Some dogs are very vocal whilst others may never even bother barking, even if a whole team of burglars entered the house, so it's very much an individual thing. However, barking can be kept to a minimum even when a dog is by nature, very noisy.

Firstly, although you say that Merlin has been to puppy training, you don't say for how long, or what he learned whilst there. Some puppy classes are simply places where puppies play together, and yet others are more structured. In any case, a puppy needs more than just a puppy class; he needs to be acquainted with lots of things in the outside world, until he no longer reacts to them. This familiarisation should continue well into the dog's second year - and beyond, if necessary.

No one single solution is going to prevent Merlin barking at things which stimulate him, and that is sometimes made worse because he lives in a rural area. That is, everything that happens is exciting, so he barks. Dogs that are brought up in towns and cities rarely have this problem - they are familiarised with everything every time they go out of the house.

What makes it worse is that in country areas, there isn't a continual hum of traffic and people, or hustle and bustle; there is usually virtual silence, which is then intermittently interrupted by something really exciting - noise, movement, voices, etc etc and in a way is magnified because it's usually so quiet.

It's not possible to give any dog complete access to the house and garden and then expect him to control his own behaviour. What Merlin is doing is perfectly normal in the absence of any sort of rules or boundaries.

However, what to do?

I'm going to draw up a brief list of basic rules - I call them management techniques. They won't silence your dog at a stroke but they will help. It will take time to produce a quieter dog.

If you buy dog chews make sure that they are the largest you can find. I buy a pack of ten of the largest I can find, and my terriers spend time chewing and can't pull bits off and swallow them.

Most importantly make sure that you are both in agreement about how you are going to tackle this problem. Inform your neighbours that you are aware that there is a problem, and that you are working on it. There are no quick fixes, and you will need to be very patient.

Debbie G

A: Hi Helen,

I'm awfully sorry but your query made me giggle! It sounded very much like a chapter out of a James Herriot book! However, I do know how embarrassing this can be as my own Border, Rooney, can be quite vocal when we stop the car. Sometimes it's a question of keeping things to a minimum rather than stopping the behaviour all together.

Actually it's quite fascinating. Your Border has associated the sound of the indicator with the fact that your car is manoeuvring, which could mean that you might be about to stop, or at least make a break in the journey for a nice walk. Dogs learn in lots of ways, but mainly by 'association' and by 'reward'.

Your Border has associated the indicator with something rewarding 'a walk' or at least getting out of the car- which of course she enjoys. Thus, she gets very excited, and her excitable behaviour is reinforced by the reward (usually) of a walk.

I always suggest the use of a crate in a car when a dog is travelling, because the less they can see, the quieter they are. For my own dogs I use those 'airline approved' travelling crates which have solid sides and tops, which of course means that the dog cannot see too much. They are sometimes called 'Vari Kennels'. You could get your dog used to the kennel prior to putting it in the car, and build up a good association by giving her something to chew and occupy her whilst in the kennel.

You could also spend time sitting in the car, with her in the kennel/crate, when you are not going anywhere, and switch the indicator back and forth, but only if she has a really tasty chew, or a stuffed Kong, for example. The chew should be something that is completely safe.

If you have read through the previous answers to problems you will have noted that reacting to noise only reinforces the dog's behaviour. As difficult as it may seem, it is imperative to keep quiet, otherwise you are giving your dog feedback for the very behaviour that you want to stop. Don't even turn round and look at her, or mention her name.

In addition, take your Border out with you when you will not be stopping for a walk. One or both of my dogs accompany me when I go out in the car quite often, but they don't always go for a walk. If you're lucky, this may teach her that car travel isn't always an exciting prospect.

However, older dogs take much more time to learn, and as an eight-year-old, your Border will have put in plenty of practise!

Squirty water bottles or any other aversives are always a complete waste of time. At best they distract - and then the dog carries on with whatever it was doing. And at worst they can frighten some dogs -which oddly enough can be mistaken for 'good behaviour'. My Parson Russell Terrier would love to be squirted with water as she adores water in every possible form -she even tries to get in the shower with me!

I can't guarantee results, but you may gain some improvement if you put the above into practise on a consistent and regular basis. Don't give up, even when it appears not to be working, just keep going, and stay patient!

Debbie G

Many people tell me that their dogs aren't interested in food rewards or toys when outside the home. Make no mistake about it; this is the issue to work on before you can even begin to resolve the problem.

It's far too easy to go along with the dog, and just give up. Make a point of training your dog to be absolutely bonkers about food and / or toys. You will need to aim for your dog to be completely obsessed by both -or at least one.

Dogs don't generalise very well. What they learn in one area, they find difficult to repeat in another area -especially if they have fear issues in that area. Also, dogs cannot concentrate on food or anything you have to offer if they are stressed or fearful -we would feel the same in similar circumstances.

One of the things I teach in all my classes on the very first lesson is how to get the dog to focus on the owner. Without this focus a dog cannot be trained. In other words it's no use talking to the back of a dog's head as he is barking/lunging/attacking other dogs -or indeed doing any of the stuff that we owners wish they wouldn't do! And, as you have seen, once a dog has all his focus on the other dogs, there's not much you can do about it.

Food treats can vary in the way that they appeal to dogs. Basic doggy food treats (e.g. Coachies) are very tasty (I'm told!) and most dogs will focus on them in many different circumstances. But if that dog highly distracted, for whatever reason, you might as well be offering him a handful of buttons.

I use 'high grade' food treats, for times and circumstances when a dog is likely to be distressed or distracted. 'High Grade' simply means something that the dog doesn't get in other circumstances, and that his highly palatable. Examples could be: cubes of cheese, chopped sausage, chopped liver/bacon/chicken -but go easy on the liver as it can have a laxative effect.

The training for food treats has to begin at home. Also you need to check that your dog is eating a bland, high quality, complete diet, e.g. Hill's Science etc. Feed your dog twice a day, and remove any food not eaten after about ten minutes.

Dogs that have food available most of the time aren't always interested in food as rewards as they are usually 'topped up' with food anyway.

You will need to transfer this 'food' training to many other areas, gradually adding various other distractions. In the meantime, I suggest you walk your Border in quieter areas where there are fewer dogs, until you have more interest in food treats -indeed an obsessive interest in food treats!

Most people believe that dogs who behave like this need to be further 'socialised' with other dogs, but it's not quite that simple, and forcing the dog to face up to other dogs can be far too confrontational, and indeed can have the reverse effect.

Walking your dog in quieter areas will help the stress hormones settle, and give you both more pleasant walks. The idea is, that if you do see another dog you will need to switch your dog's attention to the food rewards, and ask him to run through a series of behaviours, e.g. sit, down, sit, watch, find the treat, etc. etc. but it's still early days.

Also, you would need to do this with every dog you see, not just those that your Border reacts to. A very definite association will need to be built between the appearance of another dog and food rewards/alternative behaviour.

You will also have to leash your dog, because you can't train or interact with your dog once the behaviour has begun and he's off lead. Just don't give it chance to happen. If you want to stop a behaviour -then teach another one instead- that's the plan!

This problem is really too detailed and involved to try and resolve in a single written answer. I'm happy to support you if you would care to email me privately with updates.

In the meantime, the above information will get you started, but it will take a lot of input and consistency on your part to keep it going, and make it successful.

Debbie G

Hello Debbie

A few weeks ago I asked your advice about Ben's aggression and while awaiting your reply I employed a dog trainer, told him I didnt want him scared and bullied as he is fear aggressive.  Well on the first (expensive)session he alpha rolled him!  And stupid me I agreed a second session, where he attached a spray collar and used it.  Ben just ran away with fear all the way home.  I was so scared re-traffic and whether he would find the way back.   I almost ran up a 150-metre hill (am knocking on a bit so not a good thing) to find Ben waiting at the gate.  Then on for 20 minutes the trainer told me how it was all my fault and that I should walk him where he would not know his way home.  He practically called me a liar when I told him Ben's recall was always good and it was him using such methods that was the problem.  I also asked him for his plan as Ben was worse after that; he didnt have an answer.

Am now much poorer and much wiser.  I sacked him of course.  Now I am using your method as it makes sense.

I tried hard to find food to interest him when outside and it'ss sausage so I practised indoors for ages both with the sausage and with excited "sausages" word.  I have tried him outside with mixed results, finding the sausage greasy and hard to handle so I went back to smaller treats.

Today I walked Ben through some woods where we met a few dogs.  I put him on his lead and kept it loose; we passed them with no probs bar an alsacian bounding past us and he barked just once.

Now for the best bit: at the last field before we go home two black labs exercising themselves while owner sat on a stile came up to us.  Ben LOOKED at me then LOOKED again and again till we were out of range and I didnt ask him to; he just worked it out.  HALLELULIA!

So many thanks; I think we are on our way to a result

Victoria

I regularly scan the Internet, reading websites advertising various trainers both in the UK and internationally. Sometimes what I read makes me despair! For example one training kennel advertises the fact that they guarantee results. In my experience one cannot guarantee anything in this life, let alone the outcome of behavioural modification for a difficult dog. And if they guarantee results, how are they achieving those results?

Hi Caroline (With Sydney and Cecil),

I'm not able to give a complete response to your very detailed letter, as there are far too many points to address -and as you say it would be good if you were closer then I could see the dogs in question and talk to you over a period of several weeks.

To begin, I'm going raise a few serious and pertinent points, so please indulge me:

At ten months old, Sydney needs one to one training and attention. It isn't fair to expect him to behave in an acceptable way without any input from you. In addition having two dogs together means that behaviour can deteriorate, in the same way that having two toddlers can be more demanding than having just one! Plus of course, the behaviour of the older one invariably degenerates to the level of the younger one.

Pulling on lead and weaving from side to side can be addressed by using suitable (and humane) equipment and lots of input from you for a considerable period of time. By humane equipment I mean a Gentle Leader Headcollar -or other well fitting headcollar, and an ordinary lead and not a couple.

Regarding choke chains, it's not the fact that I'm "anti". That would indicate that it's simply a matter of my opinion. There is much hard evidence to suggest that choke chains are actually harmful to dogs, whether they are 'jerked' or not. That is a recorded fact. Ordinary collars do not in fact break hairs around the dog's neck, although they do probably flatten the hair.

However, that's nothing compared to the invisible damage caused by choke chains.

I have three terriers, and I believe it is my responsibility to prevent my dogs going to ground. Yes, I know they're terriers, but if we take that line, it's

tantamount to saying that we can't prevent any breed from doing what it was originally bred to do. Would this therefore apply to the fighting breeds, or perhaps less worryingly also to the dogs who we are told, 'go off on a scent'?  Or the herding dogs .etc. I could say more, but I'm sure you get my drift.

Moving on, and to clarify, I suggest that you walk your dogs on separate leads, and as often as you can walk Sydney on his own, for training purposes.  It sounds like a Gentle Leader would help a lot, but that doesn't mean that both dogs need to have them; it's up to you.

You can prevent Sydney weaving from side to side, by taking control with the lead and steering him to the place where you want him to walk. You will find more detailed instructions on my website:

At some later date (probably much later!) you could try them in a couple, but if you find that the behaviour of both of them deteriorates, then you will have to put separate leads on them again. The behaviour of an unruly/untutored dog almost always affects the behaviour of a dog who is a little more well mannered.

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, and they also come with different personalities. Because your previous Borders were easier, it doesn't give you the experience needed to cope with a more demanding Border.

What triggers the behaviour is immaterial. It's what you do about it that is important. If you read back through some of my previous answers you will hopefully find hints about how to gain and keep your dog's attention regardless of distractions. Using food is the best way forward, and some adjustments to diet may be required for reward based training to succeed.

Also, it needs to be remembered that food should be phased out as the dog learns. (Please email my personal email address for further details if your dog is not responding to food rewards: Debbie@positivedogs.co.uk)

Although it's difficult to explain in writing what to do, the best I can say is that you should teach both dogs to 'sit' on command, a thousand times a day, until the 'sit' happens all the time. Reward each sit with food, and do it intermittently, perhaps when the dog(s) least expect it. Keep them engaged, and focussed using the food treats in a pouch attached to your belt. Do this on walks, at home, in the garden, on visits to friends and relatives, etc etc etc.

However, it will take time, persistence and patience for this to work, and you will need to keep going, even when it appears to be making little progress. The idea is that you can stop, when other dogs go by and get your dog(s) to 'Sit' and keep an eye on you. It does work, but I can't emphasise enough the amount of time and patience that you will need. And of course, this is

not a complete solution, but it's the way to move forward and actually do something constructive.

Regarding citronella collars, my own view is that they are less than helpful. There are so many negative sides to them. They are expensive. In my experience they have been known to go off with any sort of vibration or movement. And of course dogs can simply get used to them. The problem is, they offer the usual 'instant fix' which always appeals to dog owners! I've been training dogs for over thirty years and haven't yet found one single 'instant fix' one that works on a long term basis.

Re castration: I have no problem with that, and neither should you. Castration is not an instant fix, but can have a calming effect on a dog, which in turn makes them more amenable to training. It is by no means any more drastic than having a bitch spayed. Go ahead.

And in conclusion (!) all dogs have a gear change at maturity. They are no longer puppies, and no longer adolescents. They are adults, hence the change in their behaviour. It's then a case of what you see is what you get, some of which can't be changed because character is inherited. Although dogs can be 'trained' we can't alter their inherited dispositions, but we can contain, control, and most of all, love the dog for what it is, and not what we'd like it to be.

Debbie Gillard

www.positivedogs.co.uk