# How do I stop my BC barking at people?



## Houseofpets (Apr 23, 2011)

Hi All, 

My 11 month old Border Collie started barking at people when he was about 7 months old and we thought it was his 'fear stage' but he still barks at people, we don't let him off the lead as I don't want him running up to people barking at them as it's not fair on them. However, I am really at a loss how to deal with this, he is really keen to 'work', pays attention to everything we ask of him in the house but we are struggling to get his attention when out on a walk. 

I do keep a treat pouch with me at all times and reward him for not barking at people but who he does bark at is so random I can't second guess him. He does have a fear of pushchairs, bikes, scooters etc, we live around an area that has tarmacked streets and I think it's the noise of them that causes him the problem rather than the object. 

We also have a 3 year old Border Collie and she completely disregards everyone and everything (apart from the usual car chasing which they all seem to like), she is always walked on a lead as I don't trust her around cars and I thought her positive influence when walking past people and pushchairs etc would influence the little man, however this hasn't happened! 

Has anyone any idea how we can get his attention on a walk and get him to unfocus on the people he seems to bark at?


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Houseofpets said:


> Hi All,
> 
> My 11 month old Border Collie started barking at people when he was about 7 months old and we thought it was his 'fear stage' but he still barks at people, we don't let him off the lead as I don't want him running up to people barking at them as it's not fair on them. However, I am really at a loss how to deal with this, he is really keen to 'work', pays attention to everything we ask of him in the house but we are struggling to get his attention when out on a walk.
> 
> ...


If he started at 7mths and now 11mths then he has had 4mths of doing the behaviour so its likely not going to be a quick fix, if is fear and anxiety based it never is a quick fix anyway. Dogs do have fear periods but a lot depends on how they are guided through it at the time, if its going to turn into a longer term problem or not. The trouble with barking at people and objects that are moving when out is that, usually the object or person was going to carry on going past and go away anyway, but if the dog barks at it and it goes on its way to his mind, the barking has worked its made it go away, what works is repeated, it become learned behaviour but one that you dont want.

With him as its not just people its bikes pushchairs and all manner of things too, but only what appears to be certain random people not all, his problem may be that he can cope with so much for so long, but once his stress level gets to a certain height on the scale then everything sets him off, so whilst people might not seem to set him offwhen the walk starts, once his threshold is passed he will bark at them too.

Although your girl may be a lot more bomb proof if she chases cars she might not be as quite as bomb proof as you think, nervous dogs can and do feed off each other and influence how each other behaves.

Personally I would work with them separate. You may not be able to get his attention when out because your timing is off and he gets too stressed out and into the behaviour before you try to rectify it.

Ideally you need to be somewhere to re-train him where you can put distance between you and the people and objects at first, somewhere you can see it coming from far off and start to work at a distance he is still comfortable with and non reactive. Maybe somewhere like a park on not too busy a day but where there will be people and scooters and kids etc. 
You need to teach him the watch me command, if you havent already, hold a treat in a postition so he has to look up into your face, and when he makes eye contact, quickly WATCH ME Command and treat, Build up from immediately treating, to saying wait and then treating, and then extend the wait by saying watch me, Wait and then making the time longer and longer before he gets the treat. You can teach this reliably at home first.
You then start to use it outside starting with his comfort zone distance from the object/person. One you have consistent success at that distance, you get nearer and nearer, working up to keeping his attention and focus on you when these objects or people can pass at close range. Next step is making controlled introductions to people and objects with you leading, praising and treating when calm. By doing it gradually at his pace and keeping him within his comfort zone as you go, he should learn to cope.
You then also start to build up as he gets better, busier and busier areas, side roads when its quieter, then when busier, then more challenging roads, at busier and busier times, shoppin Malls etc etc.

If you really think the noises are a big part of the problem you can desensitise him to those too. The idea is that you play CDs of the sounds, starting at barely audible level, while he is eating his dinner, doing some training, relaxing with a Kong or chew, and as he ignores and cope with them little by little at his pace, you turn them up very very slightly a bit at a time and so on. You can get various CDs see link they come with full explanation
Sound Therapy 4 Pets  Sound Phobia Treatment CDs, Pet Products and Publications Sounds speedy I believe is the road one.

It would probably be worth you considering training classes too, that would be socialisation with people and other dogs in a controlled environment and with distractions too, to help focus on you and his training
Welcome to APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers UK should find a trainer and class in your area. It would also gie you hands on support too.

Just one last thing high value treats are usually, cheese, chicken, hotdogs and sausages and anything liver based. A good one that gets and keeps attention is the cheese spread in tubes, you can get different flavours and once a little is squeezed and the dog gets a taste most seem to obssess trying to get more out the tube.

Hopefully there is some ideas here you can try.


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

Do your collies get any free running time or are they always walked on the lead in built up areas?


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## Houseofpets (Apr 23, 2011)

Twiggy said:


> Do your collies get any free running time or are they always walked on the lead in built up areas?


We are lucky to live somewhere that has an un used farmers field which is fenced in with the pathways around the edge, I do let him off for a run around and a play with his ball as he can't get at anyone should he decide to bark at them. I can keep his attention a lot better if he is focused on the ball but I am not confident enough that he won't chase/bark at people so I tend not to do this when he is off lead and people are around 'just in case'!

Our older Border Collie is always off lead around the parks and never approaches anyone, even dogs she will ignore (once we are far enough away from the road).


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## Houseofpets (Apr 23, 2011)

Hi Everyone

Just a bit of an update, we have been working on the 'look at me' command which he can now do for up to 10 seconds providing there are no distractions otherwise he loses focus. Today when I took him for our usual 3 mile circuit, I put him in a sit and told him to 'wait' whilst people and cyclists went past. He was perfect until a couple out walking came past and said 'ohhhh isn't he sooo cute', at which point he went mad and started to bark at them! This then set him off with the next Lady coming, after that there were a group of 3 teenagers coming towards us on a narrow path way and I thought we were going to have lots of trouble with him but again I got him in to a sit and told him to wait...............he was perfect!!!  He is interested in looking at people and what they are up to but at least I can get his attention so I can distract him. Hubby has popped out to get some squeezy cheese so we can really practice this tomorrow.

Thanks for all your help everyone, it has been very much appreciated


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Houseofpets said:


> Hi Everyone
> 
> Just a bit of an update, we have been working on the 'look at me' command which he can now do for up to 10 seconds providing there are no distractions otherwise he loses focus. Today when I took him for our usual 3 mile circuit, I put him in a sit and told him to 'wait' whilst people and cyclists went past. He was perfect until a couple out walking came past and said 'ohhhh isn't he sooo cute', at which point he went mad and started to bark at them! This then set him off with the next Lady coming, after that there were a group of 3 teenagers coming towards us on a narrow path way and I thought we were going to have lots of trouble with him but again I got him in to a sit and told him to wait...............he was perfect!!!  He is interested in looking at people and what they are up to but at least I can get his attention so I can distract him. Hubby has popped out to get some squeezy cheese so we can really practice this tomorrow.


The sqeezy cheese is usually excellent for this as once they lick a bit they usually become so busy trying to lick more out they cant care less whats happening, you can get ones with bits of ham and allsorts in it too for variety.

If you are stuck anytime though you can always keep feeding the normal treats too, so you are literally doing, watch me/wait/pause/Treat and keep repeating it. To make sure he is focused on you. When the people pass though and safely out of range, the treats whatever they are stop. You only dispense food when people coming and passing. The idea is to associate people around = Postive and good things. If you have to go heavier on the treats at the beginning while you are setting the behaviour dont worry too much, you tailor them off later as the behaviour becomes a conditioned response. In time with repetitions you should find he will automatically look to you and do the things on command.

Sounds like its working fine though or really beginning too well done.
Oh just a reminder too timing is important, you need to get him into the alternative behaviour quick and stop him barking before he really gets into it.
That usually gives you better success and dont get too close to the people too soon, if he starts getting more reactive again you are too close, you need to take a step back to the last base, and then work nearer again.


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## Houseofpets (Apr 23, 2011)

A bit of an update on today's walk! I decided to take Chip out at 8am this morning so that I could walk him on our usual route and knew there would be lots of people around but at a safe distance. So off we went, on the way trying to stop him from pulling by stopping everytime he pulled - this then ended up being the 'I pull, Mum stops, I sit and off we go again, I pull, Mum stops, I sit.................you can see the pattern forming here!!!!  

So after doing a section of the walk which normally takes us 20 mins, ended up today taking 50 minutes and boy was I fed up with it!!! lol

There were lots of people around and every time I saw someone coming, I got him to sit and 'look at me', this worked really well and we had no problems at all, we then came across a tree shredder and 4 burly men working - this proved too much for him but we had no option to go past as no other way around. So he barked lots, got himself completely worked up etc etc. Once we had got a safe distance from it I got him to sit and just look at what was going on around him. At this point a man with a JRT came walking along so I got Chip into a down and asked him to wait (he was very very good), the guy coming towards us obviously thought Chip was going to be trouble as he took his dog that was already on a lead to the other side of the pathway. I said to the guy, he's not nasty he just barks at people so I try to keep him out of the way. At that the guy said no problem with him barking and came over with his JRT, Chip loves other dogs and is always really respectful, the guy couldn't believe how good he was with his dog and said 'you have a gorgeous dog there' stuck his hand down and gave Chip a huge fuss!!!! Chip looked up at him and gave him a look that said 'please can he come and play'!!! 

I was so pleased with him as I really expected him to go balistic but was soooooo good! OK so he let himself down when I took him into the enclosed field (where he can't get to people and cyclists when offlead) by running along the fence line barking at the cyclist!! Oh well, onwards and upwards


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## JenniferAndNash (Sep 25, 2013)

Hi Houseofpets,

Your story is almost identical to mine. Young (14 mth) male BC who at about 6-8 months started randomly barking and lunging at a very small number (2-3 percent) of all the people he meets. He's never bitten anyone, but It continues to this day and I agree that it's not fair on the people and it needs to stop. There's absolutely nothing I can determine that the people have in common (sex, age, clothing etc), but I'm convinced there is something as he's very consistent with it. We met a young women 3 months ago and he reacted, then we saw her again yesterday and he reacted to her again; nobody else in the dog park, just her. 

I've paid two different dog trainers to try and fix it, but their solutions are partial fixes at best.

I'm really interested in any progress you may have made with your dog. Can you provide an update as to your dogs behaviour now and any other training methods you found that worked?

Many thanks,
Jennifer


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