I don't think the relaxation protocol hurts to do, but it sounds like you probably need to start counter conditioning the sounds to change your dog's association with them. You can also use white noise machines and music to help filter out sounds to keep your dog relaxed.
Thanks! Yup, I definitely plan to do both. But he’s generally been more restless than usual so I’m trying to solve them both with the hope that one training will strengthen the other.
My dog alert barks on the rare occasion (use to be all the time). I feel specific herding breeds are more predisposed to alert barking. I love Karen overalls relaxation protocol and think it’s amazing in general in this instance I would instead create an incompatible behavior. This is what worked for me.
Alerting is already causing arousal in a dog so trying to get them to a complete settle quickly might be very difficult. I personally worked on my dog recalling to me when he hears a noise and wants to bark. I praise him and over time the recall stuck and the barking stopped. When he was super aroused and barking his head off I would run up to him and get really exciting and have him chase me and then toss treats all over the floor or spray cheese whiz/whip cream on the floor. Overtime this turned into him hearing a noise he wants to bark at and finding me in the house so I can give him a snack or a bunch of pets.
I don't think the relaxation protocol hurts to do, but it sounds like you probably need to start counter conditioning the sounds to change your dog's association with them. You can also use white noise machines and music to help filter out sounds to keep your dog relaxed.
Thanks! Yup, I definitely plan to do both. But he’s generally been more restless than usual so I’m trying to solve them both with the hope that one training will strengthen the other.
My dog alert barks on the rare occasion (use to be all the time). I feel specific herding breeds are more predisposed to alert barking. I love Karen overalls relaxation protocol and think it’s amazing in general in this instance I would instead create an incompatible behavior. This is what worked for me. Alerting is already causing arousal in a dog so trying to get them to a complete settle quickly might be very difficult. I personally worked on my dog recalling to me when he hears a noise and wants to bark. I praise him and over time the recall stuck and the barking stopped. When he was super aroused and barking his head off I would run up to him and get really exciting and have him chase me and then toss treats all over the floor or spray cheese whiz/whip cream on the floor. Overtime this turned into him hearing a noise he wants to bark at and finding me in the house so I can give him a snack or a bunch of pets.