We have a fabulous female Brittany. She is almost five years old, very smart, obedient. For her first two years of life, she got to ride in the car when it was time to pick the kids up from school. We used an alarm on an iPhone to remind us that it was time to go, and every time the alarm sounded, our pup reacted with enthusiasm.
Fast forward five years, and with all of the gadgets making noises in our house, she becomes unsettled every time one makes a sound. She can be fast asleep, but if someone gets a text message, a Snapchat or (less often) a phone call, she's immediately up looking for the appropriate response.
Any advice? Other than getting rid of all electronics, while tempting, isn't a workable solution. .
Thanks in advance.
Need some advice to un-teach this behavior
Re: Need some advice to un-teach this behavior
To me it would depend on what her reaction to the alerts is. Is it something easy to ignore, like trotting into the room with tail wagging, or something super annoying, like going ballistic with barking and spinning circles. Dial up your response appropriately.
You could try to desensitize her by getting you all together and text/message/whatever every couple of minutes, while ignoring her antics. Or, when she reacts tell her "Uh-uh", "nope" or "enough" or whatever while you go about your screen time. You will have to not use any/all generic alert sounds to queue your dog about getting into the car. Limit it to one specific sound or your verbal queue.
At my house, we rarely use our front door, only for going out to sit on the porch and very occasionally for anything else.. In the good weather months we porch sit a couple times a day while allowing the dogs to doodle around in the front yard (apparently some kind of big treat in their little pea brains). So they tend to get stirred up when we go near that door. When the weather turns bad it takes them a while to figure out that opening the door no longer means front yard time for them...takes maybe a week of "nope, enough" for them to relearn ignoring us going to the door.
Good luck. Isn't it something how hope springs eternal with dogs?
You could try to desensitize her by getting you all together and text/message/whatever every couple of minutes, while ignoring her antics. Or, when she reacts tell her "Uh-uh", "nope" or "enough" or whatever while you go about your screen time. You will have to not use any/all generic alert sounds to queue your dog about getting into the car. Limit it to one specific sound or your verbal queue.
At my house, we rarely use our front door, only for going out to sit on the porch and very occasionally for anything else.. In the good weather months we porch sit a couple times a day while allowing the dogs to doodle around in the front yard (apparently some kind of big treat in their little pea brains). So they tend to get stirred up when we go near that door. When the weather turns bad it takes them a while to figure out that opening the door no longer means front yard time for them...takes maybe a week of "nope, enough" for them to relearn ignoring us going to the door.
Good luck. Isn't it something how hope springs eternal with dogs?
Re: Need some advice to un-teach this behavior
I don't think there is an app for that. Sorry I just couldn't resist that in the electronic world we live in. Mute as many of them as possible. Then hopefully she will start to ignore the rest.