Gus was out with me ‘helping’ to set things up our puppy socialisation practice session by stealing tennis balls and guarding his special toy from Tippi.
One of the puppies arrived early and was just coming into the arena when Gus suddenly started a fusillade of barking. So embarrassing.
It was Himself’s fault, walking across to his car in preparation for going out. Gus thought he was being left behind with boring mum and a load of puppies. He was not backward in voicing his objections – loudly.
The puppy jumped but then did a mental shrug and decided Gus wasn’t worth bothering with (sensible puppy). I took Gus over to the car and left him in Himself ‘s not-totally-capable charge and peace was restored. (By the way, if you want to learn how to socialise your puppy even when you can’t get out and about so much, why not join our online Socialisation at a Distance course 8th-10th December?)
Gus barks at a range of triggers – planes (don’t ask), birds, odd noises… He especially barks if he thinks anyone is going out and he’s going to be left behind. It’s a truly indignant bark, “woo-woo-woo-woo-woof” and is unmistakeable. His “I’m not sure what’s going on but I’m worried” bark is a quiet, low, “woof” and his “someone’s here” bark is a “woof, woof, woof, woof”. All these barks are very different and mean different things.
If you want to know more about barking, and especially how to stop it and gain some peace and quiet, barking dog specialist Claire Lawrence will tell you how in her online live webinar in TWO DAYS TIME (November 29th) 6.30-8pm. Here’s the link to find out more and book your place: https://3sts.co.uk/3-steps-to-silence-the-seminar/
I’ll definitely be there!
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol
PS No Black Friday deals for Down Dog – we don’t follow the masses! But look out for a Carol’s Christmas deal – more details next week…