At the moment, Lucy is vigorously barking at the hose winder - you know those things you have in your yard that you can wind a garden hose around a wheel and then push it around the yard. My hubby left it out in the middle of the front yard and she is not accustomed to it being there. That's all it takes! A trash can she hasn't seen before, the wind blowing a leaf or anything that moves. I am hoping this is a puppy thing and she will grow out of it. Maddie is another story - at 14 she has become a delirious barker. She barks at everyone who enters our house no matter how well she knows them and she barks at every noise and of course she barks at Lucy and whenever Lucy barks. Yep that's right - they have bark offs and have to be separated to stop the barking. Now Beeger - the only male in the group, does not enjoy the barking and often hides under a pillow or blanket to get away from it. We frequently take shelter together.
What to do????? I have read about all kinds of solutions from bark collars to spray bottles and more. Right now with Lucy, I am trying hard to ignore it and hope that it will get better with time. I use distraction and removal from the object of her barking and that helps. From what I have learned, the more attention I give it, the more likely she will continue obsessively barking. My son has a Jack Russell that we believe is older -they rescued her and she is now completely blind. She was obviously severly restricted from barking when she was a young pup because she rarely ever barks. I want my dogs to be able to let me know when they are worried or upset but just within reason.
For now I will continue to remove her from the situation and use diversion and see how it goes. Regardless of the barking, she is a true joy and we love her to the moon and back. :-)
Oh and below is one of the article I have read on barking.
article on barking
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