Why does he do this?

[refmum]

My cavalier king charles spaniel barks when i walk him,i know he is young 1.5 yrs and excited but he won't stop,he barks all the time,my other king charles is 3 he doesn't do this.

I wish i could stop him,have tried being firm saying no etc..also tried ignoring but he just barks and barks,people stare at us!!

Any pearls of wisdom from you wise doggie mnetters?

Hard to say without seeing him

Is he nervous?
is he excited?
Does he bark at any other times?
Does he bark when on the lead in the house?

Usually I would find the cause of the barking and then work on that. Don't give a dam what other people think or say when out walking him though.

What I would work on though is to teach an "enough" command.

Do you use a clicker - this will really help with this as the click will be easier for the dog to hear than your voice if he is barking.

go outside and get him barking the millisecond he pauses click and give a treat. I would throw the treat on the floor as it will take him a little longer to find it and he will not bark again so quickly.

Again let him bark like mad and the millisecond he pauses for breath click and treat.

Do this a hundreds of times a day for a week or so.

After a while add a word I prefer "enough" (only because it can be spoken quite firmly but not shouted - if you say quiet or shut up it tends to be said as a shout and you want you reaction to be calm and quiet)

Then you should be able to say enough and the dog will stop barking.

However this will not happen instantly and there will be times when it is just too much for the dog and he will have to bark. When training this try to stay away from those situations or if you cannot dothat do not ask the dog to be quiet as it will just be too much for him. Over time he will be able to resist but to start with ask him in situations where he can succeed.

Thankyou for your detailed advice,really helpful.

He barks when out on the lead and when anyone walks past our house,even if he's inside,he will run from the window in hall to the window in lounge chasing the person as they walk by.

He seems excited and also anxious when we go on walks,i have tried over the last two days walking my two dogs seperately to see if it's any better,it is easier to manage (i have to hold youngest son's hand so hard with both dogs and especially when Rocky starts pulling and barking.) but it hasn't really changed the way he behaves,he's still barking from the minute we set off. If we see another dog he goes crazy,barks more frantically,strains at the lead,he also lunges and barks at cars and lorries,quite a handful for a little dog!!

I don't have a clicker but will buy one and start with him at home on our drive,when someone walks past i can try some clicker training.

Just wish i knew why he is like this,maybe just his personality,strange thing is,off the lead he is perfect,recall is perfect and he ignores other dogs completely,but i only let him off lead in woods,fields,beach etc...well away from cars/roads.

He does sound reactive. Has he been neutered.

It is great though that he is good off lead with super recall.

I think probably it is a slight tension and anxiety reaction so the calmer you keep the situation the better. When he is off lead he does not feel cornered so therefore less tense and so no need to bark.

With the clicker training as well you can get him to concentrate on you and this can be enough for some dogs to break the cycle of barking like crazy.