Whenever I answer my phone, my four-year-old Labrador starts barking. He refuses to stop until I hang up and play with him. What can I do?
- Shreya Rai
May be he overheard your parents or spouse complaining about you spending too much time on the phone and decided to do something about it? Jokes aside, your underlying problem and solution are both hidden in your question itself.
Dogs love attention. Cuddling, sweet-talking, playing, yelling or shushing – it is attention and they do what they do to get this attention from us. Do not confuse love with the attention seeking behaviour. Attention seeking behaviour is not an acceptable behaviour and definitely needs to be corrected. He has learnt that if he barks and annoys you when you are on the phone, you will ‘respond’. In your case, you drop out of your call and divert your full attention to him. It doesn’t matter even if you yell at him. You are giving him what he wants and he knows that. He has probably even figured out that you are more likely to pay attention to him when you are on the phone than at other times and this is his chance to strike gold.
While he has figured that out, you have reinforced this bad behaviour by rewarding him with your attention.The best way to correct this behaviour is to not give him the attention that he seeks. Ignore him completely when you are on the phone. If needed, walk into another room and keep him out. Even if he throws a tantrum, ignore him. He will eventually give up. Set up mock phone calls so as to desensitise him of the phone rings. Boredom also triggers such behaviour. Make sure he is well exercised.
Engage him both physically and mentally. Spend quality time with him so that he does not long for your attention. Reward him if he settles down and relaxes when you are talking on the phone. This way, you will encourage the right behaviour while discouraging the unwanted ones.A good basic obedience training will help as well. Consult a professional trainer who can help you with this.