Are we finally tackling Cinnamon's barking problem successfully?

As many of you know, I have long been trying to correct Cinnamon's barking problem.

Cinnamon is a happy dog who loves people and dogs alike. But, perhaps because of her excitable nature, she can't resist barking at other dogs she meets on the street. Although I tried many different techniques to correct her behaviour, such as saying 'No' firmly, drawing her attention to me by saying 'Look at me' or showing a treat or toy, and frightening her using a can with pebbles in it or a water gun, nothing really worked.

Being unsuccessful with all these efforts, I decided to ask a professional dog trainer for help. The solution he suggested was to teach her to heel properly. And ... tell you what! It worked almost instantly!! I can't believe it myself, but it really did!!

Now you may think that Cinnamon should have known how to heel already at the age of two. But, it turned out that a real problem had existed in my fear of making too many mistakes. Because I didn't want to fail when I made Cinnamon heel, I had told her to heel only when I was certain that she was going to do it successfully; in other words, only when there were no dogs around, she was giving her attention to me, and I carried some food in my hand or pocket.

Since we had a one hour training session with the trainer a week ago, Cinnamon has NEVER barked at other dogs on the street!! Now, as soon as I see another dog coming, I tell Cinnamon to heel. Although I now use a check chain on her, I seldom need to give it a tug. Simply by saying 'Heel', which I often need to repeat though, I have been able to make Cinnamon control herself successfully. It's amazing, isn't it?

Cinnamon practising heeling in a training session with a professional dog trainer

* The photos have been extracted from videos Honey the Great Dane's human, Hsin-Yi, kindly filmed for us. Thanks, Honey and Hsin-Yi!!