Hi,
My name is Kim Sager rand I live in New York City.
I have a 3 year old Havanese named Bear.
I am hoping you can help me as I am new to the Havanese forum, and in need of some advice/help.
I am trying to determine if my dog has a barking problem, vs. him barking for good reason, or rather I should say normal dog reasons.
He barks because he hears noise outside our hallway in my apartment building. When we travel to our friends house, he barks at footsteps upstairs or footsteps coming down the stairs. It drives my friends crazy, and that is what I want to address mostly.
That said, he listens to me and my commands for the most part, He sits, he lies down and so on. He does not bark when the phone rings-he will bark at the buzzer, or front doorbell. He does NOT bark when I get off the elevator to come into my apartment, or when I leave.
I don’t think I will ever get him to stop barking if someone comes to the front door, or hears a noise. Am I right? I do not want to scold him when he barks to warn me.
Perhaps I can address the footsteps down the stairs? It does seem like there may be a protection issue, as I am to deduct that the reason he does not bark when I am not in the apt. with him leads me to believe he is protecting me.
I have also heard that Havanese in particular are “extremely ill-suited to harsh training methods” and am wondering what your feelings are on that subject.
I do not like to scold my dog for behavior that seems like “Natural dog instincts” as I’ve read that they should not be scolded for such.
The question is determining what these are, so that I don’t create a neurotic animal. Apartment living can have unique challenges, and I do not want to punish my dog every time he alerts me.
Going crazy when he hears a buzzer is something else.
I am hoping that you have some advice for me.
Thanks and kind regards,
Kim
Kim Sager
H 212 725 4773
C 917 407 8699
__________________
My name is Kim Sager rand I live in New York City.
I have a 3 year old Havanese named Bear.
I am hoping you can help me as I am new to the Havanese forum, and in need of some advice/help.
I am trying to determine if my dog has a barking problem, vs. him barking for good reason, or rather I should say normal dog reasons.
He barks because he hears noise outside our hallway in my apartment building. When we travel to our friends house, he barks at footsteps upstairs or footsteps coming down the stairs. It drives my friends crazy, and that is what I want to address mostly.
That said, he listens to me and my commands for the most part, He sits, he lies down and so on. He does not bark when the phone rings-he will bark at the buzzer, or front doorbell. He does NOT bark when I get off the elevator to come into my apartment, or when I leave.
I don’t think I will ever get him to stop barking if someone comes to the front door, or hears a noise. Am I right? I do not want to scold him when he barks to warn me.
Perhaps I can address the footsteps down the stairs? It does seem like there may be a protection issue, as I am to deduct that the reason he does not bark when I am not in the apt. with him leads me to believe he is protecting me.
I have also heard that Havanese in particular are “extremely ill-suited to harsh training methods” and am wondering what your feelings are on that subject.
I do not like to scold my dog for behavior that seems like “Natural dog instincts” as I’ve read that they should not be scolded for such.
The question is determining what these are, so that I don’t create a neurotic animal. Apartment living can have unique challenges, and I do not want to punish my dog every time he alerts me.
Going crazy when he hears a buzzer is something else.
I am hoping that you have some advice for me.
Thanks and kind regards,
Kim
Kim Sager
H 212 725 4773
C 917 407 8699
__________________