Week 10

By persistent interruption and reward I think I have finally reduced the barking. Now I know that that's what FS do, and I know he is only following his instincts, but Lewi had developed the habit of standing under the trees, or hedge, barking at anything that moved, be it leaf, bird, twig. And what was causing the real problem was that he tended to do it early in the morning or late at night. I have neighbours with young children! I have had to go out with him every time including the cold wet dark mornings and remind him. He goes into a trance of total concentration staring up and barks. I have had to stand there and give him a little nudge to remind him I'm around then “Ssshhh” and a treat when he stops barking. Probably it's the sight of me in my dressing gown on the lawn early in the morning that frightens the birds off. It could all, of course, be that he is growing out of the phase of just finding his voice, and not my skills as a trainer (which are in doubt at the moment). He is definitely showing other signs of rising hormone levels. His barks at other times are very useful, double glazing salesmen are much easier to get rid of, and I know in advance when anyone is coming up the drive.

Well training has dominated our lives recently. He was the only puppy not doing perfect recall in the class and the only one not responding properly to the trainer when walking on a lead. When we are at home together he does sit, down, come and most recently stay, almost perfectly. I was most impressed today I told him down and he did it straight away then stay and I walked the length of the room into the hall and round the corner and he didn't budge, well he did fidget a bit, even though I had one of his favourite smelly treats in my hand, until I clicked the clicker and started telling him how good he was, then he came for his reward. On our walks, he really has learnt “wait” when we come to a kerb or there is a cycle or pedestrian coming. And in the dog park he usually/often comes on command. Unless, that is, like today a whole flock of pigeons lands across the field. I must admit, I was tempted to run at them barking. At class, he has 7 other puppies all around plus 3 adult dogs all in a little village hall. It is distracting for him. One of the characteristics I really love about him, is the curiosity and lively interest he has in everything around him. But I was told that it was down to my giving him attention too freely, not making him earn it enough and so his respect for me was too low. Well my confidence followed it right down. We have installed a new regime, he has to either sit or lay down depending on what I tell him before going out to toilet for example. I have, all along, used denying of attention as a consequence for attention seeking behaviour such as mouthing at feet and trouser legs. And he does understand quite well that certain things are mine and mustn't be touched, for example when the paper comes through the door, a quick “Leave” means that I don't have to race him to save it – mind you I'm not sure how long it would last if he had access to that area when I wasn't around. The other thing I was told was that play should always be initiated by me, not when he wanted. Well I must admit, if I am busy he has to just play on his own, but we had established a sort of routine where first thing in the morning when we get up, he rushes out to the loo, then comes straight back in for a play. He has this little toy monkey which has all but fallen apart, but he loves it. It is heart breaking to have to refuse when he walks in with that in his mouth, straight to my feet, then he bites it a few times to make it squeak, before dropping it at my feet and making puppy eyes at me. I do make him wait though – for a couple of minutes and demand a sit or down before playing. All my training in child behaviour has taught me that a very short period of no attention is just as effective – if not more so – than a long extended one. And he is still only a very little puppy. Our focus for the next few days is walking on the lead. We don't very often achieve a loose lead and he is distracted by every little thing around. Even holding a smelly treat near his nose doesn't always work.