Silent treatment for barking turned my chill pup into a baseboard destroyer

Tbh, the whole 'just ignore them' trend for attention barking backfired hard with my dog, Milo. I followed all the online tips to the letter, but after a week of zero response, he started stress-chewing my door frames like they were treats. One evening, he barked nonstop for 45 minutes, and when I finally caved, I found a huge chunk of trim missing. Imo, this one-size-fits-all advice ignores how some dogs, especially rescues, read silence as rejection. I switched to redirecting with a toy or quick walk, and his anxiety dropped almost instantly. Yeah, it's unpopular to say ignoring can fail, but seeing Milo relax proved that flexible methods work better. Lol, now I trust my gut over generic training mantras.

4 comments

4 Comments

quinnr586d ago

My cousin's dog had a total crate training meltdown and shredded their living room carpet. Idk, maybe it's just me but strict ignoring tactics can backfire with sensitive pups. They started using puzzle toys instead and the destruction stopped almost overnight.

sam_ward53d ago

Yep, exactly this. My old dog was the same, he'd panic and chew the crate bars. We ditched the tough love approach fast. Started stuffing his meals into frozen Kongs and using a snuffle mat, and it was like a different dog. Sometimes they just need a job to do, lol. A tired brain fixes a lot of problems.

avery_flores176d ago

Honestly that part about sensitive pups is so true. My friend's border collie would totally freak out in the crate and chewed a huge chunk out of their door frame. They switched to using those Kong wobbler feeders for meals and it was a total game changer. The dog just needed to burn mental energy, not be locked down. It's crazy how fast the chewing stopped.

joel8846d ago

Totally get that. A pal of mine had a husky that would howl nonstop in the crate and eventually dug a hole in their drywall. They started using puzzle toys for all his meals and the behavior just stopped. Like, the dog needed something to do with his head instead of just sitting there. It's proof that one size doesn't fit all with training.