SO, I've been doing some pretty intense training with our lovely Lucy-long-and-low Basset Hound and her CONSTANT barking.
I remembered back to living in Chicago with my beloved Springer. He was a puppy and was so well trained (by me) that he need not even a leash! Of course, he was a spaniel- not a hound. Two different beasts. But, when we moved into an apartment building I found he barked pretty often from the people leaving the bar next door all night. I use to calmly breathe myself and sit with him and when he would start barking I would do a very low "SHHHHHHHHH whisper". He seemed to pick up on the fact that "my" bark was the SHHHH sound, soft and low. He seemed to pick up on the word "whisper" being the word linked TO that shhhh sound. So, after much practice all I would have to say is "WHISPER" and he would barely make a bark noise at all. It looked like he was barking, but no real noise came out!
I've been doing this with Lucy and she seems to be SLOWLY picking up on this. I think Hounds are more difficult to train because it takes them SO MUCH LONGER to get it and usually humans just GIVE UP before it's taught! So, it seems to be helping. She certainly CAN whisper and she certainly IS putting it all together.
I'm so glad I remembered that little homemade technique! Maybe it will help someone else too?
we're still going NUTS on trying to house train her. baby steps, I suppose!
I remembered back to living in Chicago with my beloved Springer. He was a puppy and was so well trained (by me) that he need not even a leash! Of course, he was a spaniel- not a hound. Two different beasts. But, when we moved into an apartment building I found he barked pretty often from the people leaving the bar next door all night. I use to calmly breathe myself and sit with him and when he would start barking I would do a very low "SHHHHHHHHH whisper". He seemed to pick up on the fact that "my" bark was the SHHHH sound, soft and low. He seemed to pick up on the word "whisper" being the word linked TO that shhhh sound. So, after much practice all I would have to say is "WHISPER" and he would barely make a bark noise at all. It looked like he was barking, but no real noise came out!
I've been doing this with Lucy and she seems to be SLOWLY picking up on this. I think Hounds are more difficult to train because it takes them SO MUCH LONGER to get it and usually humans just GIVE UP before it's taught! So, it seems to be helping. She certainly CAN whisper and she certainly IS putting it all together.
I'm so glad I remembered that little homemade technique! Maybe it will help someone else too?
we're still going NUTS on trying to house train her. baby steps, I suppose!
