Q: For about the last year and half we have had a purebred (but not registered) Corgi which was given to us because the former owners' son supposedly became allergic to the dog. Our problems are: First of all we work all day long and keep the dog in the kitchen, with the doorway to the dining room blocked with a mesh gate, but I make sure that I keep the radio on low for her. When she is put outdoors, she barks constantly -- the neighbors have complained about her. When she is indoors, she barks when you are on the phone, when the dishwasher is going (she attacks it and gives herself a bloody nose), she barks at the coffee pot when it is turned on, the ice maker in the freezer, and when she hears the bird, whom she cannot see.
Needless to say, we are getting quite aggravated with this barking. But, we do not want to get rid of her, at least I don't want to. Any suggestions would be appreciated. The electronic collar was suggested, as was spraying binaca (mouth spray) in her face every time that she barks. These things I DO NOT want to try, but it is getting unbearable.
She seems to be hyperactive. Wills he ever grow out of this? And lately, she has started taking her dry food out of the bowl and throwing it in the air and then taking her bowl and throwing it in the air. Thanks for any suggestions that you can supply us with.
A: She may be bored. Corgis look like small dogs, but really they are only short dogs! They were bred for a very tough job, herding cattle -- not sheep, cattle! They are short in order to be able to duck under the hooves of the cows who kick at them for chasing, barking and nipping at the cows' heels!
See a pattern here? Good for you, getting her inside away from disturbing the neighbors. Also get into training class with her. Corgis tend to excel in training, being super smart dogs. Then you can start applying your training at home to situations like the dishwasher.
Once she will reliably come to you when you call her in quiet situations, you work your way up to being able to get her to come when she is overexcited, like at the dishwasher. You may need to toss something to the floor near her to startle her for just a second and distract her from the dishwasher attack. Then call her to you in a really happy voice. Praise her when she gets to you.
After the praise, you can give her a bunch of petting, or whip out a treat and give to her. Do not show her the food until AFTER she has come to you and you have praised her, so your recall command will not become dependent on your having food.
After the reward, release her. If she goes back to barking at the dishwasher -- or anything else -- just interrupt her again, call her again, praise her again, then either pet or give treats again. Be totally happy to see her, big praise and reward, don't be mad because she went back to barking. You may have to repeat this 7 times in a row at first!
But over time, you will be calling her off the barking fewer times before she stops it, she will calm down a whole lot about it, and you won't be creating any new problems along the way. When a dog barks and we yell, we are "barking," too! In some instinctive way, that can make the dog feel that barking is the way to react to whatever that stimulus was, even though you are "barking" for the dog to stop it!
For the phone, can you take it into another room and shut the door as soon as the dog starts barking? I accidentally discovered with my dogs that this made them start being quiet when I was on the phone, because they didn't want me to leave the room! But even from the very start, you get to talk on the phone in peace!
Work on getting this dog interested in chasing and fetching a tennis ball. You could divert a whole lot of this energy into the ball. My dog who was such a barking maniac before I did this training will now pick up a ball and hold it to control her own barking, after I've called her just once!
If you want to consider an anti-barking collar, the citronella may be a reasonable choice. Binaca is too much of an irritant to spray on the delicate mouth tissues of a dog. I sprayed it into a cat's mouth once in a misguided attempt to manage bad breath, and she took off like a jet plane, foaming at the mouth!
Dogs don't foam quite as easily as cats, but I still would not do it. Citronella collars spray a lemon scent that dogs apparently really hate. If you can't get her to stop going after the dishwasher by calling her off it or confining her outside that room when it's running, the citronella collar may be a reasonable thing to do to stop her from injuring herself.
As a herding dog owner, the food and food-bowl tossing cracks me up! She is obviously just amusing herself with that one. You've had her a year and a half now, so perhaps she is old enough to have more run of the house than the kitchen. With more room to scamper around and play with toys, she might obsess less on the kitchen appliances. The bird could be a problem though. I don't think I'd give her access to that room without a whole lot of observation first.
Corgis are smart dogs, and this one could be a trainer's dream. If you do decide not to keep her, go to the AKC web page at http://www.akc.org and find the breed rescue contact person for her breed. I expect they can help her to a new home. That is, if the original breeder is not willing to help. Even though she is not registered, if she is a purebred Corgi, she's "family" to the rescue folks for the breed.