Advice on incessant reactive/nervy protective barking needed please!

anneR

Hi everyone, I have a nearly 3 year old male bully who is a loveable, well rounded, (mostly) obedient dog. He's a typical EBT blockhead...stubborn as a mule but a happy goofball who loves people and other dogs. I've recently (a couple of months ago), moved in with my partner who has a young Ridgeback and luckily they adore each other. However, over the last 6 weeks my bully has developed what seems like a nervous barking tic...hearing something (that neither we nor the other dog hears) and rushing to the door barking to go out. Sometimes it's a fierce protective loud bark, where he's desperate to be let out to chase whatever it is he thinks he heard, and other times he'll be laying down relaxing and start doing a little lazy half bark, which then escalates. We put it down to new sounds/surroundings at first, but it's actually got worse the more settled he is. It's like he gets on hyperalert, and then over and over starts the barking to go out which he can't shake off. We've tried soothing him with love, and also with a firm NO, and sometimes he gets yelled at simply because it's the only thing that snaps him out of it, but nothing is really working. We think it's probably a protective instinct, probably for his new brother, because before I moved he never barked at all, except at things like feathers and moths! I hate to yell because he's a sensitive little soul, but we're at a loss what else to try. Our nerves are frayed and the other dog is confused/anxious with all the barking and disciplining going on! Wondering if anyone has any advice what to try, or has had a similar experience that maybe just resolved itself in time? Thank you!

Brooklyn

Did you try training this behavior out with dog whistle/silent whistle? It could help to destruct him from been fixated on the noise, and also could be used as a recall command. The sound should not be associated with punishment but with something very desirable like a super-good treat or playtime.

anneR

We haven't tried a whistle for this but we used to use one for the dog I had growing up for recall. I'm hesitant to use one in this situation simply because at times the barking is happening so often (every few minutes when he's on a roll) that I feel like using the whistle then giving him a treat or playing to distract him isn't really an option. I'm also afraid to overuse treats because he's smart and I don't want him catch on and realize that if he barks he'll get a treat!

JParanee

`you will be thankful If someone ever tries to break in that someone is paying attention

The slightest RV noise that is not normal especially bass from a surround system sets all my dogs off

I don’t yell at them I show them nothings there and turn down the tv