Over the past few months, my wonderful puppy has decided that he enjoys barking just to bark. He is selective when he barks, which happens to be mostly in the car, out the window at people who are usually jogging, on bikes or motorcycles. However, do not let this fool you, as he is NOT limited to just barking at these things… often times he is barking at nothing at all.
Now, when I say he likes to bark in the car, what I really mean is he likes to bark when I am in the car. He has only recently taken to barking when I walk away from the car, such as to go into the post office to grab the mail, as a way of telling me that he wants to come along. However, if I happen to be inside for a while, he will just lay down and settle until I come back out and get in the car again. Once inside and I turn on the key, it is like I am turning his barking ability back on. My vet said I need to learn to ignore him instead of giving him attention when he does this so that he will get the idea that he won’t get attention when he does it. This is easier said than done.
I find it difficult at times to correct him as he often makes me laugh with his silliness. He is a great dog and I am so fortunate to have one who is as well behaved as he is/and he is becoming. I had talked to another owner of a NWFT who told me her dog barks all the time. I am fortunate that we are working out the barking issue with Ramsey, and eventually he will get beyond this stage as he has done with the various other stages.
One a side note: He is still a very strong chewer and we give him bully sticks as a treat every once in a while, and these keep him chewing for a few hours.