Barking PONS

Excessive barking is a popular point of discussion among PON owners PONS bark for a variety of reasons: out of boredom, warning, lonely, fear, communication, to get attention, it is fun, etc. Barking is a problem that can be changed with if you are consistent and diligent.As soon as your PON stops barking, you need to reinforce the stopping of barking with a treat and praise. No puppy is born knowing commands. You have to teach him that each command has an action and if that action is done, good things will follow. Positive motivation is a great training technique! Be careful not to inadvertently praise behaviors you do not want. Comforting a barking dog can give the dog the impression you like what it is doing.

Provide training scenarios. Have someone ring the bell or knock. Call the PON to you and have him escort you to the door. Ask "Who's there?" "Check it out!" or whatever cue you decide to use. Go to the door, have the dog sit and then have him stop barking. Praise and treat the stopping of barking. Teach him that when you get to the door and check out the situation, he can be quiet. Be consistent, be positive and be responsible. Practice several short sessions a day and the dog will eventually learn what you want. Stop undesired barking as soon as it starts. You can try several things. First, identify why your dog is barking: Lonely, alerting you to something, fear, bored, aggression, etc. Knowing the trigger or triggers is an important part in working towards a solution.

Toys, games, training, interaction all go a long way to help a bored or lonely dog. A tired PON is generally a better behaved dog. Boredom and loneliness can lead to other undesired behaviors as well. Get a number of toys like Kongs, safe chew toys, Buster Cubes, etc., that will stimulate your PON's mind and get him doing something. Obedience lessons, Agility or other sport as well as just playing ball will help. Do not leave your PON unsupervised while outside.

Some PONS are avid barkers and intervention with a trainer may be needed if home training does not work, you cannot find the source of the barking, etc. Sometimes just having a trainer or behaviorists watch your PON can help give you ideas. Often we cannot see the forest for the trees and we need an outsider to look at a situation in a different light.

Advice to help with PON barking:

A few things you can do are:

* Train from day one what will and will not be allowed. Remember, some PONS are more prone to barking, but any PON can be a nuisance barker.
* Teach a command that lets the PON know you want him to be quiet like NO BARK or ENOUGH.
* Offer your PON Obedience training.
* Sufficient exercise, proper attention, mental and physical stimulation are important A PON that gets what he needs mentally and physically is less apt to be a problem barker.
* Try to find the trigger of the barking such as children, other dogs, strangers,etc. .
Good luck and please keep us updated on your PON's progress.