"Plus, I am not sure how to actually get him to bark on command. Do I have to be right next to him when he is barking and mark/ reward?"


If he alert barks now, and the only problem is to stop when outside, then IMO teaching "bark" isn't necessary. You have bark, and you even have quiet when commanded indoors. Right?

RIGHT!!!

Then teaching "bark" isn't something you need for any reason, unless I'm missing some glaring fact. lol

What I would do is the "I checked and it's OK" routine both places (indoors and out).

You say he has a good "quiet" indoors. How does it work?

He gives his warning, I check, tell him it's OK, he looks at me and then relaxes. UNLESS, the threat continues. Such as a new dog, someone lingering too long etc.

Right now he is barking at someone, they continue on he stops. If I go out, he comes to me , I mark/reward for coming and stopping the noise.

I guess what I'm looking for, is remote control off!! LOL!

 Quote:

I guess what I'm looking for, is remote control off!! LOL!

Carol, you mean yours doesn't have the little volume dial on the right side of the ear?

 Quote: Carol Blumlein

He gives his warning, I check, tell him it's OK, he looks at me and then relaxes. UNLESS, the threat continues. Such as a new dog, someone lingering too long etc.

Right now he is barking at someone, they continue on he stops. If I go out, he comes to me , I mark/reward for coming and stopping the noise.

I guess what I'm looking for, is remote control off!! LOL!

IMO, you want to go every single time, and you want him to learn to look to you for his response after the alert bark. What he is learning now is that if he barks, they will go away. What I want my dogs to learn is that if they bark, I will respond and decide if all is well, and when I do, they must stop.

I think you're on the right path (if you want what I want), but sadly, there is no shortcut. Ed has a comment in an article (I forget which one) about a taught house behavior, and how you must respond to every infraction, "whether you are in your comfortable chair with your favorite TV show starting or not." Consistency now will pay off forever.

I can often even pre-empt now (like when I hear the UPS truck) by saying "lawn guys!" before he even gets out of his truck, but this took a long time of responding to every alert, OKing and rewarding, and carrying on with something else (re-focus) in the beginning to demonstrate clearly how my OK means the trigger is not worthy of attention.

Am I making sense? I think I need coffee .... I keep getting tangled in sentences.

I understand quite well. Get off my @#%& no matter what!! I will definitely try to be more consistent! Thanks

 Quote: Joyce Salazar

 Quote:

I guess what I'm looking for, is remote control off!! LOL!

Carol, you mean yours doesn't have the little volume dial on the right side of the ear?

Hahaha!! Let me know where I can purchase one? Or do they come that way?

Keep us posted, Carol. This is a such a universal issue!

Things are very quiet today. But one thing I was thinking about. What happens when you are not home?

I have been asking my neighbor if there is excessive barking. We'll see.