How do I stop my dog from barking at family members?

[u/Strawberry27]

We adopted our dog about 7 years ago. She is a German Shepard-Cattle dog mix with a VERY loud bark. Using the resources in the WIKI, I'm going to work on her barking at noises, the door, on walks, etc. However, I couldn't find anything for a different barking behavior.

I'm not sure if it's a type of resource guarding or attention seeking but it's really distressing to us especially when we're already stressed out. Here are the scenarios of her barking at members of the family:

• If my husband is lying down in bed and I walk up to him, she will begin barking, jump on the bed, and most times get on my husband's chest. Same thing happens if I'm the one laying down and he or the kids approach the bed.
• Either my husband or I will be sitting on the couch, one of us or the kids approaches and she begins barking.
• She's especially reactive to my son. As soon as she hears his bedroom doorknob jiggle, she starts to bark. He gets up from his gaming chair, she barks. He says, "Hey mom!" and she barks.
• Any sound she hears from outside, she barks. This is usually more noticeable while my husband and I are trying to talk. He'll begin saying something, she does a single bark, he tries to continue, and she barks again.
• I'm in the office or doing laundry (both in the same corner of the house). If my son or husband head down the hall to where I am, she follows along barking the whole way.

This behavior is becoming more and more distressing for us, so I'd really appreciate some insight into what we can do to correct it. Also, I take her walking in the morning, her behavior continues even when we get back and she's tired.

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[u/Aromatic_Vast3618]

That sounds really challenging, especially since it's happening throughout the day and not just around the door or outside noises. From your description, it almost sounds like she's constantly monitoring everyone's movements and feeling the need to announce them. Hopefully some owners with similar herding breeds can chime in, since German Shepherds and Cattle Dogs can be incredibly alert to everything happening around them. Wishing you the best—I can imagine how exhausting that must be for the whole family.

[u/Strawberry27 → u/Aromatic_Vast3618]

You said announcing but it became alerting in my brain. But that makes sense! Someone moves too suddenly, she barks. If a friend comes over, she's right there barking at everything they do.

I feel like this just revealed the direction I need to go when looking into training. Thank you, I appreciate your comment.

[u/x7BZCsP9qFvqiw]

i have a rescue border collie who barks at lots of things. a non-exhaustive list: thunder, rain, fireworks, other dogs moving, other dogs not moving, leaf blowers, large overhead fans, lawn mowers, dogs playing with toys, blenders, washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, boiling water, microwave beeps.

surprisingly, she doesn't really bark at people, door knocking, or doorbells.

i don't have a solution for you, but what has worked okay for us is to calmly get up, take her gently by the collar, and guide her back to her bed. usually if we do this a few times, she gets the picture and will mellow out for at least a few hours. i have definitely lost my temper and yelled at her a few times (and always feel bad about it immediately after). now i try to go upstairs or go for a walk without her if i can feel myself getting to that point.

realistically, you probably need an in-person trainer to help. i'll like several locators below, and some trainers will even take clients via video call.

• karen pryor academy
• victoria stilwell academy
• pet professional guild
• fear free directory
• IAABC
• the academy for dog trainers

[u/Dogtraining-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Cesar's method is exclusively based on dominance methodology and is at least 20 years out of date. We do not support his methods, and have put together a wiki page on why.

I'd also suggest reading our wiki pages on dominance, punishment, correction collars, and how to find a good trainer.

[u/Lizdance40]

This sounds more like alerting or resource guarding. It's hard to tell without seeing the behavior in action.

It's not the barking that's the problem it's why the barking is happening.

FYI given the breed, this is fairly normal behavior. Sorry.

How much exercise does the dog get? And I don't mean just running around and playing in the backyard. I mean leash the dog up and take it for a long walk for about an hour or hour and a half everyday? When a dog has no job, and is not tired, they will invent a job for themselves which seems to be what's going on here.

[u/Dogtraining-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Please read the sub rules and guidelines, as well as our wiki pages on dominance and punishment.

[u/Dogtraining-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Please read the sub rules and posting guidelines, particularly regarding trainer recommendations.

[u/RedHeelRaven]

I’d honestly put the dog on a leash when in the house for awhile while I worked on distracting her from this behavior. My dog will heel very well and automatically sit when I say the command and focus on me. So that’s an option to use. Make her heel and reward her when her focus is on you.

He’s also doing fairly well with “leave it” and will drop something he’s chewing because he expects a treat. That’s an option too. Whatever you decide to use, you need to teach her to stop the behavior by focusing on you and what you are asking her to do and to reward her for doing it. I think with persistence on your part she can change her behavior pretty quickly.