30/09/2026
🐾 SAY HELLO TO PEPPER 🐾
Pepper is a 3-year-old Border Collie who is as sweet as pie.
I first worked with Pepper about two years ago, and whilst she has improved enormously, her owner still had a few concerns. Most of them revolved around Pepper barking at anything and everything. Cars passing, the plastic bin liner being replaced, the TV, the lawnmower and even birds flying overhead could all set her off.
Now here’s the thing with barking. Yes, it is communication. Pepper is a working dog. She needs a job, so she has decided that this is her job. Barking to let the owners know something is going on. Which is fine, as long as the dog learns to stop when we say or learns that not everything needs to be barked at. It is doubtful that you would ever stop the barking completely. (I still deal with Bella’s barking, and she’s going on 11), but it can be managed, and that’s what owners need to understand.
When I arrived, Pepper was in the yard. I was surprised when I didn’t hear any barking.
Then Mum came home. Still no barking.
Then I had Kes drive up the neighbours' driveway, which was usually a major issue.
No barking. Strange, huh?
Then her owner went inside and moved the louvred window.
BARK!
I wasn't able to do anything about it, as my timing would have been off, since I didn't know this was one of her triggers. So I asked her owner to do it again.
As soon as Pepper barked, I gave her a firm "No barking."
Pepper looked at me as if to say, "What the...?"
I asked her owner to do it again.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Hmmmm. Interesting.
Next came the plastic rubbish bag.
Pepper's owner told me that normally, as soon as Pepper heard the lid of the bin, she would start to totally lose it.
This time? Absolutely no reaction.
All it took was a stern “Good girl." Clear communication telling her not to bark.
The son and mum were astounded.
So I asked her son to hold the bag near Pepper and make it rustle.
Nothing.
Both Mum and her son were looking at me like they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
All of this told me something important.
Pepper's owner had told me she thought Pepper was sensitive to noise. But if this was genuinely a noise sensitivity issue, I wouldn't expect Pepper to simply stop barking because I gave her a clear correction. If anything, the reaction would likely intensify the more the louvre or bag rustled.
What I was seeing looked much more like a learned behavioural pattern.
Over time, Pepper established a predictable pattern: an event would occur, she would react, and her owners would respond. Practising this sequence repeatedly turned it into an ingrained habit.
Dogs excel at repeating and reinforcing behaviours that benefit them, not you.
Another issue Pepper’s owner had was that she could only tolerate being brushed for about 20 seconds, and then Pepper would start nipping at her hands.
When I started brushing Pepper, I used a calm, soothing tone and praised her when she just lay there and let me brush her. And being a border collie, there was certainly plenty of hair that needed brushing. Pepper tolerated all of it without a nip or a whimper.
So, of course, I had to see what happened when her owner took over.
Sure enough, after a few strokes of the brush, Pepper tried to nip. Another pattern.
I corrected her with a stern "No" and a collar pop. I asked her owner to keep brushing.
The difference was amazing.
We made a few adjustments to what her owner was doing that may have been adding to the situation, and Pepper stayed calm. She was even able to brush her tummy, an area her owner had never been able to brush properly.
At one point, Pepper almost looked like she was actually enjoying it!
Just as we were saying goodbye, the neighbours came home.
Normally, the sound of their car would send Pepper racing to the back fence, barking and frantically running up and down. Instead, she continued to lie at our feet as we chatted. She didn’t even look at it.
There is another important part to the equation.
All of this doesn't mean Pepper is now magically fixed. Far from it. But for success to keep continuing and for the behaviour to change, Pepper's owners are going to have to change what THEY do when Pepper barks.
Her owner openly admitted that she is very soft with Pepper, but she's learning that sometimes she needs to toughen up a bit.
She also told me that they had basically given up trying to stop the barking because nothing seemed to work.
And I get it. When you've tried everything you can think of and your dog is still barking at the plastic rubbish bag, eventually you start thinking, "Well, this is just how she is."
But Pepper has shown us that isn't necessarily the case.
Sometimes dogs don't need more fuss, more reassurance or more negotiation.
Sometimes they need clear rules and someone willing to enforce them.
A bit of tough love can go a long way.
Pepper doesn't need to be the household police monitor, keeping watch over every car, bird, bag, window and strange noise that happens around her.
She needs to understand that isn't her job.
And once her owners start consistently communicating that to her, life should become a whole lot calmer for everyone.
We haven't finished with Pepper yet.
Next visit, we're tackling the lawnmower and the TV, which are two BIG barking problems.
I'm very interested to see what Pepper thinks about that! 😂
Stay tuned...
