A reader in Mar Vista wrote: “What can I do about a 6 month old male puppy who barks at neighbors and others he sees from our backyard? He barks constantly when he’s outside, and nothing we’ve tried has worked. We’ve been hoping he’ll grow out of it.”
Dogs rarely “grow out of” nuisance barking. He could be bored, excited, or distressed. He could be claiming his territory, alerting his pack, or just trying to get attention. You can make changes in any of those behaviors, but unless you block as much of his view of the neighbors as you possibly can, the incentive will still be there. Making a behavior “stick” when the reward for the previous behavior doesn’t go away, is many, many times more difficult.
There are a variety of ways to address this, but first you want to manage your environment in such a way that it maximizes the effort you put forth to train your puppy.
In this case, managing the environment is as easy or as difficult as blocking your dog’s view of the thing(s) that stimulates them and causes barking. That could mean closing a curtain or moving a sofa away from a window; planting bamboo or shrubs next to the fence; hanging a well-placed sun shade or strategically placing a couple of patio umbrellas. There are any number of ways to create privacy in your yard, some you might already have at home
After you block you dog’s view to the extent you can, think about a water fountain, or a wind chime or other “white noise” to mask the sounds already associated excitement. Above all, when you catch your dog in the act, distract and instruct, don’t punish or scold.
Aversives (water spray to the face, bark collars, electronic fences) can have unintentional consequences in the form of new behaviors you hadn’t anticipated (dog becomes terrified of water, of the backyard, dog panics when left alone, etc.).
Watching quietly.
Teach a dog what you want before punishing for behavior you don’t want.
Variety in the Dog’s Diet
A reader in West Los Angeles wrote:
Deal on chicken breasts
I feed my dogs as many different animal proteins as I can, for the same reason I seek a wide variety of foods in my own diet. Feeding the same food for extended periods of time conditions the bacteria in the gut to be sensitive and become hostile (diarrhea, vomiting) towards unfamiliar food.
The irony in the “only feed 1 (dog) food to your dog. EVER” philosophy: Look at dogs living on the edges of human life, anywhere. They’re scavengers. That’s why they hang around. They’re designed to recycle what they find on the ground.
All of which suggests to me, it’s as unnatural for dogs to live on a single protein or food source, as it is for me.
I feed every protein source I mention in Raw (Food) Deals. Not all in the same week, or even the same month, necessarily. Which protein the canines eat for the week depends on what’s in the freezer, or what’s on sale. I buy in bulk, then defrost as needed.
$5 for (boiled) chicken thigh meat vs. $7 for 2 cans of "premium dog food"
Until the day I’m able to source & feed 100% pastured meat, this is the safest food supply I have access to. It’s cheaper than premium kibble or canned, and many times cheaper than prepared “raw diets.”
As for mixing proteins, I mix protein-based kibble with other fresh meat proteins all the time, and haven’t detected a problem. I imagine processed protein in the gut is likely treated very differently than fresh protein.
I rarely mix fresh meats in the same meal because I’m rarely feeding 2 types at one meal, and make it easy on myself by feeding everyone the same meal, proportionate to weight. I make exceptions if a dog has been consistently intolerant of a protein. 2 dogs out of around 100 have shown a consistent inability to digest chicken. Several dogs have been reactive to chicken, if it’s fed frequently, but tolerate it fine otherwise. Same for eggs.
For 12 years I’ve fed a minimum of 4 dogs, sometimes 9 – 12 in a day, including a huge variety of breeds, sizes, and 8 weeks to 16 years. What goes in comes out, so I experience an equal sampling of canine digestive processes (read: poop). People who feed their dogs a whole food diet tend to pay a lot of attention to poop, as it tells the story about how a food is tolerated in an individual. I can’t recall an experience where mixing proteins made a difference.
Individuals show taste preferences, but on the whole, visibly benefit from a fresh protein based diet, preferably with the dental benefits of raw, meaty bones. If you can get them to eat fruit & veg, all the better, but they don’t process cellulose (plant fiber), as I understand it, so it’s advisable to cook most vegetables or grind them. The pulp left over from juicing is supposedly good, too. Vegetable tolerance is high, desire to consume, not so much.
Simone & Sheila, The Veggie-Bulls
Then there are dogs like Simone & Sheila, 2 Pibble sisters I’m fostering, who I call goat bulls! They line up at my garden fence for spinach, artichoke, asparagus, chard, lettuce, oranges, certain grasses. They LOVE their protein, but can’t wait to forage on my garden bounty, too!
Aside from the proportion of processed food in the diet, in my experience, the biggest difference in how tolerant dog guts are to change is directly proportionate to the amount & variety of whole foods going through them on a regular basis.
I can change kibble or protein, or introduce a novel food source without a transition period, and without complications in my pack, because the diet changes frequently, and the gastrointestinal tract is accustomed to processing many different molecules.
As long as the ingredients are suitable for human-consumption, you’re doing the very best you can with what’s available, IMO. FYI, many products made for dogs, including some of the most expensive kibbles, raw mixes, and treats on the market, are NOT from human-grade ingredients.
Happy Feeding!