Merlin bit someone... oh, and barks non-stop
 Whenever there are people over, like my fiance's friends and if they happen to move weird Merlin will bark like crazy at the them, he had never bit anyone before though, we could always say, oh don't worry he doesn't bite, he just acts tough and barks.
BUT now, yesterday a friend of Nick's (fiance) was walking up to our house, carrying, not riding - so it should not have been a problem - a skateboard, and of course he barked like mad and the guy was walking out of Merlin's range since he was on a tie out, but he came just slighty too close and Merlin bit his hand, I didn't see the wound, but Nick said it bled for a very long time and it was nice sized hole. Luckily the guy wasn't upset about it at all, but what if it wasn't someone we knew - it could've been someone who hates dogs and would call the cops on us, or something else terrible:!:  I yelled at Merlin - you know the whole "NO, bad dog" thing and then held him down for a few minutes so he couldn't move, all I had to do was look at him sternly and he looked guilty and knew he did something really bad. How can I stop him from doing this again, and the barking - he even barks at Nick for no apparent reason sometimes, never at me or my friends, just Nick or his friends - what's up with that? It seems like it's getting worse, I mean, obviously all dogs bark, but at points with Merlin it seems like it just keeps progressing into barking at more insignificant things and he'll bark for longer amounts of time.
Sorry this was so long, soo... any opinions or ideas to prevent him from biting again or how to stop the barking??? oh, and I don't want to use a shock collar.... |
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| How often is he on a tie out? In my opinion that justs makes dogs wild and out of control barkers. background on what a day is like for Harvey would fill in the blanks. |
| He is on a tie out whenever it is potty time. If it is late at night he can usually get away without being on one. I was outside doing yardwork at the time - that's another time they are on a tie out. I am able to take him out to places where he can run without a leash, but we don't have a fence and live in town so he - and daphne - need to be tied up.
Oh, and I'm assuming you meant Merlin, Harvey is from the next topic up  |
| Training time. You'll have to enlist some helpers unknown to your dog to wheel by. You have Merlin on a short lead. When the person goes by don't say a word to your dog but once Merlin lunges, give a sudden and sharp response. Use one or two words, but remember you can't explain things to your dog, they don't speak the language. They learn a few words and respect Mr. Leash. Keep this training up until Merlin learns no lunging, biting, etc at wheeled vehicles or people. Reinforce this over and over until he learns a new response. |
| Hi,
I'll pipe up too. I trained Panda from this annoying habit as well but used a lot of positive reinforcement. We'd sit and watch people drive, skate, or roll by in some sort of moving contraption and he would try to lunge. I would distract...speak calmly to him...give him a treat...the person would have gone by....then lots of praise. Eventually he stopped this habit and even one offleash dog park we still get the odd person that jogs or rides their bike through and Panda doesn't chase, bark or even pay attention to them. Consistency is the key and praise for good behavior. It's not enough to make them stop a behavior but you need to find a replacement for that behavior too. I know fencing is really expensive but in the long run it will make your life and that of your dogs so much easier. This may effect the freedom you all have in years to come and so in effect sometimes worth the price. I wish you all the luck Marianne |
| some respond to positive actions, others need correction training. Which is your dog? I have one boy who is so crushed if I scold him.........he needs positive reinforcement training. I think Marianne and I are saying the same thing, you have to train them not to do this. It takes time and patience. |
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