However, I've always hated the sound of dogs barking, and I didn't realize before I had this little bundle of joy in my house that the Pekingese breed is known as the “barking breed”. Oopsie!! For quite some time my family has been working with Peekaboo’s barking habits. He barks when a car drives by, he barks when somebody comes to the door, he barks when a squirrel farts . . . (and sometimes I think he’s barking at ghosts..). After being consistent yet having no results with the “tsh tsh” a.k.a the shushing technique or nudging-for-distraction technique, I was exhausted and beyond annoyed. Mostly at my fluffy little sausage. Just saying, giving voice commands“ no!” “no barking!” or my daughter's favorite “ Peekaboo SHUT UP!!!” really didn’t do much either, accept get my daughter in trouble.
One day while researching the history of the Pekingese breed, it dawned on me, the Pekingese was bred to alert the emperor that someone was approaching in ancient Chinese times. So basically Peekaboo’s purpose in life is to alert me (The Empress) if someone is approaching! What a great dog! I decided to try a new approach the next time the barking ensued. I simply walked up to him, he paused barking, and said “ thank you peekaboo, thank you for letting me know” and I'm not kidding you, he stopped barking! When I realized his barking was truly in his ancestral DNA, my energy around it shifted. It didn’t bug me as much, and he was “heard”. We came to an understanding. Now his bark is a quick alert and he stops.
Animals have much to teach us if we slow down and pay attention. I encourage you to learn something from your dog today, you may be able to nip an annoying habit in the tail!