Drawing out a bark

P

ptg

Full Registered User
I have a stubborn rottie at present who no matter what I've tried won't bark on command. He protects me without hesitation, has phenomenal spidey-senses for detecting a wrong-un on any site we've worked (including picking up on a would be mugger in a cashpoint queue when walking past). and I have no doubt in his abilities in all other areas, but bark training, which i've tried since he was 4 months old (he's now three) has failed miserably. He is protection driven rather than prey driven - I'm wondering if this is the problem.

My GSD, who I've brought as a second dog has shown me how easy it should be to get a commanded bark from a dog.

Any tips worth a try??
 
Can you just clarify, does the dog bark at all? ie. Is it capable of barking, but just won't do it on command. Also how have you tried to get it to bark?
 
send you my little cocker for a week, that little bugger could teach a dog with no vocal chords to bark, little get starts at 0600 and still giving it large at midnight, he's a pure expert when it comes to meal times. A week with that little sod and you'll be glad yours doesn't bark :)
 
Yeah, he's more than capable of barking.. but it has to be on his terms - the best way to describe it would be he's evaluating the threat level on his own.

I've tried encouraging him to bark and then praising him, tried having a decoy in the training ground run at him with a big stick (one bark, enough to say "f**k off and leave me alone", then once he's released them, back to normal.), tried getting him to bark for his toys, tried coaxing a bark out of him with pork scratchings, cheese and steak.. and he's not interested in barking. Get too close to the van, he seems to know friend from foe, and will only kick off if he senses a threat. It doesn't come across as a dominance thing - his tail is normally down and he's compliant in all other commands.
 
the problem with the rottie is that one bark is all it needs as the confedence with in the dog and that menicing deep throat crowl they have is often enough when i was trying mine the compand was not bark but speak after a couple of months and 100 pounds worth of chocolate buttons he then would sometimes if i was lucky maybe bark twice if he felt like it but if we were seperated then all hell would break loose until he was at my side again

funnie story we were working in west wales when he was about 2.5 months working him on the flat roof of a one story building flashing the touch and getting him to chase what was in the beam after about an hour and the training was going well i thought that was it worked out very well but the building was next to a river, as we were going back in the building some ducks came off the river and without thinking i put the touch on them to see what ducks they were to see if bringing in my air rifle would get me some dinner anyway as i said without thinking i put the ducks in the beam and the dog wanting as always to please me gave chase thinking his training had not stopped and then you would not belive it the bloody dog ran straight off the roof and into a skip i panciked ran to the edge of the roof thinking the worst looking over the roof down into the carpark there stupid sat down in the skip barking at me like if he was saying were the **** were you

sorry to rant just of the many good memorys i have of a losted mate

cheers ed
 
Ed,

Just to clarify, training on a roof with a 2.5 month old pup? Never heard of that sort of training and sounds pretty unsafe. I never work at height with my dogs unless properly attached to me (and then not by choice). I think that one of the English forces lost a GP dog recently doing just that. What was your training with the torch for? A firend of mine on this forum did a similar thing and ruined a very good dog.

Cheers
M
 
at the time it was the only place i had i was training him up to follow what was in the beam and the edge of the roof had a parafit to try and stop stuff falling over

and its not 2.5 months its 2 years 5 months i can see where you must think im an evil tw*t but at the time he weighed in at 9 stone of solid muscle to put your mind at rest Mali

cheers ED
 
Sorry, but that's just bonkers! I'm at a loss for words! An hours training? On a roof top? Using a torch? £100 worth of choc drops (regardless of exaggeration)? Just, wow!
 
to mali and aes69

you have to take in the time frame this was 13 years ago and at the time the guy i was working for was trying to get in the DH side knowing that i had a good temp dog which he was told by a mate he asked me to do the work at the time the only handlers out there were exmil lads and some police handlers working on the side this was well before the sia lads and as i have said before im a DS that has done some dog work EXP when i have worked as a DH i work with a exmil DH which has 2 dogs his rottie and a multi handler rottie that i and his wife use, so at the time i was just getting the my hound up to a certain standed and like all training in the begining some things go wrong with the trainer or the dog and when i said 1 hours training i meant that we had been training for 1 hour that night we had been training for a few weeks everyday on different things that i thought he might need to brush up on, then later on they changed the laws and your dog had to be on a lead im not sure when the law came in but was told that later on , with you not knowing the pennie piching git i was working for at the time and if you did you would see why the other DH at the time was using a staff so now the mist clears
i am not running down DHs i was just telling you lot a funnie story im sure you all have loads of them from different times

ed
 
Ed, working at height with a hound is not a good idea but reading your post youve already learned that.

M
 
Mali said:
Ed, working at height with a hound is not a good idea but reading your post youve already learned that.

M
Click to expand...

the reason i was working at height was that the building we were looking after had broken glass and tiles everywhere and i didnt want him to get his pads cut but as you said i learnt my lesson and for the next 2 shrifts cleaned it up and then trained inside

hindsight is a wonderful thing if you use it

ed
 
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