It is my experience that there are times that my people, Mary and Tom, do not appreciate my barking. They do not understand the overwhelming need or the sheer joy of running around and barking.

For all the young puppies reading this, here is what I have learned about acceptable and unacceptable barking:  If you live along a waterfront, you will get praised for barking at the ducks, and geese to chase them out of your yard back into the lake. I am encouraged to chase the squirrels off of our deck, but I get yelled at for barking at them on the telephone lines. I still am not sure what the difference is, maybe it is just a crazy human thing.

Next, I can bark at dogs that try to come in my yard, but I am not allowed to bark or growl (this is a real social NO-No) at other dogs when they take me walking in the park.  I can bark at cats wandering in the neighborhood, but never am I to bark at the cats that live with me. Also, if I growl at my housemate cats for trying to play with a toy I like, I will definitely get in trouble.

I sometimes also get in trouble for extended conversations with other dogs on the boats that go by our lakefront home.  From what I can tell Mary won’t start ordering me to stop until I reach the fifth bark, which is usually right in the middle of my “How are you doing to….” greeting.

But, she will usually ignore my barking when people boat by and whistle and call my name or inanely make barking sounds at me. She knows that I am famous on the lake for my duck herding skills and that people want to see me run down our yard and out onto the dock. I usually put on a good show with a ten toe overhanging skid at the end of the dock. Mary thinks they may just want to see if I can stop in time.

It is definitely good barking when I alert them to strangers at the door, or if there are strange noises in the middle of the night. If someone I know comes to the door, it is only acceptable for one or two happy barks to say hello.

Part of why my people are so strict about barking is because they do not want me to disturb the neighbor. One of our neighbors has a yappy little dog that races along the fence barking, but I am not allowed to run and bark back.  It doesn’t seem fair. Mary and Tom also keep me inside when a neighbor  mows his yard because I can’t resist barking at what I think is just another thing to herd.

So, my hint to you is to reserve your joyful barking for when your humans are not home and the rest of the time try to follow their acceptable barking rules.  That way you will get more "good dog" pets and treats.