pup barking, any suggestions?

[Meeka]

friend has 2-3 month BLM that I am babysitting. Barks in kennel. Specially if he hears you stirrin round nearby. What to do, if anything?

I figure ignore it cause he will see the attention as a reward. It really does not seem like a real big deal now, but I am wondering if its a sign.

On the flip side, seeing him absolutely haul butt on the return from a retrieve is nice.

[MD11Pilot]

Meeka,

All young dogs/pups are gonna bark, whine, yelp, etc...that's what they do...just like babies cry. They will do that til they learn that it is unacceptable. You are right that going to "correct" them is some form of attention which is what they may be after. But my experience (on my 3rd dog - 11 week old pup) is they need to be TAUGHT not to make noise. I go to mine when they're yappin and say: "NO, QUIET"...maybe gently grasp their muzzle and hold for a second. Continue this til they get the idea. As more time goes by, maybe a rap on the crate and a firmer "NO, QUIET"...and once you think they should be learning the deal, a little squeeze of their muzzle.

I hate barking dogs and my first two rarely if EVER bark...so my method must work...or I'm lucky. The "just ignore em" school doesn't work in my observation...just look at some of the pro dog trailers that are a cacaphony of dog noise all the time. I train with a "pro" who has a trailer full of dogs that bark constantly - even though they have bark collars on! They bark "through" the collar, get zapped then yelp...he NEVER takes the time to teach them that noise don't cut it. I will tell you though that teaching this could take a LOT of TIME and PATIENCE cause you need to be CONSISTENT, PERSISTENT and INSISTENT about it til they learn.

By the way, you could have saved yourself the pain of reading this by reviewing Travis' puppy post...it addresses the subj. Sorry - I could have said that at the beginning of this post, eh?!

[quakwacker]

He is doing that because he can hear you and maybe even see you walking around the house.
Mine did the same thing and I think every puppy does that in some way or another.
You need to get a blanket and cover his kennel up when he is in there doing that. This will make it nice and dark in there and make it where he can't see you.
I have found that this really calms the dog and keeps them quiet.

[wesley hamm]

the blanket over the kennel should help. Also get you a radio or an old fashion alarm clock that ticks and put it over his kennel

[Meeka]

I thought about this after posting last night and began what MD11 wrote about and he has already gotten the message and shown improvement. He's not cured, but the barking has decreased and he definately understands that barking is not acceptable. When i walk away and he yelps, I immediately return and open the crate and hold his snout closed and give a harsh "HUSH". Took about 6 returns the first time. Only one now. I see that someone (hint, hint) needs to be exactly consistent and persistent.