[nicolemcgray]

Hi I'm wondering if anyone has any advice to lessen my dogs barking. He is only 10 months and I'm pretty sure the barking is an attention thing. I don't mind the occasional bark if he is barking at the door but this is a constant almost howeling noise until I stop what I'm doing. I'm at the point where it is bothering my neighbours. He is a very smart dog but also very stubborn. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks

[PeppersPop]

I think its important to figure out why he's barking---hunger, thirst, bathroom, pain, fear/anxiety, boredom---and go from there.

Pay attention to what is going when the barking starts... pay attention to what is going on when he stops.

Is he getting enough exercise?

You could try getting him a treat dispensing toy to keep him busy. Pepper's favorite is a buster ball... I fill it with treats or dog food and he has to roll it around / paw at it until the holes line up and a treat falls out. He's also got a couple kong-type toys that I fill with cream cheese and freeze.

Best wishes,
Sid

Originally Posted by nicolemcgray

Hi I'm wondering if anyone has any advice to lessen my dogs barking. He is only 10 months and I'm pretty sure the barking is an attention thing. I don't mind the occasional bark if he is barking at the door but this is a constant almost howeling noise until I stop what I'm doing. I'm at the point where it is bothering my neighbours. He is a very smart dog but also very stubborn. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks

[KelliCZ]

a little more info would help - Where is the dog when he is barking ? what kind of dog is it?

[blunder]

The most common mistake is to try to teach the dog NOT to bark. I am yet to meet the dog that understands the concept of NOT. The trainer is always better off thinking in term of what they want the dog to do (be quiet) than thinking in terms of what they don't want the dog to do (don't bark). This simple shift in the trainers attitude will make all the difference in the world to the dogs ability to comprehend the behavior you desire from it. This is not a bit different than the concept of teaching a dog to sit instead of going through all the antics of trying to teach it not to jump up on people.

[PeppersPop]

Ok, you've got to help me out with this. I've been too embarrassed to ask until now...

As far as barking goes, I've read that one of the ways to deal with barking is to teach the dog to bark on command. I don't understand how this stops barking... am I misunderstanding something? Lots of people teach their dogs to go to the bathroom on command... this doesn't mean that the dog ONLY goes when you tell it to. It still goes when it needs to. If I teach my dog to bark, what stops him from bark at times when I haven't given him the command?

Originally Posted by blunder

The most common mistake is to try to teach the dog NOT to bark. I am yet to meet the dog that understands the concept of NOT. The trainer is always better off thinking in term of what they want the dog to do (be quiet) than thinking in terms of what they don't want the dog to do (don't bark). This simple shift in the trainers attitude will make all the difference in the world to the dogs ability to comprehend the behavior you desire from it. This is not a bit different than the concept of teaching a dog to sit instead of going through all the antics of trying to teach it not to jump up on people.

[Criosphynx]

Originally Posted by PeppersPop

Ok, you've got to help me out with this. I've been too embarrassed to ask until now...

As far as barking goes, I've read that one of the ways to deal with barking is to teach the dog to bark on command. I don't understand how this stops barking... am I misunderstanding something? Lots of people teach their dogs to go to the bathroom on command... this doesn't mean that the dog ONLY goes when you tell it to. It still goes when it needs to. If I teach my dog to bark, what stops him from bark at times when I haven't given him the command?

A no reward marker i believe....

I've read about what your talking about... putting the bark on cue and then never giving the cue... I've not tried it, i could see how it could backfire if not used/taught perfectly....

I haven't put the bark on cue and i still use a no reward marker "uh-uh" and have had great results.

People also fail to reward quiet non barking moments enough times IMO... its easy to forget too.

[poodleholic]

Originally Posted by nicolemcgray

Hi I'm wondering if anyone has any advice to lessen my dogs barking. He is only 10 months and I'm pretty sure the barking is an attention thing. I don't mind the occasional bark if he is barking at the door but this is a constant almost howeling noise until I stop what I'm doing. I'm at the point where it is bothering my neighbours. He is a very smart dog but also very stubborn. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks

Your dog IS smart! He keeps up the barking because he knows you'll give him the attention he wants if he keeps it up. So, ignore him when he demands attention, then redirect him to do something you want him to do (like sit), and follow up with positive reinforcement. What I did with my dogs to get them to stop barking was to say, "Good Dog! Thank you, that's enough," each and every time they gave an alert bark, then putting my finger up to my lips, and saying "shhhhh."

Implement NILIF into daily life to help you eliminate your dog's demanding behavior. I've seen changes in dog's behaviors within 48 hours.

[PeppersPop]

I have to say that when I read the "thank your dog for barking" technique a couple months ago, I thought it was pretty dumb... but then I tried it and I have to admit, it works wonderfully.

Pepper barks whenever he hears someone outside the apartment... which is all the time. Instead of fussing at him for barking, I started saying "thank you Pepper"... then I pretended to investigate the noise by looking out the peephole and finished it off by looking at the dog and yawning (yawn = calm, boring, no big deal).

The message you are trying to communicate to the dog is "thanks for letting me know, I'll take it from here." After a couple of days, his barking frequency and duration was greatly reduced. Now I don't even have to get off the couch... a "thank you Pepper *yawn*" was enough to stop him. Every once in awhile, he'll have a little barking fit so I'll go back to getting up and checking the door for a day or two and he's fine again.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by poodleholic

Your dog IS smart! He keeps up the barking because he knows you'll give him the attention he wants if he keeps it up. So, ignore him when he demands attention, then redirect him to do something you want him to do (like sit), and follow up with positive reinforcement. What I did with my dogs to get them to stop barking was to say, "Good Dog! Thank you, that's enough," each and every time they gave an alert bark, then putting my finger up to my lips, and saying "shhhhh."

Implement NILIF into daily life to help you eliminate your dog's demanding behavior. I've seen changes in dog's behaviors within 48 hours.

[Criosphynx]

Originally Posted by PeppersPop

I have to say that when I read the "thank your dog for barking" technique a couple months ago, I thought it was pretty dumb... but then I tried it and I have to admit, it works wonderfully.

Pepper barks whenever he hears someone outside the apartment... which is all the time. Instead of fussing at him for barking, I started saying "thank you Pepper"... then I pretended to investigate the noise by looking out the peephole and finished it off by looking at the dog and yawning (yawn = calm, boring, no big deal).

The message you are trying to communicate to the dog is "thanks for letting me know, I'll take it from here." After a couple of days, his barking frequency and duration was greatly reduced. Now I don't even have to get off the couch... a "thank you Pepper *yawn*" was enough to stop him. Every once in awhile, he'll have a little barking fit so I'll go back to getting up and checking the door for a day or two and he's fine again.

Good luck.

I too thought it was stupid and couldn't possibly work when i started....

well.....it works!!! Only house on the block without barking dogs..

[Kathyy]

The theory about putting the barking on cue and never giving the cue, not sure it works or not but it does make the dog aware that it is barking. Some annoying things dogs do unaware that they are doing it.

And it is more positive to be putting something that the dog likes to do on cue so it can be shown off as a trick than suppress it entirely. If my dogs like to do something I find a way for them to be able to do it without being annoying to me or others. Barking on cue is easy to teach. Maxwell won't do it, barking is for important stuff like yelling at the mailman not stupid dog tricks. He does seem to be calmer now we go look and see what all the fuss is about.

[jesirose]

I agree if it's an alert bark, you can easily stop it by thanking them. Sadie is a great alert dog, she'll run to the door, look out the window, and bark until I either check out what's there or call her back. One of the perfect qualities I wanted in a dog.

If it's attention barking, you need to ignore it and reward him when he's quiet. It will take a while now for him to stop since you've kept rewarding it with attention - buy some earplugs.