Hi everybody, I am new to this site and I hope to have found the right place to exchange some infos and tips about dogs.
I have two dogs. One Golden Retriever (11 months) who is chilled and easy going. And then I adopted another dog about three months ago. Even though she looks a lot like a black Border collie, she is a real Heinz 57. I did the DNA test with her and was surprised what kind of breeds they found..basically everything but Border collie.
Anyway, she is roughly one year old, was taken by animal control, ended up in a high kill shelter, was fostered and then adopted by me.
She isn't the most confident dog, but doesn't show any signs of physical abuse. The one problem I have with her is, that she barks in the following situations: other dogs playing, or wrestling... she barks, people outside our house, or coming in....she barks and is ready to attack (even though she has never snapped or bitten at this point) in the car (this is a new thing) she barks at pedestrians and motorcycles.
Strangely, she is a very calm and chilled dog in the house. Even when I leave her outside at times, she remains quiet. She is like my shadow, doesn't leave my side for even one second. She is extremely protective of me but loves my husband, kids and other dog! (even our cats)
I walk my dogs every day for at least 2 hours. Since we live in Texas and it is very hot during the summer, and there are heaps of snakes along the Bayou where I usually walk, I started going to the dog park on a regular basis. This is where I have problems with her. Whenever other dogs are playing, she seems overwhelmed and starts barking non-stop. As if she doesn't know what to do. LIke I said before, she is not the most confident dog, so I have never seen her bite or attack another dog...but she barks!! (Obviously she has never been properly socialized.) She doesn't play with other dogs either and is not the least interested in balls or other toys...which is really sad!!
Since she is extremely greedy and food-oriented, I started clicker-train her. So here is my million Dollar question: when she excessively barks and barks I usually klick with the klicker to snap her out of it. She quiets down immediately, comes to me and sits down. Now here is the tricky part...I give her a reward.
After this she usually starts right back where she stopped a minute ago.
Is the fact that I give her a treat (what I thought was a reward for being quiet) actually a reward for her barking???
I am confused, as I heard different opinions about this subject. I would love some advice here from people that have a similar problem. And just one more thing: I do not use shock-collars or any other devices on my dogs!!
