Question: Our 8-year-old cattle dog has picked up an annoying habit over the past year or so. Whenever the phone rings, she starts barking like a crazy fool. No idea why and I cannot get her to stop until of course the phone is picked up. Oh wait, it gets even better. When we say goodbye to whomever is phoning she starts to bark again, only for a few barks but still, what do I do? — Rick
Answer: I see this kind of behavior a lot in South Florida, where many people live in gated communities and high rises. The dog associates the ring of the phone with the arrival of visitors and begins to bark from excitement.
Sometimes, dogs bark when owners are on the phone so they can get attention from the owner. Barking is generally pretty effective at getting the owner’s attention in this situation, because owners will do anything to keep the dog quiet when they are on an important phone call. Still other dogs bark because the sound scares them.
The key to fixing your problem is twofold: Ignore what you don’t like and reward what you do like. The easiest thing to do is to try ignoring your dog completely. Don’t even look at her. Walk away and put a door between the two of you if possible, until you are completely done with your phone call. Her behavior will initially get worse, so don’t be surprised at this.
Then, during the next three days, it should start to decrease and be completely gone in two weeks. If she doesn’t respond to extinction (ignoring), you can try counter-conditioning her.
Counter-conditioning is pairing good with bad. Call your phone from your cell phone and each time the phone rings, toss small treats to the ground at her feet. Continue to do this many times over a couple of weeks until her anxiety about the phone ringing is gone and she just expects a treat instead of barking.
Dr. Radosta
Lisa Radosta DVM, Diplomate ACVB
Florida Veterinary Behavior Service
PO Box 210636
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421-0636
561-795-9398
www.flvetbehavior.com
Read more articles by Dr. Radosta | Ask her a question
Source: http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/pawshere/2011/08/05/annoying-dog-habit-barking-when-phone-rings/
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