Little advice please

toexpress

Right I have a little small dog, he is a great little chap and I adore him. He behaves himself incredibly well at all times with two exceptions and I would like to sort them if I can. I would like to add that he is a rescue dog and was exceptionally badly treated, when he came here first he would go into another room rather than be around people, now he hops up on top of you on the couch, so raising a hand to him is not an option as I don't want to damage his little confidence.

Firstly when someone just walks past the house he seems to be able to sense this (no matter where he is in the house) and takes off for the living room hops up on the windowsill and barks at them like his life depends on it. He also barks when kids play on the green which my house overlooks. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate them.

Secondly, when someone comes in here he can get a bit over excited and sometimes has a little accident, other wise he never fouls inside the house.So again any advice would be great

are you serious

For the first part, he is just doing his guard dog job for you but I suppose it could get annoying after a while, can you put him in another room? If so when he does his barking thing take him out of the room and leave him in a separate room until he calms down, when he does take him back in, if he goes mad again back out again until he is calm enough to leave there in the room!

Second weeing part, if you know someone is calling over take him out just before they are due to come in for toilet break, when they first come in put him in a separate room before he is brought in to say hello. When you do let him in, get thee person to ignore him, no rubs no saying hello nothing, he will still be a wriggly wagging the tail and excited but it is the rubbing and talking to him that sends him over the edge so he will eventually stop!

Repeat both of these over and over and your problems will be sorted, it takes time possibly a month or so, just be patient!!

SpyderCats

When I started training my dog I found that by giving rewards and using hand gestures worked really well, for example when your dog starts barking distract him by either calling him, if that doesn't work try distracting him with a squeaky toy. When you have his attention and he has stopped barking, say the word (quiet) while using a hand gesture to go with the word, tell him good boy and give him the treat. Your dog will soon realise that he gets a reward for being quiet. Also try not to shout at him to stop as a lot of dogs think you are joining in and will only encourage him to bark more, hope this helps

hdowney

i wish i had thought of that other room thing for my little dog (i fear it is too late to start now). she can hear things MILES away, and goes cuckoo if someone goes past outside

are you serious

J

hdowney wrote: »

i wish i had thought of that other room thing for my little dog (i fear it is too late to start now). she can hear things MILES away, and goes cuckoo if someone goes past outside

I wouldn't say it's never too late, the saying you can't treat an old dog a new trick is lies! Why not try it out for a week or so and see how you get on!