Dog constant barking - at wits end

[PugInTheHouse]

Hi, i have a 10 month old pug and over the last month or so his barking has got much much worse. He has always been a bit noisy if people walk past him or if they leave (he likes people around) but now it is unbearable. He is increasingly hectic when he sees people, constantly jumping up and chasing feet, he actually bit someones foot on Saturday when chasing them.

He was really well trained, we have been consistent with it all but he is going backwards and it got to the point at the weekend where I ended up in tears. We were watching my sons cricket match and every time someone ran past him he was pulling on the lead and barking, he even knocked hot coffee over from the table because he pulled so much. He won't really sleep when we are at cricket as he is constantly pulling and barking when there is any movement so I suspect tiredness makes him worse.

We can't leave him behind as he is on meds for separation anxiety so we are working on that also but now it feels like we need to be training him not to bark again so it's constant steps backwards.

I am at my wits end, I hate having him around when we're out, at home he's an absolute dream. Does anyone have any advice?

No advice (sorry) but fellow pug puppy owner so didn't want to read and run! Our pug barks at other dogs. It's very embarrassing as it looks quite aggressive, but in reality he is just super excited to see them and wants to say "hello" very badly. He also loves to nip feet (but thankfully only ours rather than strangers').

Bumping for you as I'm sure more knowledgeable people will come along

So cute! Yes it really is pure excitement, he loves people so much but a couple of times people have said oh he's so aggressive but he really isn't, it used to just be dogs he was like it to, he's worse with people now.

Soft travel crate for cricket. He is more likely to nap if he has a bed.

Get working on a wait command, use his dinner as bribery.

Start by removing him from/situations that trigger him, and only build it up slowly

Am not a dog trainer, so no expert, but I try and avoid putting my dog in a situation where he’s like to behave badly (eg due to tiredness/over excitement)

Or tire dog out before a cricket match, with long walk, so more likely to sleep?

He sounds very very overwhelmed, bless him.

I know he has separation anxiety (and I sympathise as my dog has it too) but I would advise getting him used to being left with someone else - a friend, family member or dog sitter/daycare type place so you don't have to take him to places that aren't really appropriate for his nature.

The reason I say that is you need to be very careful with a dog that lunges and nips - the law has changed recently and a dog no longer needs to bite someone to be considered a danger. I'm not saying that to scare or upset you but just to make you aware - if he's allowed to keep behaving this way you may end up in hot water.

I would stop taking him to places where he's overwhelmed (even if that means missing out completely) so he can't keep practising the behaviour, and get the help of an accredited behaviourist who can see his behaviour in person and advise accordingly - good luck!

My mum got her dog a barking collar worked gr8

Avoid crowded areas and situations that start him off and go back to basics.
For barking get a pet corrector spray.
Give him a safe space - crate with cover - where he can relax.
Book a few secure dog field sessions for the next few weeks to give him space from other people and dogs when exercising.
Be really strict about his behaviour so he understands who is in charge. Off beds and sofas, waiting to eat, etc.
Keep him away from children as much as possible now.

Please don't use a bark collar or corrector spray on a dog that is clearly already overwhelmed and struggling.

It's the worst thing you could do and you risk making his behaviour 10x worse.

Bark collars are illegal in many countries (including Wales) and for good reason.

NO.BARK.COLLARS/SPRAYS. Those just punish the symptom and don't work on the cause. They can make the whole situation worse. They're negative reinforcement. DO NOT USE!

He's an over excited, over stimulated, probably a bit over tired, little monkey. He's at that age when any training you've done goes backwards.

As others have said, you need to work on teaching him to settle, this is easier said than done of course. It may be worth chatting to a registered behaviourist who can work with you, as what works for one person on the internet, may well not work for your dog. It's better to have a reputable person sit and watch your dog and offer good advice tailored to your situation. If you've not spoken to one already, there's advice on how to find one here:
www.dogstrust.org.uk/help-advice/behaviour/finding-behaviour-and-training-support

You need to be more exciting than the cricket. Can you stand further away from where people are running? As a runner approaches, before he starts to get silly, get his attention on you (squeak a toy/call his name in an enthusiastic way/what ever works) and then reward. My collie started chasing cars and we did this, you will make progress really quickly. My collie v quickly learned that if he saw a car coming and then sat and looked at me he would rewarded. You need to train the reaction you want to the distractions. Set him up to succeed. Don't go too close to the action to start with. You can move closer once he knows what you want.

He was really well trained
He’s only 10months, he’s a puppy going into teenage years. This is exactly the time everything falls apart and you need to ramp up the training.

I agree with all the PP suggesting he can’t cope with things like cricket at the moment. You need to set him up to succeed; think very carefully about where you take him over the next months while you’re working on this. Build up very slowly.

My dog has can’t be left at home alone either so you have my sympathies about how much a tie it is! You need a bank of dog sitters and day care you can leave him with rather than taking him along everywhere.

Sprig 1 is right. Train him. Give him very short sessions at first. Teach him the basics, sit, drop, heel and stand in much that order. If he's doing something you don't want, get him to do something you do want instead. Lavish praise, attention and high order food treats for the behaviour you want and gradually make the food treats intermittent. Always mark good behaviour.
Unwanted barking is best handled by distraction (sit or whatever ) instead. When he is paying attention and understands a few commands teach him to bark on command. Tell him to bark (I use "speak"). Hold a toy or treat just out of reach and waggle it enticingly. Eventually he will bark, instant reward with desired object and lavish praise. Do this until established. You say "speak" and he barks. Lengthen the barking time before reward. Remove the reward from sight and use "speak" reward barking. When that's established say "nuff" and reward in a silent pause, and be very quick. He should bark on command and stop on command. Any unasked barking should be stopped by "nuff" or whatever command you teach and should be marked by praise and intermittently rewarded.
Sounds pretty wordy but it's actually dead easy to teach. I teach my working dogs - if any- to bark at cattle on command and stop on command. Very useful.

@Christmasfairy2020

My mum got her dog a barking collar worked gr8

Brilliant. Do you smack your children too? Or is it only animals you punish because you can't be bothered to train them?

Punishing a dog that already has anxiety is a TERRIBLE idea.

The important thing in changing a behaviour is to understand what the animal is trying to communicate.

@PugInTheHouse your dog sounds anxious and frustrated. How much physical exercise does he get? Pugs are active little dogs but sadly often trapped in bodies that don't allow them to exercise properly and so this often presents as frustration when they can't do normal doggy things

How much mental stimulation eg from training/puzzle feeders does he get?

How much sleep?

Is he neutered?

Thank you for all for your replies.

He was pretty well trained, he is reliable with settle, wait, on your mat, leave it, he has really good recall also. We use 'no game' for when people/dogs approach and he will completely turn his attention to me then. He is really good at all this if we spot the person/dog first. It is the surprise element that is the issue, if someone walks/run past and I haven't seen them then that is when he barks/pulls. We had try to teach him 'quiet' when he barks then stops but I think maybe teaching him to bark then to stop sounds like it would be better for him.

He gets lots of exercise, he doesn't seem to struggle with breathing too much. I think maybe upping the mental stimulation is a good idea, especially before taking him out somewhere where he may be overwhelmed. I think tiredness may be an issue at the moment, he has been awake a lot at night as we have had a couple of nights with loud storms. He is neutured.

I do think it is an element of frustration as he wants to say hello to everyone, he is a real attention seeker.

I have just taken him to a cafe, he was great at all the commands when people walked past as I could focus on just watching what people were doing, someone was even sweeping up and he kept his attention to me when I said no game.

From what you have all said I think I need to take it slower with him, luckily we have worked really hard to 'ween' him off being with me all the time and he is fine being left with other people so I think we will have to keep doing that until he is calmer or can be left alone.

Honestly, that sounds really positive! :)

Young dogs get overwhelmed very easily and I think (as owners) it's easy for us to forget that. Mine had a couple of days as a teenager when he had me in tears because his behaviour felt so bad. Looking back, he was tired, hot and overwhelmed but I just didn't think of it like that at the time!

It is the surprise element that is the issue, if someone walks/run past and I haven't seen them then that is when he barks/pulls.

It really does sound as if there's a startle/anxious element to his behaviour, especially as he's prone to separation anxiety, he may well be generally anxious.

When was he castrated? In dogs with underlying anxiety, castration is generally contraindicated as once the testosterone is removed, anxiety often gets worse. I wonder if this behaviour has escalated since his surgery?

Read up on trigger stacking @PugInTheHouse it does sound as if your pup may be struggling with a variety of anxiety triggers.

Focus on the settle, calm quiet behaviour and building confidence. Also keep an eye on his sleeping - he should be sleeping at least 12-15 hours/day - anxiety often impacts sleep in dogs.

Thanks icedcoffees and veterinari, that's really helpful. I am not sure if he has got worse since castration TBH, I have noticed it more in the last month, his surgery was early May I think but potentially it has got gradually worse.

I will definitely keep an eye on his sleeping, thinking about it more this could be a big part of it, he generally only settles properly at home when it's quiet so if we are out I don't think he sleeps enough as it feels like he always has one eye open, he's actually the same at home but often it's just me here so he has plenty of time to relax.

I have always thought of him as really confident, he's not scared of any dogs or people and very sociable it appears but he definitely is triggered by people coming and going, he hates anyone leaving even if he doesn't know them. I will read up more for sure.

It takes about 6-8 weeks for residual testosterone levels to decline, so the timing fits.
I'd general not castrate an anxious dog

Please do read up on trigger stacking.

I suspect he gets a lot of confidence/reassurance from you - when you're completely focussed on him - like in the cafe he copes, when you're watching the cricket and it's noisy/busy, his anxiety levels will escalate - signs include yawning, lip licking, panting, licking and it nudging at you, jumping up and increased boisterousness
Also beware you aren't inadvertently reinforcing barking by giving him attention

Thanks Veterinari, we genuinely have never thought of him as anxious so we wouldn't have considered not castrating him at the time. The being left alone is obviously an issue but even the trainer was surprised he struggled with it as was so confident in all other ways.

I will definitely read up on that, thank you so much. I will definitely keep him to places that are quieter and build up again slowly.

@PugInTheHouse

Thanks Veterinari, we genuinely have never thought of him as anxious so we wouldn't have considered not castrating him at the time. The being left alone is obviously an issue but even the trainer was surprised he struggled with it as was so confident in all other ways.

I will definitely read up on that, thank you so much. I will definitely keep him to places that are quieter and build up again slowly.

Anxious dogs often seem 'confident' if you aren't used to evaluating their behaviour. They're boisterous (information-seeking/reassurance-seeking), human orientated and affectionate (reassurance-seeking), and Barky (defensive but often misinterpreted as confident)

The separation anxiety is a clear sign as is the hyper vigilance at home. He's always keeping an eye on where you are and He's so anxious that when you leave him he panics utterly and cannot cope. That is not the response of a calm confident dog.
Confident dogs do not have separation anxiety - they don't rely utterly on human presence to be able to cope. I'm surprised your trainer doesn't understand that.

I'd always recommend a behaviourist rather than a trainer for anxiety - the behaviourist will work on understanding and changing the emotional state. Trainers often try simply to change the behaviour without understanding what is driving it.

Hi @PugInTheHouse! Lovely to hear from you - how is everything else going? Happy is still as excitable as he ever was.

Thanks @Veterinari I will look into a behaviourist, it sounds as if that is what he needs, thanks for your help, it's been really useful, I think that is exactly what the trainer is doing regarding his behaviour. Pup is really attached to her also which isn't helping at all either.

@HappyThursdays yes everything else is really good thanks, hope you are all ok. I haven't been around much on the other threads as the cricket season takes over our lives lol.

Have a look here for a reputable behaviourist

www.apbc.org.uk/find-an-apbc-member/

Thank you