No Barking - Success!

It's been a while since I have worked with Basil on not barking while in the car. The other morning, we were getting coffee at our usual watering hole when I implemented some advice from Cesar Milan's dog psychology.

• Remain calm and assertive. Clear your mind. Don't feel nervousness or anxiety.
• Anticipate the reaction and prevent it before it escalates.
• Keep him in check the whole time. Stay on it. Follow through.
  

So before Basil could start, I just kept an eye on him and as he eyed people down (with the anticipation to bark) I broke his concentration by making the "tsch" sound and a firm touch with two fingers to the shoulder. I gestured for him lay back down in his dog bed in the back of the car. He listened and was obedient the whole time. No barking what so ever! He did start growling and that's when he got the fingers. I was so shocked. There were a lot of men walking near the car including an SUV which seems to get him upset. He didn't bark at any of them.

In addition, Basil has been really good reading my body language and hand gestures. The hand gestures (commands) are really useful for me because my voice isn't deep like Keith's. When I say things, he doesn't listen so much. He does react to my hand gestures though. He and I have also been walking a lot and he definitely knows he suppose to walk next to me now.