[aokisweet]

I have two six month old Poms that I LOVE! Aoki - my girl and Coco - my boy. They are doing very well in many areas already, crate trained from day one - potty trained for about 3 months, they go outside with minimal accidents. They will sit, laydown and stay and come when we are home inside.

The problem is when they are outside in the yard or dog park I cannot get them to come - even with favorite treats. We recently started using the long leash and are working on that, so I need to give this some time.

My two issues are the barking. They are NOT big barkers at home but when we do walks, or a neighbor is out they BARK! More so Aoki, my girl she seems to fear everything..... When people want to pet her she barks and will cry like shes being abused.... its awful. She is timid, I have no idea why, we really try not to "baby" them like some small dog owners do.

So the barking, any suggestions and also Aoki with the fear, or trust issues she may have?

Thanks

I am new to the forum, hello everyone. I have tried posting pics and getting familiar with the site.

I posted to get suggestions for Aoki and Coco and would love to talk with anyone willing.

 

[Thracian]

I haven't dealt with the barking you describe. It sounds like excitement barking, but I don't have any suggestions. Sorry. Hopefully someone else here will.

As for Aoki's fear, let her take things at her own pace. It's good to expose her to different situations and people, but go slowly. If she wants to approach people, good. Let her. Otherwise, don't push it. One thing you might do is have people drop her favorite treats. Don't expect her to eat them from the person's hand. Just drop them, without looking at her. Slowly this may help her understand that new people aren't so bad after all.

Good luck.

 

[aokisweet]

Thank you and good advise with Aoki. I will try that.

 

[ThoseWordsAtBest]

As for barking inside the house and at any commotion, my Jack is the worst offender. Thanks to advice on here, we've cut his barking out. Not entirely, mind you, as that's what he was bred to do and he's just letting us know something is going on. He's clicker trained, so when he begins to bark at something, I give the command "Quiet." and the moment is he, even for just a second, I click and treat. It's a long, arduous process, but it works in the long run.

Jonas is also working out fear issues, like Aoki. Previously, he would go bonkers at anyone who came up to him. He was previously abused. We started working with a behaviorist, and part of that involved having a group of people stand in a circle with him. No one was to touch or approach him, but allow him to do it on his own. If he approached a person, like Thracian suggested, they would drop a treat and not look at or reach for him. We did this for maaanny sessions. After that, we stepped it up in the group to calling his name. When he approached whoever called him, they would hand him a treat. Again, many sessions. We're not at the point where a stranger could easily touch him, I don't know if that will come, but he no longer goes bananas over strangers.
The important thing is working slowly, because if you go over her threshold too quickly it will set her back.