help w/a dog

[fostermom]

Hello! I'm new to the site and just wanted to comment on how user friendly it is. Anyway, I'm fostering a dog right now that...well I can't even explain to you his behavior. I can tell you he's been in the program for awhile and I assume it's his behavior that's holding him back from being adopted. He's an Australian Cattle Dog and when he came to stay w/us, I got online to study the breed. I learned A LOT and was amazed by how intelligent they are. I joined a MSN group on ACD's and they helped a little. They helped me w/ACD problems..like he nips us to herd us. At first it was amusing (although we never encouraged it and ALWAYS redirected him), but now..it's really annoying. I will say, he's doing at least 50% better!
Anyway, my problems now are his constant barking! It's making me insane. I thought the nipping was bad...at least it was quiet! He just barks and barks, and it's a new thing, he didn't do this when he first got here. It's like he's barking just because he can. My neighbors complain so I can't leave him out for long periods of time ( and he needs to be out to run out his energy). I've never had a barker in my life, so I'm completely stumped. We've worked all his other problem areas...houebreaking, chewing, etc. He's completely housebroke, he doesn't chew too much anymore. But this barking!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's 2 yrs old and I really don't know what his life was like before he came into the program. I know he was kenneled almost a month and a 1/2 before we brought him home. He is doing so much better, and I would never send him back to the kennel, not only b/c he's improving but for fear of him forgetting all we've taught him.
Any help/advice you can give would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks much!
Melissa :confused:

[aly]

Do you give him an outlet to release his energy every day? This breed in particular is incredibly active and needs stimulation on a daily basis. He most likely won't get enough exercise if he's in the backyard alone. I would take him for long walks, runs, jogs, whatever you can manage. Or maybe someone you know has a dog he could play with sometimes? I think the major key is to keep him occupied.

Have you tried mind stimulating toys such as the Buster Cube?

(By the way - WELCOME TO PET TALK!)

[stacwase]

I think that sometimes changes in lifestyle cause dogs to take up barking as a full-time hobby. Jake was never much of a barker, despite being a sheltie, but he barked a LOT more when we first got Max.

Whenever he barks I just take him somewhere else: if he barks indoors I put him out. If he barks outdoors I bring him in. So now I think he knows that if he wants to stay where he is, he'd better keep his mouth shut!

I think that if you always bring him in immediately after he starts barking, he'll learn that he has to be quiet if he wants to stay outside. They're pretty darn smart dogs. The key is consistency.