MAY 2022 Client Spotlight: Barley

Barley is fantastic. I met her in September of 2021 and we’ve been working on general obedience training. When I arrived to the first session, I found a sweet little puppy ready and willing to learn. She picked up everything very quickly and I was impressed with how much progress we made in one hour. Ever since that day, she has continued to blow me away.

One of the first things we worked on was learning to greet guests politely. Right from the get-go, we made her sit for everything (and we mean e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g). As a result of the owner’s consistency, Barley not only now sits for greetings but for her food, before getting on the couch, putting on her leash, and more. She learned that it was the only way. Dogs are highly intelligent and they learn very quickly what works for them and what doesn’t. Barley is no exception. Every now and then she surprises us with a new and funny behavior to work through but, for the most part, she is a completely different dog.

Fast forward to today, the behavior we most recently worked through was her habit of barking. The behavior didn’t start until recently and what’s most confusing, is that she barks when there’s nothing there. The owners first noticed it when she went out to potty. She was starting to have more accidents in the house and they were concerned that she was ill. After ruling out a medical problem, we focused behaviorally. To make a long story short, we ended up blaming it on a second fear period.

Barley participating in her daycare’s 2022 puppy bowl.

The second fear period happens between the ages of 6 and 14 months. During this time, a pup shows uncertainty or concern towards things we (as humans) may not realize. Barley’s owners said that as a young pup, she was afraid of the dark. Now that she’s older, she’s still afraid but has found her way of “testing the waters”. After getting outside, Barley barks to see if there’s anything there that will respond. Pretty smart pup, if you ask me.

We are currently teaching Barley how to check in more often for confidence and reinforcement. On walks, we use her name cue as well as “leave it” to redirect her. We are making progress but (as is with every behavior modification program), the progress is slow. The last time I worked with Barley, she was offering fluency inside and 80% success outside with treats. Her owners even commented they were ‘thrilled’ when she left the leaves alone.

All in all, I have high hopes for Barley but, just like every dog, continuing her training is important and staying consistent is crucial. There may come a time when she feels confident enough to go out on her own but, if not, I know her owners will be there to support her. I’ve really enjoyed training with this family and can say with confidence that they are my friends. Barley is a truly remarkable dog and I am so grateful to have met her.