Our 2 year old cockapoo is very anxious and we have had trainers/behaviourist advice; no matter what we do she is obsessed with barking loudly indoors and in the back yard, upsetting us and neighbours. She is wound up with all the foxes running around here and all other noises. She barks at birds, leaves, the wind, anything. We are desperate for any advice to help her stop barking and being so anxious. Thank you ❤️
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This is exactly what I was facing with my Japanese spitz, she could bark for hours long to anything. A friend advised that we reschedule her feeding, exercise routine and also take charge of the environment whenever she felt anxious.
By taking charge it means being calm and not screaming at the dog. Screaming at her will confuse her into thinking that you're either also barking at what she thinks is a threat. When she barks, call her out with authority, don't pet or show any affection towards it. Increasing her walking or exercise routine helps her get used to the environment and also wears her out which helps her focus more on resting than being on the look out for non existent threats.
The feeding pattern helped keep my dog balanced in that, when it feeds, it goes to sleep and as the food is wearing off, it focuses more on play time and by them time play is done, it is hungry and all its attention is on food.
The trick is wearing your dog out by increasing exercises to walk off the excess energies, showing that you're incharge of the environment and also being able to calm her down when she feels anxious.
Benson Okello
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