barking

Question
Labman,

We rescued our beautiful american foxhound almost 2 years ago.  She is a really great dog and has come a really long way since her first days with us.  She has learned her boundaries well, and has over an acre between the front and back to wander around and sniff.  Our only issue with her is that she loves to bark.  She has very strong vocal cords, and if a truck goes by, if another dog goes by, or even if a car that doesn't belong in our neighborhood, she will bark furiously.  If she is out, we try to get her attention and bring her in for a piece of cheese.  If she is in the house, we sometimes put her in the bathroom to calm herself, and then reward her with a piece of cheese when she is no longer barking.  Snickers can be food motivated, but not when she goes into her barking frenzy, so it can be really tricky when I am walking her, but I have tried turning and walking the other way in some cases.  My question is, is this as good as it gets?  Or is there a way to stop her from freaking out when she hears the sound of a truck or diesel engine?

Answer
Having a good pack structure reduces such problems. The dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you learning to be top dog, not the dog learning it gets a treat if it sits. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/

The above are fundamental techniques I suggest for almost all behavior problems and should help with barking too. The truth is, Labs usually don't bark that much and I don't have methods of controlling barking that I have been successful using. It isn't even in the manual for them. The manual does have a suggested reading list. One I have read is The Other End of the Leash by Patrica McConnell.

She suggests the first step is not to yell at the dog. After all, usually if one dog starts to bark, any others around will to. So yell at your dog when it barks and it is happy to have you bark with it. Quietly tell it enough and walk over to it with a treat, doesn't need to be very big. Let him know you have it and use it to lure him away from what he is barking at if anything, and praise him as he shifts his attention to the treat and away from barking. Once away from where he was barking, give him the treat.

Unlike much of my other advice, this is not something I have tried and found works. It does come from a reliable source and I would trust it more than something I found on a website I know little about. I just hope she isn't smart enough to figure out if she barks, she gets a treat plus your attention.