Hi All,

I have a lovely CKCS that is an adolescent (1 year and 6 months old). Since day 1 of bringing him home as a puppy he has been barking whenever we walk towards traffic lights and main roads where there’s high traffic.

The puppy trainer told me to buy Turid Rugaas’s book in barking behaviour, which I read from page to page and identified his barking from the list she outlined.

Nothing seems to be working to distract him or the counterconditioning that she outlined to reduce his barking.
He never barks at home or on route home. It’s just during certain times of the day.

Has anyone got any tried and tested techniques that may help?

Thank you!

Hi - sorry to read about your problem with unwanted barking.   I have no knowledgte of the book you mention so can't comment on that but what occurs to me is possibly not going on the route that produces this barking and/or changing the time you do go in that direction as it may be he's reacting to heavy traffic.   Can you take him somewhere quiet in your car - a local park or fields?

I would wonder if the traffic is hurting his ears?   they are quite sensitive little dogs and are prone to skull issues.   Certain pitches of traffic noise may be painful to him. 
if it is pain then no amount of training is going to stop him .
I'd find a different walk

I agree if u have been working on this since you had him I think I would avoid where ever possible places that will start him off.
I know it can be awkward I have a dog that can be reactive in some situations.  Inspite of mamy hours of training with experienced trainers I know avoid situations that could stress her and upset others.
So know nice walks ending in going for a drink as its not fair on any of us .

Do you think walking him in a snood might help? That would hold the flaps of his ears close enough to dampen any sounds, without making him deaf, and keep his ears warm and dry too.
I would probably try one if he was mine.

Your Cavalier is an adult not a juvenile.

Rather than treating the symptoms you need to find the cause.

When you first got your dog as a puppy, did you take him out in your arms so he could experience cars etc from the safety of your arms before starting to take him for walks ? Did you attend training classes & train him at home to loose lead walk & also learn to focus on you & not his surroundings.

It's possible you need to go right back to basics & reteach him.

I only had Cavaliers for 30 years alongside my other dogs & trained them all the same, the Cavaliers did get carried for longer tha my GSDs, not for behaviour issues, but they obviously didn't have the same stamina as the bigger dogs. All my dogs were trained at home, training clubs etc the same.

You may need a behaviourist to watch for your dogs barking triggers, so you can"train against them" & reduce the dog's reactions

(Syringomyelia & the Chiari Malformation do not cause barking BTW)

Good mornings KathrynK

Thank you for the guidance, noted, I will go back to basics and keep a diary.  He doesn’t have a loose lead walking technique yet when we are on route to the park. When we leave the park he will walk nicely, but on route to the park he wants to rush, he is like Usain Bolt, he wants to sprint to the location.

Carol Clark and Turid RUgaas both wrote that when a dog is from 6 months to 2 years they are a teenager. A adolescent.

I am not treating symptoms and ignoring the cause- please see the title Turid Rugaas. As mentioned counterconditioning was done via a dog behavior therapist . Which is a technique that identifies the root causes /possible unavoidable triggers  etc - this was via a dog behaviour that pretty much told me the same info in Turid Rugaas book.

Turid said there’s 5 different types of barking/communication.

Yes he attended puppy classes. He went to Tip Top puppy foundation school for the first 8 weeks despite that the barking continued. The dog trainer at the puppy foundation told me she cannot train behaviour issues so I was basically left to find another trainer after the course finished.

He is calm at home and the perfect behaviour.

For example,He will wait for me to walk up the steps in our home, when we get home from the park as opposed to bolting through the front door. He will sit and wait for me to go first like a perfect gentleman. He is so lovely when he is behaved.

But actually there as one trigger at home, the hoover. Whenever the hoover was turned on he would sprint away and hide. I managed to use desensitization to stop that. So he no longer has fear of the hoover and can be calm around it minus the stress/fear etc

Thank you for replying to my post.

I will go back to basics. It is difficult when there’s unavoidable triggers outside because I don’t know how to work around them. As in using different routes. Where we live is in the heart of London so there’s lots of traffic lights on almost all of the streets

Thank you

Good mornings MAmasbear yes,

When we travel by car he is fine and calm. It’s just the main roads and where he sees the traffic light.

For example. Yesterday I tried to slowly bring him towards a trigger and then go backwards.
He was so irate that he ignored the smoked salmon treats.

Also when we came to the traffic lights he wanted me to carry him. He really is very afraid of the junction and I’m unsure why because when we walk back home he is fine.

Fingers crossed. I will keep you updated with his progress.

He is a clever dumpling .

Good mornings Carole noted about the snood, yes I will try that this morning and note what happens. He does notice noises and also loud dogs.

I am a new dog mum so this is all very new to me and at first I thought this was negative. I think it’s a blessing in disguise, now I need to learn more about his body language and understand him on a deeper level.

I read that in Hawaii dog owners do not call themselves “owner” but  are called “Kahu” meaning they are the dogs guardian, protector. I want him to have the happiest life every day in his environment, including walking to the traffic lights etc 

I have tried to make the trigger traffic lights a fun experience, dancing and singing, sitting on the floor besides him with smoked salmon and grilled chicken, but he gives zero fluffs when the barking starts.

When he was triggered by the hoover the smoked salmon worked and he was so happy. When the hoover is on he now has a wagging tail and it took less than an hour to change that behaviour. But outside is like a different world to train.

Thank you all for replying to this thread. I really appreciate it.

Good mornings all, just a quick update.

I have changed the timings for my Ruby CKCS walk this week just to see if that makes a difference.

Also please may I ask if practicing “loose lead” walking indoors is pointless? Pointless because the distractions outside are completely different to at home.

Training starts with having no distractions, so that you are the only thing to focus on, this is why I train my puppies that walking with me is rewarding at home without the restriction of a lead, it means to get the reward the dog the dog has to be walking with me. I lure the dog by holding a treat just out of the dog's reach & reward when the dog is close

I use a clicker to mark the behaviour, so by the time my puppies are big enough to go out on a lead, they walk with me, because they know it's rewarding.

Teaching your dog to focus on you is important, this too starts without distraction

Kikopup has some on lead help

Noted with thanks KathrynK

Indoors he often does  focus on me but outside is too distracting for him. He  prefers to sniff around, pee, chase the squirrels and be everywhere but focused on his guardian (myself).

I will check our Kikopup YouTube and have just followed her Instagram page.

Hi Kathryn K I followed Kikopup via Instagram and sent a message with questions regarding the LLW and desensitization for my dogs barking.

No reply yet.

Is Kikopup a celebrity trainer that doesn’t reply to all?

> Is Kikopup a celebrity trainer that doesn’t reply to all?

I would imagine she gets thousands of messages, she's very popular. Best just look on youtube at her vast collection of training videos, they're really clear and easy to follow.

Noted.

She has a complication video on YouTube for a “one size fits all” Loose lead walking and confirmed within the video there is a 6 week course she offers. However the course is not listed thus my email.

I would rather do the course as my dogs loose lead walking outdoors is complex.

have you considered a live class?  kennel Club bronze course is very good for teaching owners and dogs how to concentrate on each other and ignore others

Noted . I didn’t know the KC offered such a course. Thank you for sharing.

I noted last month they held a very informative health event with a vet on BOAS that I attended.

Who should I email at the KC for the bronze course?

You  need to find a local dog training club that does the kc courses.  They go from foundation through to gold.
If u chat to others or Google dog training near you often u will find out about the places to go.
Have a chat with the club to see if they run them and also go and see how they train so you are happy with how they do things. You want a club who does reward based training
If u go to the kc website it gives you information but I dont think it actually directs you to clubs unless u missed a page. This is assuming that you arnt already attending classes with him if so start by asking there

Kikopup is brilliant . I didnt realise you could actually contact her as i always used it as  online information

In my area there are only two dog training Centres that are registered with the KC.

The first charged £125 for a 30 minute zoom call without any lessons

The second (where I took my puppy to for his foundation course ) is no longer holding workshops.  I think it might have something to do with the Royal Parks.

I will contact the KC directly to enquire.

ask your vets. they usually know who is doing training courses.  real life training in a room or park full of dogs is far more useful then books/computers

Hi weimed.

As mentioned above there are only 2 training centres registered with the KC within my borough.
The puppy foundation course was held outdoors (not online) however the dog school is no longer holding workshops.

The others operating in this borough have zero certifications and seem like greedy people overcharging dog parents. For example 400GBP per week for a 4-week course.

The whole sector needs better regulations. Too many iffy people.

kennel club course isn't only type.  talk to the vets and see whats around- even a ring craft class might be suitable as what you want to teach is concentrate on owner and behave in public

Would u be prepared to tell us which Borough u are in as those figures are ridulous unless we are talking residential maybe someone on here will know of a good one. People have asked this before with success
Many if not most clubs train indoors .hire chuch halls etc so the Royal parks shouldn't be an issue if i am interpreting that correctly
Google association of pet dog trainers as they usually do kc courses and are reward based  
https://apdt.co.uk/     I've forgotten the other but someone will come up with it

Hello,

Yes the figures are high and that's just a few. The Dog Hub had permission for the Royal Parks to hold classes in Regents Park- the same trainer quoted me 125GBP for a 30 minute zoom call excluding any classes. The Royal Parks no longer have them holding workshops in the parks. I assume complaints etc

The lack of regulation means anyone can charge anything due to the naive people that pay, the same as breeders that overcharge.

The previous trading school that I completed the puppy course/classes outdoors. Tip Top Dog School, unfortunately they are no longer holding workshops.

Thank you for providing the signposting I have contacted the KC and will email ADPT shortly.