From: davids@gardener.lanl.gov (David G. Simmons)
Subject: Re: Help!  Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark
Originator: davids@feynman.lanl.gov
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 16:03:24 GMT


In article <3684@key.COM>, srj@key.COM (Scott R. Johnson) writes:
|> Hello again,
|> 
|> I'm back, with more questions about my Spitz/Border Collie cross.  It seems
|> she has a couple annoying habits, and I'm trying to correct them; what's 
|> the collective net.wisdom on my methodology?
|> 
|> 1)  insists on being watched while eating
|>     (she only insists this of me, not my SO)
|>     Giving her food, giving her 15-30 minutes to eat (taking care to NOT
|>       be in the area during suppertime) and retrieving the 1/8 to 1/4 eaten
|>       bowl of food afterwards.  If I'm in the area, she comes and stares at 
|>       me-- when I come in view of the food bowl, she beings chomping with a
|>       vengeance...
|>       - I figure she'll eventually *have* to eat, in order to stay alive, 
|>         and that'll be the end of the problem.  Whaddya think?  Am I missing
|>         something in canine psychology?
|> 2)  woofs and barks in order to get our attention
|>     When she decides she wants attention (she only wants it about 23 hours/day)
|>     she finds a window that she can see us at, or hear us, or a light is 
|>     shining through, and barks and barks and barks and barks until she gets
|>     our attention.  I don't know how to punish her for this (the minute we hove
|>     into view, she's got what she wanted, and she stops barking) and I've just 
|>     resorted to ignoring her (hoping the neighbors are understanding)
|> 
|> Any ideas?
|> 
|> thanks,
|> 
|> 
|>   
|> 
|> -- 
|>   --srj           A lunatic is merely a minority of one.
|>        o_O                                                            --Orwell
|>       =( ) =      ------------------------------------------------------------
|>         U   Ack!  Scott Johnson  Amdahl Adv. Sys. srj@key.amdahl.com  623-2333

My Beardie has had this problem intermittently, especially when he is
"angry" with us for being locked outside while we clean, etc.  My solution
was to sneak up on him from another directoin and correct him with a loud
"NO!"  The surprise when he is barking at door/window x, and the correction
coems from behind him is something.  He, I think, got the idea that daddy
was somehow omnipresent, and he no longer does this much.  The other day,
he was in his crate, and was barking LOUDLY and persistnetly.  Whenever
anyone came near the room, he stopped.  My solution?  I went and stood
right outside the room, and he stopped.  So I stayed there, until he 
started barking again, then I jumped into the room, and said "NO!"  he
was VERY surprised, but he stopped barking, and was quiet until I let him out
a short while later.

I find that McDuff is much better behaved when he believes that daddy is
omnipresent than otherwise.  It may work for you, it may not.  It has
worked for me in keeping Duff out of the garden, the Compost heap,
stopped him from digging, from barking, and a long list of other un-
desireable behaviors.  It takes a little bit of ingenuity to sneak up
on him, but it owrks.

Good luck!
-- 

David G. Simmons
	
	"Pollution is not the problem with our environment. 
	It is the impurities in our air and water." 
		--Dan "Vice-President-Rain-Man" Quayl(e)

If I said it, LANL didn't... 

-- 

David G. Simmons
	
	"Pollution is not the problem with our environment.