barking while walking

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frenchfry56

Forums Regular
I adopted a 9 year old rescue sheltie several months ago...He is reactive to other people and dogs while walking, and I have been dealing with that behavior by giving him treats when we encouter others on our walks...however this seems to have led to a new behavior of just barking to bark while we are walking so he can get a treat to be quiet...i am struggling with this as giving him the treat to deal with the reactiveness does work, but can't have him barking otherwise while walking...when we are walking and he starts barking he looks right at me and knows where I keep his treats to deal with the reactiveness,,,today during our walk when he started barking I just stopped and praised and petted him...sometimes it would work for a short distance and at other times only for a few steps...made for a looonnngg one mile walk...just looking for some suggestions or ideas....thanks for any help...
 
Sounds a little bit like he's trying to see what he can get away with. When Honey gets in those moods on walks (always a 6 in the morning) I try making her stop and sit until she's calm, give her a light praise, (no treat, no petting) and we go on. If she's very persistent in it, we turn around, at which point she knows she's not been very good and her big treat (the walk) is being taken away because of it.

If she's exceptionally bad I pick her up and carry her the rest of the way home.
 
thanks Jacque for the reply, I think you are right he does seem to try and push what his limits are....in the house he would bark for me to open door to go out, but now he knows the door doesnt open until he sits quietly....he has come along way since Ive gotten him, just need to have patience....he is a great dog....
 
That's not unusual for a food obsessed dog. There is always a risk with treating for behaviours that you end up encouraging the behaviour. My male was the same, he worked out pretty quickly what it takes to get food. I wish I had never treated for not chasing bicycles - it just meant he watched out for bicycles even more. He would also go outside and bark then come running back in to say 'look I stopped barking now give me a treat'. He also loves the sound of his own bark. Nowadays he just gets praise and a pat for being good.

Cut the treats out and use praise or a toy or playing for rewards. There's been quite a few recent threads about dealing with a reactive dog. Use the turn around technique - the reward is that to continue walking he needs to focus. http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=20758&page=2
 
the past few day I have been doing extra praising and patting and this seems to be working...I know little of his history so just have to experiment with certain things...he really responds to to all the extra positive reinforcement...he is not generally fearful or timid, but some things 'set him off' so its just learning dealing with different things...this board has been helpful for all my shelties, I have learned from all the knowledge folks have shared on this board....
 
I'm glad the situation is improving! The great thing about shelties is even if they're smart enough to get into mischief, they're also always willing to work hard to make you happy too!
 
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