14 Week Puppy Barks in Defiance

by Karissa
(Austin, TX)

Our little guy is 14 weeks old, his name is Auggie, and he is an angel one minute and the devil the next. We're noticing a few issues with him - specifically when it comes to barking and following commands.

We've gated him in the living room for potty training issues (we have an open kitchen/living room concept) and if we are in the kitchen and not behind the gate in the living room with him he barks like crazy. We ignore, we've tried special shooshing tricks I've found on here and nothing works. The only thing that works is eventually he gets tired (after 30 minutes or so) or if we go upstairs. It seems like he's okay with being left alone, but he's pretty mad if he can see us and we won't let him on the other side.

The other issue is sometimes he goes berserk and does the whole nipping, barking, jumping, craziness I've seen other Aussie's on here do. When I say "no" or ignore him by turning my back he persists. In fact when I try to have him sit or stay he will actually just look me in the eye and continue to bark in my face as if he is telling me "no" right back. The only way to stop it normally is just leave the room, but when this happens in a public setting that isn't easy to do. He'll also sometimes do this to other dogs which stresses me out because not all pet owners are used to his Aussie way of playing.

Any advice on how to control barking and the craziness in either scenario?

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