Zoe's barking

Another bad habit -- besides shredding things -- that Zoe developed as a result of being an outside dog was barking to get attention. Her owner told us she used to bark at rats at night, which probably resulted in her owners telling her to stop, or even bringing her inside to her garage crate, which is probably about the only interaction she ever had with her owners.

Most evenings, Zoe will bark inside the house -- to get the other dogs to play with her, or to get one of us to engage with her. I also think her barking is partly anxious; she is not used to being inside a closed space and having so much contact with humans or other dogs.

Regardless of the reason, it is an undesirable trait, particularly in an older dog. As her foster, I am not obligated to ensure that she is perfectly behaved before she is adopted. However, I am obligated to disclose to her adoptive family any behavior issues they will need to work on. Very few adoptive families will want to take a dog that has a barking issue. If she continues to bark too much in her new home, the risk is high that she will be returned, which is something no rescue wants.

So although I am not obligated to correct her barking problem, the reality is that her chances of being adopted are slim unless we get a handle on it. The good news is that she shows no signs of aggression. I tested her by backing her into a corner while she was barking and she just acted confused.

We have tried strong corrections -- grabbing her by the back of her neck and pushing her to the ground -- and ignoring her, and a loud clap when she barks to deter her. Nothing produced lasting results.

So I was really dreading this weekend, anticipating two days of trying to correct her barking, with no opportunity to work off her nervous energy because it was pouring rain.

Saturday started off with the usual periodic barking. The corrections were not working, as usual. I had tried one other technique -- spraying her with water -- earlier in the week, and she had barked right through it. I decided to try it again.

The first time I sprayed her, she kept barking, but I decided to persist. I got right up in her face and sprayed. Some got in her eye and it stopped her. I praised her for stopping.

This happened a couple of more times. Both times I had to spray her a lot -- until her whole head was practically dripping. But it only took a couple of seconds, and she stopped.

For the rest of the day, when she thought about barking -- there is usually some recognizable lead-up to it -- I looked at her and told her "No barking" and picked up the spray bottle. She stopped!

Normally, her time when we are home is very loud and destructive. We had a very good day yesterday. After awhile she started carrying a ball around, which kept her mouth busy and quiet. That's a perfect adaptive technique. She also was calmer overall and had several hours where she just rested quietly, which has pretty much NEVER happened before, except for bedtime.

I'm encouraged!