Need help...excessive barking

dusty&lulusmom · 08-27-2007, 01:04 PM

I have 1 1/2 year old male terrier that I adopted from a co-worker about 2 months ago. He is a wonderful dog except when someone comes over to our house or we walk him outside. He barks like a vicious dog. Sometimes he will lunge towards people like he might bite but he has never followed threw on this. He just barks and he won't let anyone pet him. When he goes outside I think he gets so excited that as soon as he leaves the front door he goes crazy...barking and yelping. It sounds like a dog being attacked. There doesn't even have to be anyone outside he just does this as soon as he gets outside. Anyway it is creating a problem. He can not be walked in the morning hours because I don't want to disturb neighbors. My children are embarrassed to walk him and a few neighbors have begun to ask what is wrong with him. Hope someone can offer some help. I have noticed that we are decreasing the walks as it is no longer enjoyable. We live in a rural area with lots of nice state parks and I hate that he is so foolish when he is out.

Durbkat · 08-27-2007, 04:24 PM

He needs more exercise, terriers are high energy dogs and need to burn that energy off or they will start going crazy with all the energy. When he barks try to ignore him and keep walking if he is paying attention he will follow, if he isn't then he will when the leash runs out.

dusty&lulusmom · 08-27-2007, 04:30 PM

I have noticed that he is loaded with energy. I was taking him for a walk for 1 hour a day on some hiking trails. I also have my children take him out and run with him. It is amazing how fast he is. I noticed recently that we have cut back on going out as much because of the embarassement. Thanks for the info...I realize this in not fair to him and I will be more conscious of getting him out and exercising each day.

Durbkat · 08-27-2007, 04:33 PM

Just take him places that doesn't usually have alot of people around and get on your bike and let him run. That should really tire him out. Also you can take him in the backyard if its fenced in and play fetch.

dusty&lulusmom · 08-27-2007, 06:05 PM

After reading your response, my son and I took him to the state park. We walked on a trail for about 40 mins. He went swimming in the river and he even swam against the current for awhile (I keep the leash on him when he goes in so he can't get hurt). He chased after those big green "acorn balls" that we kicked for him and then we ended by jogging back to the car. I know he had a great time. He still acted like a fool everytime he passed a person or a dog...I just apologized and moved on. Maybe he will outgrow this... either way I am not going to take away our outside time...I need it just as much as he does. Thanks for getting me back on track and not worrying too much about what others think.

Dogstar · 08-27-2007, 08:30 PM

I would recommend that you consult a trainer about this. Just ignoring the behavior isn't going to make it go away- and your dog COULD get hurt if his behavior instigated a fight. Plus, it's just bratty behavior, and badly behaved dogs reflect badly on ALL dog owners in public greenspaces.

There's a book (Emma Parsons, I believe is the author) called "Click to Calm" that I *highly* recommend you get a copy of, and follow its program.

dusty&lulusmom · 08-27-2007, 09:26 PM

Before posting this I did actually contact an animal behaviorist and I left a message. If I don't get a response in a few days I will try contacting someone else. I have another dog that is very well behaved so I really would like to get this dog under control as well. I will look into this book. Thanks.