# Constant Barker



## YorkshireDeano (Oct 2, 2013)

Hi all,

Back again with our latest issues. 

Norman is a barker. If he's in, he barks to go out. If he's out, he barks to come in. This is becoming very challenging.

Norman is also a chewer. Leads, walls, his bed in his crate and a £2k sofa. We have to leave him muzzled when we leave the house now which I hate however can't leave him for fear if further house destruction. 

Having worked through various other issues with Norman, these latest ones are pushing my wife to breaking point (my wife is slowly winning her battle with depression)and unless we can calm Norman somewhat I fear we'll have to re-home him. 

Please don't preach to me. I'm desperate to keep Norman and work hard to improve his behaviour so that he becomes the family member we wanted. I'm looking for constructive feedback as I've received before and NOT criticism. 

Cheers
Dean


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## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

Hi Dean

Norman is around 7 months right now yes? This can be a challenging time, although you can make it through it. 

You'll need to continue to exercise him daily as well as up his training - tire him out. Try and teach him new things and take him to new places to explore. You'll likely need a long check cord in order to do this training, as this is around the age Norman is realizing how big and exciting the world is, and there are better things to do than listen to you! Try tapping into his instincts and do some hunting drills with him - retrieve, direction work, nose work, woahs, heels, stay/come. 

As for chewing, have you tried re-directing him to his toys to chew on? 
Do you crate him when you're home/not home? At that age, I would crate him when he can't be supervised. If he's eating the bed in his crate - then no bed for him. 

Is someone outside with him when he's barking to come back in? I bet that he's barking b/c he wants you or someone there to play with him. Vizslas want you to join them in the fun! 

Good luck. Things do come together eventually!


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

How old is Norman? Both of mine dogs were very destructive when left alone - I can't even list everything that they've destroyed. They have pretty much outgrown the chewing now, but I still don't leave them alone in the house. I have been leaving them for short times alone in the house to see how they do and so far they've been good - so I'm hopeful the destructive days are behind us. If Norman is still young, then he'll most likely stop chewing when he gets a little older. It sounds like you don't crate him, so if you are going to leave him alone in the house I would suggest keeping him contained to a certain area that has been dog proofed and give him toys to chew on - that way he won't destroy the house. 

For the barking - how much exercise is he getting? My guy Cash is very vocal in general, but if he hasn't gotten enough exercise he he will bark a lot - he'll bark at me to let him outside, but if I just put him out and don't go out with him to play and burn off some energy then he'll sit at the door and bark at me. Vs are high energy dogs and a lot of times the negative behavior that you get is because they have pent up energy or they are bored. Lots of exercise is the key - if you wear them out either physically or mentally then you are going to have a much happier dog (which will lead to a much happier wife  ).


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## riley455 (Aug 27, 2011)

Hi Dean,

Regarding the chewing, I would suggest (kitchen or den area) to get him in an area that can be closed off to the rest of the house. Only give him access to all when there is someone to supervise him.

My two vizslas (Riley and Kobe) are in the kitchen when I'm out of the house. I had all kitchen(the ones they can reach) cabinets installed with locks and even the stove (just like baby proofing). And i leave them with plenty of chew items such as deer/elk antlers which they love. I also give them marrow bones at times but these are very high in fats .

I train my Riley to leave things that I don't want her to chew and she's been really good but I have not let her the run of the house especially if I'll be gone for more than 4 hours.

On barking, does he do this even if it's not toilet time? I think he should have things inside the house that should keep him busy when it's not time for either his walk/run or toilet time. Perhaps others can chime in on this?


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Sounds like Norman is a normal teenage V.
Not yet past the chewing stage, and demand you be outside with him. My backdoor is open right now, so the dogs can come and go as they please. 
In his dog way, he is telling you to go out with him.
They will learn you will not play the out and right back in game, if you don't give in to them. But it does take time.
Rough Tuff crates hold up better than any other dog crate I have seen on the market. He may need one while you are working with him.
The stress of a teen age V can be a trying time. It can be hard on a person to constantly supervise a heavy chewer.
Most of the time I would suggest keeping the pup on a lead and in the same room with you, when not crated. Mental work along with exercise to get past this stage.
Clicker training is one of the easiest to mentally challenge a dog. 
With you not wanting to put more stress on your wife, have you considered a daycare, or a dog walker to give her a break. You could also send him to a vizsla birddog trainer for a couple of months. They are wonderful at working with teenage dogs.


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## YorkshireDeano (Oct 2, 2013)

HI all,

Many, many thanks for the above. Really useful info here. 

So - We've started to muzzle Norman when I go out to work (I'm home based but spend a lot of time away from home) so he should be not chewing anymore. There's plenty of room for him here. I don't want to crate him through the day as he's been in his crate overnight and that feels bad from my point of view. He has the run of the kitchen/diner/playroom which is very large so can have a good old trot (or full speed hurtle if the mood takes him).

I'm hearing the walk him lots piece however have avoided that as when he went to puppy classes, the trainer (who was excellent) advised that lots of walking when young can breed an athlete!! I'm guessing an athlete Vizsla is a serious handful! 

The other issue I have with walking him is his point blank refusal to listen to me. he'll often run away or constantly avoid me while harassing some smaller dogs that don't want to play or more scary hassle bigger dogs that could (and have) warned him off with aggression. 

The barking outside is a valid point. He's wanting attention. We were at my mum's yesterday and my 3 year old daughter was outside playing. Norman was a happy boy to be near her.

That said, there's some great advice here. I'll try him on his lead tonight. Luckily, I'm at home today so far and he's fast asleep behind me in my office. 

I'm hoping to get through this stage as he's a wonderful dog. just a little testing at the moment!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

On the trainers viewpoint on walking them.
Yes, gradual increase in exercise will lead to more endurance. But a 30 minute off lead run twice a day will not make a marathon runner. These dogs do need daily exercise, and mental stimulation. Without it they become frustrated and destructive. It will be hard to get past the teenage stage, and move to a well balanced adult without it. They stay stuck in the frustrated and destructive stage. With all the new fangled training aids we have at our disposal, a 15 ft. light weight rope (check cord) with a clip is still the best thing to use for recall while out walking a pup without a short leash on him. He will never learn how to interact with other dogs, or recall with distraction if its not taught.


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## hcrowder (Dec 26, 2013)

As someone that works away from home my Vizzy is crated at night and while we are gone in the day. She has a dog walker and gets tons of interaction with him and other dogs while we are at work (at a minimum she gets 2 hours of attention during the work day). I don't feel like she is crated too much but I understand where you are coming from. Penny is only 4 months old but she goes into her crate fine whenever we need to put her there and it is a safe space for her to hang out when we are not at home. She definitely prefers the crate to being muzzled. She has her toys and a kong to play with and she is quite happy there. You might want to try it for an hour and see how it goes. 

As for the chewing, have you tried bitter apple spray? As soon as Penny goes to chew something we spray it with the bitter apple spay and she immediately stops. She hates the taste. It didn't take long before she stopped chewing the rug/walls/etc. You can spray almost anything but it doesn't last more than a few hours so you have to respray until they learn to stop. It was a lifesaver for us. 

Good luck.


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