at night so I am her dog bed. She has slept in my lap all night since I,ve had her. We tried a crate and she was frantic. Where did you get that shirt and do they have to be fitted for it?

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I tried the Thundershirt on the first time in a local store just so i knew how the sizes ran. I have both the XS and the XXS. (Pinto weighs as much as Chu but he is just a little chubby, but smaller framed. He wears the XXS to get it snug enough where Chu is in the XS.) You can order directly from their site (they have free ship right now) or many of the pet suppliers or online merchants like Amazon. If you check some local pet stores near you, maybe someone will have it and you can try there?
I am thinking of trying the Thunderspray too, because my vet had suggested DAP a while back with Kisses anxiety issues, but i wasn't sure about any kind of a diffuser in the house with Gilbert.

 

[aliray]

We tried an herbal remedy that goes into their water and is supposed to calm them down but it didn't do anything. I am hoping I live long enough to see her outgrow some of this, at least her chewing everythiing in sight. he has lots of kong toys and different nylarbone toys that she chews and marrow bones that are like cleaned white sterilzed bones.that are hollow so you can stuff a dog cookie in and they have to work at it to get it out. She chews them all but really likes eyeglasses, furniture, rugs,,computer cords, cell phones, paper towels etc.. I should enter her on baddest dog on animal planet.. By the way do you need another chi?

 

[ruffledfeathers]

hahaha, Pinto was 'baddest puppy'. He was sweeter than anything but wow, that dog was juiced up, i didn't even sleep at night with him having boundless energy. WILD MAN. He even chewed my overpriced Bose earbuds in a hot second (while i was using them. It was the "hi mommmmmyyy, chomp, woo hoo" kind of wave of energy and i just dropped my jaw.

 

[aliray]

It is the same with her, though she does play rough and will play retrieval games with the kong toys and a few of her unstuffed ,stuffed toys. She pulled it out of baskets full of them and I used to just toss and get more but she likes the outer coverings more and now uses them for toss and tug toys and I am not picking up lots of piles of fluffy stuffing all over the house. I have enough floofys from the birds..Plus I am saving a fortune in stuffed toys. How old are all your chis?

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Pinto will be 4 in October. Kisses (his mother) will be 5 in September and Chu is approx 14-15. Not to scare you but Pinto just started to show some maturity this past winter, after he turned 3.
I know my Pablo had been an angel but he was completely immature until he was about 3 as well. Chis don't really like to 'grow up'. haha I guess that is fair since they live such a long time.

 

[aliray]

I guess I should have done more research first. I figured it would be the last dog I would ever get and the chi or a maltese were the two Dogs I had always wanted. I went with the shorter hair I figured easier to groom and if they got a flea or tick they were easier to see in the short coat. I had always thought that the bigger dogs matured a lot later than the smaller dogs. Oh well. Why is hindsight always 20-20?. It is a good thing she is so cute.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Post a picture of her if you have a chance.

 

[aliray]

I don't know how. The last time hubby tried we finally gave up. I am 68 we didn't even have tv till I was 7 nor did hubby and I get a colored tv till we had been married for 16 or 17 years old. My computer skills are very limited, however I will have him try again using some of the later posts I have seen on here. I don't even know what Photobucket is not to mention what is an app? I am technically challenged to say the least. He's more computer literate than I am.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I know you have seen him before but this is my little Pinto bean, from baby to big boy. And yes, it's a good thing i thought he was SO adorable because i lost a lot of sleep back then.

 

[aliray]

No I haven't seen the picture I don't think. Oh he is adorable. No wonder you fell in love. I love his colors. and his face and expression.

 

[MonicaMc]

I have seen owners unintentionally rewarding their dogs behavior. Dogs are upset/terrified, owner goes over to "console" the dog, when in reality, it's rewarding the dog for that behavior. These same owners then wonder why their dogs have such "issues".

I think many of us could be unintentionally rewarding behavior that we don't want, and we only see it as an issue once the behavior becomes full blown.


-random thoughts-




Anyway, with Pinto, the best thing to do would probably be to take him outside alone without any distractions. Just work on teaching him to come to you every time something distracts him. A noise, a car, anything. Any time he looks at you, reward him.

Then, get a friend or a neighbor to join you, in training Pinto. Have the other person make noises at the fence. Keep teaching him to look at you when you call him and reward him for it.


Slowly increase the difficulty of the tasks/game and set it up in such a way that he *can* accomplish what you want him to do.



That is, don't try training him when it's already an issue. Train him when you *KNOW* you can train him, then create a history of reinforcement. Then make the task a little harder but not hard enough that he'll fail.