Casey barks too much at the dog park

[caseysmom]

I took casey to the dog park yesterday and she would not hush up. She never barks at home but at the dog park she is downright obnoxiuous.

This man was throwing a ball for his dog and she just stood there barking till he would throw it. I could tell everyone was getting annoyed with her.

Any suggestions, I did try to distract her.

[BC_MoM]

I'd like to watch and see what kind of advice you get.. Molly can get pretty barky, too and you cannot redirect her attention.

[IRescue452]

Autumn barks for a good 10-20 minutes after we get to the park, but its a dog park so I let her. Is this her first time?

[lv4dogs]

I have this problem with Kaige, but Kaige only barks when he runs with the other dogs at the dog park. I notice that he barks even more when we bring Indy with us too.
Indy barks a lot at the dog park too, but she only barks when she wants you or someone else to throw a stick or ball or the like. We can stop that by making her obey a command before throwing the object. But she barks at others too when they are about to throw something. Unfortunatly most of those people think it is "cute" and are not any help when it comes to teaching her NOT to bark. We try our best (and do an ok job at it) by keeping a very close eye on her. If we see her spy someone who is about to throw an object we call her to us where we can re-direct her behavior.

What I do is try to re-direct his attention. Although Kaige is usually great with distractions, the dog park is a whole 'nother story. I think he knows that it is the dog park, that he is allowed to play with all the other dogs there and be his crazy ol' self. He thinks he can ignore me at the dog park a little bit more so than any other place.
But he does have a great recall (it is 100% anywhere but at the dog park his recall is about 98%, 100% if you have to call him twice) so I usually end up telling him to "come". To keep the word "come" fun I usually start playing with him, or running in the other direction. If he has not barked so much that he caused any aggravation with the other dogs then we return back to the dog park after a short time, just enough to let him cool down some. If he made other dogs nervous, barked a LOT, or didn't listen very well I tell him to come (play or pets to keep the word "come" fun) and put him on his leash and we usually walk away from the park. Again I let him cool down some and if he caused any problems I do a short obedience session with him away from the park. (he NEVER intentionally causes any problems, just some dogs do not take a barking dog in a friendly manner).
I NEVER allow him more than three time outs. IF there is three time outs, our third time out is to leash up & go home. (rarely happens but it has 2-3 times, usually though it is because there is a dog there who is a little more unruley than most dogs).

Autumn barks for a good 10-20 minutes after we get to the park, but its a dog park so I let her.

Although Kaige barks because he's having fun and in NO way would actually cause any problems I would LOVE to let him bark too. BUT it is a dog park and there are other dogs there. You have to be considerate of other peoples dogs to make sure it continues to be a fun, happy place. You'd be surprised at how many dogs are not sure how to handle a barking dog and even though your dog may be having fun it might make other dogs nervous and may cause one to be afraid or even aggressive. Therefore it is not "proper dog park etiquette".


I'd love to hear other people's suggestions. Although we do a great job controlling his barking I would like to eliminate it all together. (I think that would be tough to do but it might be possible).

[caseysmom]

Casey has gone to this dog park off and on for 3 years. The problem is they are moving the dog park and upgrading and it will be closer to homes so the woman that runs it says we need to work on all the dogs barking.

It is pretty obnoxious when she just barks non stop.

[Husky15]

Casey has gone to this dog park off and on for 3 years. The problem is they are moving the dog park and upgrading and it will be closer to homes so the woman that runs it says we need to work on all the dogs barking.

It is pretty obnoxious when she just barks non stop.

I agree. But the people at the dog park and the lady have to realize this is a park for dogs. Dogs bark. It's what they do. If she has a problem with that she shouldn't put a dog park so close to homes. Sure it's only out of respect to keep your dogs from barking but people are supposed to be the smarter ones, so personally I don't think this lady shoulda moved the dog park so close that the people in their homes would hear them.

[Alasse]

A constantly barking dog is an annoyance and here all dogs are not permitted to bark excessively. They can be trained to not do it.

My dog barks if strangers are around but if he goes on and on, i repremand him, he stops. I don't like excessive barking and i do not believe anyone else should have to listen to my dog (or any dog) going on and on

[VTJess03]

I've been working with Belle and her constant barking too. While it's not a dog park issue (we don't actually have one close ), it's a nuisance anyway. She mostly just barks out the front door at anything that moves (mostly people on the sidewalk going past or squirrels). If it's more than just a soft 'whfff', I make her come to wherever I am and lie down (at least briefly), and if she's right up again to go to the door, I tell her 'no'. It seems to work, as long as I'm home anyway. I don't know if she acts like that while I'm gone...good thing I don't have any close neighbors right now.

Also, we've been going to 'school'...our current course is on footwork (for the people) and attention (for the dogs). The first lesson on 'attention' involves (1) sit-stay, (2) getting a treat in your hand, (3) getting the dog's attention on the treat, then bringing the treat up close to your eyes, (4) saying 'look' or 'watch', (5) sliding your hand slowly down against your body, which makes the dog focus on your hand, (6) then working up the time so that the dog's attention is focused on you for longer and longer, all while in sit-stay. You also then teach a release command, so that they know that they can go play. The idea is that when you use the command 'look' or 'watch', the dog will turn and look you in the face to see what's coming next. For me, the problem isn't necessarily that she's barking, it's that she's not paying attention to me when I ask her to. It's a more chronic issue than the barking alone in our case.

[caseysmom]

Alasse,

What exactly do you do? I am thinking maybe I should get a squirt bottle?

[Alasse]

I have used a spray bottle...but i mainly just use my voice...he knows when i mean business...when he is doing something he shouldn't be or his attention is , say on another dog.. I make a load deep gutteral 'ahhhhhh' and tell him to 'come' or 'leave it' depending on the situation..and he knows to continue on that path means trouble

I can't say enough about obedience schooling, basic commands are a must, specially as i have a large not overly friendly to strangers dog that without it would be a menace to people and difficult to live with, i personally never have or will use food treats for training...

I am boss and he knows it.