I have a two year-old female Boxer named Amber and a six year-old female St. Bernard named Crystal. My question is regarding the Boxer, Amber. Whenever my husband and I sit down to eat dinner, watch TV, or when company comes over, she incessantly barks at us. She doesn't want to play with her toys and nothing can distract her from this barking. We try to correct her in a deep tone, but she only gets crazier; i.e.. jumping up, biting our clothes. From reading your book, it seems that she needs a motivational correction, such as her training collar. As of now, we do not leave it on her, except for when she is being walked. Should she be wearing the collar when we are home and she's in the house at all times? Can you please make any suggestions to correct this behavior so when we want to relax or have guests over, it's pleasant. She gets plenty of exercise and tons of attention. I'm not sure what to do. Thanks in advance!!



Christine

Dear Christine:

Remember the section on the pinch collar? And the emphasis I placed on how you will teach your dog to become, "collar-smart" if you only use the pinch collar during walks?

Remember the part about consistency and how the dog MUST receive a negative association with ANY unwanted behavior? And how just saying, "NO!" without attaching an association to the word will NOT produce any results? If not, please go back and re-read... it's in there!

"But Adam... the dog has since eaten the book! Please just give it to me, plain and simple!"

Okay... here it is: Your dog must be wearing the pinch collar and the tab ANYTIME you are with her. If you were a canine rather than a human you wouldn't need the pinch collar as you'd just go over to your dog and give her a nip on the neck.

Let's recap: When she barks you need to tell her, "No!" and then give a firm tug on the leash. If she continues to bark, then either:

- Your correction didn't have any meaning to her...

Or...

- She's testing to see if you're going to correct her for barking THIS TIME just like you did LAST TIME. If your correction is motivational then you'll only need to do this two or three times before the problem stops forever.

That's all for now, folks!

Adam