Last September, my boyfriend and I took in a 1.5 year old toy poodle, Mudd. His original owner was rehoming him because her new place didn’t allow dogs. We didn’t know the owner (an acquaintance of a coworker), so we don’t know much about the dog’s background. We should have asked more questions. That’s on us.
The first few hours after we got him home, Mudd was fine. He was quiet and laid back. Seemingly out of the blue, Mudd started barking at my boyfriend (Chris) every time Chris walked into the room. It was a new environment and new people, so we didn’t think too much of it. We knew there would be an adjustment period with the 3-3-3 rule and all.
We’ve spent the last seven months or so trying our best with lots of positive reinforcement to get Mudd to stop barking at Chris, but it doesn’t seem to help. I’ve also upped his exercise and overall enrichment out of concern that it was because he was under stimulated. We’ve taken him to the vet, and they weren’t able to find any underlying health problems. We thought some anti-anxiety meds might make him more receptive to training, but they did not. No matter what we do, Mudd won’t stop barking.
Chris comes home? Mudd barks. Chris enters a room? Mudd barks. Chris is hanging out in another room of the apartment? Mudd will now go into the other room just to bark at Chris. You get the picture.
I don’t know what to do. I love this little dog, but we can’t get the barking to stop. Does anyone have any tips?
The first few hours after we got him home, Mudd was fine. He was quiet and laid back. Seemingly out of the blue, Mudd started barking at my boyfriend (Chris) every time Chris walked into the room. It was a new environment and new people, so we didn’t think too much of it. We knew there would be an adjustment period with the 3-3-3 rule and all.
We’ve spent the last seven months or so trying our best with lots of positive reinforcement to get Mudd to stop barking at Chris, but it doesn’t seem to help. I’ve also upped his exercise and overall enrichment out of concern that it was because he was under stimulated. We’ve taken him to the vet, and they weren’t able to find any underlying health problems. We thought some anti-anxiety meds might make him more receptive to training, but they did not. No matter what we do, Mudd won’t stop barking.
Chris comes home? Mudd barks. Chris enters a room? Mudd barks. Chris is hanging out in another room of the apartment? Mudd will now go into the other room just to bark at Chris. You get the picture.
I don’t know what to do. I love this little dog, but we can’t get the barking to stop. Does anyone have any tips?